Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
State Archives of Florida
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State Library of Florida
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Listen: The Bluegrass & Old-Time ProgramPhoto Exhibits
Photo exhibits spotlight various topics in Florida history, and are accompanied by brief text intended to place selected materials in historical context.
Roxcy Bolton: A Force for Equality
An Exhibit of Items from the Roxcy Bolton Papers
A Joint Resolution of Congress in 1971 designated August 26th of each year as Women's Equality Day and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually to commemorate that day. That Joint Resolution and the resulting 1972 Proclamation issued by President Richard Nixon were symbolic victories representing the very real gains achieved through the perseverance of women's rights activists such as Roxcy O'Neal Bolton.
Roxcy O'Neal Bolton's struggles for women's rights included campaigning for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, pioneering enlightened treatment of rape victims, opening department store lunchrooms to women, denouncing abusive or derogatory treatment of women, and working with national women's rights movement figures such as Betty Friedan.
This exhibit of items from the Roxcy O'Neal Bolton Papers collection at the State Archives of Florida highlights just a few of Roxcy O'Neal Bolton's activities and achievements from over 50 years of concern and activism.
Bolton with Eleanor Roosevelt (ca. 1956)
Image Number: MSC3358
President Richard Nixon's Women's Rights Day Proclamation, 1972
Senator Edward J. Gurney's letter to Roxcy Bolton, September 12, 1972, sending her President Nixon's Women's Rights Day Proclamation
Women's Equality Day Letter from Estelle J.M. Greene, American Association of University Women (1972)
Roxcy Bolton was acknowledged as a driving force in establishing August 26 as an annual observation of Women's Equality Day.
Women's Equality Day Letter from Senator Edward J. Gurney (1972)
Roxcy Bolton: Miami, Florida (1988)
Image Number: MSC3359
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Paula Hawkins, and Roxcy Bolton (1980s)
Letter from Burdine's (1969)
Roxcy Bolton fought for equality for women in all aspects of community life, such as her ultimately successful efforts to open department store lunchrooms to women.
Letter from Jordan Marsh (1969)
Letter from Roxcy Bolton to Playboy Plaza Hotel (1971)
In this November 3, 1971 letter to the Playboy Plaza Hotel, Roxcy Bolton left little doubt regarding her stance on abuse or exploitation of women.
Response from Playboy Plaza Hotel (1971)
Handwritten draft of letter from Roxcy Bolton to Playboy Plaza Hotel, page 1 (1971)
Handwritten draft of letter from Roxcy Bolton to Playboy Plaza Hotel, page 2 (1971)
Handwritten draft of letter from Roxcy Bolton to Playboy Plaza Hotel, page 3 (1971)
Letter from Presidential Staff Assistant George T. Bell, June 5, 1970
Roxcy Bolton's battle against sex discrimination extended to the White House.
Letter from Presidential Staff Assistant George T. Bell, June 9, 1970
Roxcy Bolton at her home in Miami, 1980s
Roxcy Bolton fought for protections for rape victims and for legislation to more efficiently prosecute rape crimes. In this June 5, 1974 letter to Bolton, Florida Attorney General Robert L. Shevin summarized amendments to Florida's statutes "based on your recommendation to me to establish degrees of rape..."
Roxcy Bolton at the Miami rape treatment center (1974)
Image Number: MSC3357
Features
Territorial Legislative Council Records, 1822-1845
Documenting Florida's legislature prior to statehood
State and County Officer Directories, 1868-1969
Lists of Florida's state and county officials either elected or appointed between 1868 and 1969.
Guide to Military Records and the Wartime Experience
A guide to government records and manuscript collections relating to service members and the wartime experience.
Dust Tracks
21 tracks from Hurston's time documenting African American culture for the WPA in 1930s Florida.
History Day 2025
Resources for Florida History Day from the State Library and Archives of Florida.