Davis Houck

FSU professor establishes new Emmett Till Lecture and Archives Fund

Published: February 27, 2020 | 12:08 pm | Posted in: News

The Emmett Till Lecture and Archives Fund will commemorate the 14-year-old African American who was lynched in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store.

The work to remember Emmett Till will continue at Florida State University thanks to new funding established by one of the nation’s leading experts on the 1955 murder that helped launch the civil rights movement. Davis Houck, Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the School of Communication at FSU, has recently established a […]

FSU Libraries to host esteemed Emmett Till scholar

Published: September 12, 2019 | 2:20 pm | Posted in: Education & Society

It’s been 64 years since 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi after allegedly offending a white woman in her family’s grocery store, but University of Kansas Professor Dave Tell has worked diligently to preserve Till’s story and legacy. Florida State University Libraries will host Tell for an evening of conversation and learning surrounding his […]

FSU professor’s research spurs educational curriculum

Published: August 21, 2019 | 3:21 pm | Posted in: Arts & Humanities

A Florida State University professor’s research has inspired a new K-12 school curriculum about 1960s Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Davis Houck, FSU’s Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the College of Communication and Information, helped develop the educational program about Hamer’s life with assistance from Mississippi schoolteachers, historians and Maegan Parker Brooks, assistant professor at Willamette University in Salem, […]

Inside the story of Emmett Till: FSU professor launches app with digital perspective of civil rights icon

Published: August 12, 2019 | 8:35 am | Posted in: Education & Society

A Florida State University professor’s five-year research project has opened a new window of understanding about the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 that became a catalyst of the civil rights movement. Davis Houck, FSU’s Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the College of Communication and Information, and his colleagues have […]

FSU experts available to comment on black history topics

Published: February 1, 2019 | 3:14 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

In 1926, African-American historian, author and journalist Carter G. Woodson established “Negro History Week.” The observance took place during the second week in February to encompass the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two men who helped to shape black history in the United States. The week was designed to deepen the study and […]

Two FSU alumni team up on film shown at Sundance Film Festival

Published: January 30, 2019 | 10:23 am | Posted in: Arts & Humanities, News

Members of the film team who made "I Snuck Off the Slave Ship."

Two Florida State University graduates are attending the renowned Sundance Film Festival, the largest showcase of independent films in the country, to participate in the premiere of a film they both worked on. Film editor Joy Elaine Davenport and videographer Pablo Correa, both graduates of FSU’s School of Communication, collaborated on the film “I Snuck […]

Florida State launches new Civil Rights Institute

Published: November 2, 2018 | 3:06 pm | Posted in: University News

Florida State University administrators, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters gathered for a powerful evening of reflection and inspiration at the Dunlap Champions Club Thursday, Nov. 1. The event launched a new institute dedicated to the study of civil rights in America and the promotion of social change. The new FSU Civil Rights Institute is the […]

FSU experts available to discuss 2018 midterm election

Published: October 16, 2018 | 2:19 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

The 2018 midterm elections are quickly approaching and stakes are high as voters will go to the polls and decide races for 435 House and 35 Senate seats as well as 36 gubernatorial races. Republican control of the House and Senate could be in danger, and some races for governor have already proved historic, with […]

50 years later: FSU professor reflects on how MLK, RFK assassinations changed civil rights movement

Published: March 23, 2018 | 10:34 am | Posted in: Education & Society, Expert Pitches

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In the midst of an eventful decade for the United States, 1968 proved to be one of the most tumultuous years in history. With the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4, 1968) and Robert F. Kennedy (June 5, 1968) occurring only two months apart, the civil rights movement experienced a drastic shift. As […]

JFK centennial celebration: FSU expert available to comment on legacy of Kennedy’s presidential rhetoric

Published: May 23, 2017 | 2:29 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

The nation is preparing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s birth. Born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Mass., Kennedy was the nation’s 35th president and the youngest ever elected to office. Florida State University Professor of Communication Davis Houck, an expert on presidential rhetoric, is available to comment on JFK’s history-making speeches […]

FSU scholar plays role in telling Emmett Till story at historic Mississippi courthouse

Published: January 18, 2017 | 9:29 am | Posted in: Education & Society

Davis Houck, the Fannie Lou Endowed Professor of Communication at FSU’s College of Communication and Information

The work of Florida State University Professor Davis Houck has helped secure a $500,000 National Park Services grant for the Emmett Till Memorial Commission of Tallahatchie County, a project that seeks to preserve and examine the legacy of the young black boy whose gruesome murder in 1955 helped to catalyze the American civil rights movement. […]

Expert Pitch: 2016 Presidential Election

Published: November 7, 2016 | 12:50 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

Voters will cast their ballots in the 2016 Presidential race, and in several local and state races, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8. A group of Florida State University faculty experts are available to discuss various aspects of the campaigns and the election. VOTER BEHAVIOR AND TRENDS • Matthew Pietryka Assistant Professor of political science […]