Communists and Perverts under the Palms: The Johns Committee in Florida, 1956-1965

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Stacy Braukman

Communists and Perverts under the Palms

The Johns Committee in Florida, 1956-1965

Stacy Braukman

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English

University Press of Florida
15 August 2013

History; History of the Americas

In 1956, state Senator Charley Johns was appointed the chairman of the newly formed Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, now remembered as the Johns Committee. This group was charged with the task of unearthing communist tendencies, homosexual persuasions, and anything they saw as subversive behaviour in academic institutions throughout Florida. With the cooperation of law enforcement, the committee interrogated and spied on countless individuals, including civil rights activists, college students, public school teachers, and university faculty and administrators.

Today, the actions of the Johns Committee are easily dismissed as homophobic and bigoted. Communists and Perverts under the Palms reveals how the creation of the committee was a logical and unsurprising result of historic societal anxieties about race, sexuality, obscenity, and liberalism. Stacy Braukman illustrates how the responses to those societal anxieties, particularly the Johns Committee, laid the foundation for the resurgence of conservatism in the 1960s. Braukman is considered and nuanced in her stance, refusing a blanket condemnation of the extremism of a committee whose influence, even decades after its dissolution, continues to be felt in the culture wars of today.

By: Stacy Braukman
Imprint: University Press of Florida
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 395g
ISBN: 9780813049045
ISBN 10: 0813049040
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 15 August 2013
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Stacy Braukman is an independent scholar and coauthor of Gay and Lesbian Atlanta.