Standing in the nature of Jupiter’s Riverbend Park on a Saturday morning, the students of the Black History Education program were encouraged to use their smartphones.
Instead of prohibiting their use, the instructor astutely recognized how to invite the young teenagers to engage.
“Pull out your phones,” said energetic instructor Derek Hankerson, a producer of documentaries that explore African-American history and president of the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists Board. “I want you to capture the history around you. Center the historical markers in your pictures. Get creative. Have some fun!”
It didn’t take long before the students – and the accompanying adults – began photographing landmarks, trees, historical markers and other evidence of two important battles of the Second Seminole War that happened in Riverbend Park in 1838. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Seminoles resisted U.S. troops and remained unconquered. Fighting alongside the Seminoles were Africans, who escaped enslavement and became part of the Native American tribe; they were known as Black Seminoles.

Walking in a light rain, the group retraced the steps of Lieutenant Levin M. Powell, who commanded the first battle of the Loxahatchee, which took place on January 15, 1838. Largely inexperienced in combat, his expedition would fail, as the unit was defeated by the Seminoles, both Red and Black, who used guerrilla tactics and the cover of nature to outmaneuver their foes.
“So much history exists in Florida’s parks, and so much of it intersects with the significance and legacy of African-American history,” Hankerson said. “Our young people should know how their ancestors affected major battles for the future of the South. Black Seminoles and Red Seminoles worked together to remain free. They intermarried, they created communities, they only fought when they were forced to, in order to remain free.”
Lasting seven-years in duration, the history of the Second Seminole War will be forever embedded in the fabric of Florida. Major William Lauderdale lives in infamy, as the City of Fort Lauderdale carries his name. Fort Mose, where the former enslaved people learned to speak Spanish and write, is now a historic State Park. This site was the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in the United States.
This field trip experience was another meaningful moment for the Black History Study Palm Beach County Program, launched in October 2024, as an educational collaboration of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, the Black History Project, and the Palm Beach County African Diaspora Historical and Cultural Society.
Taking the lessons outside the classroom and into the community marks an important expansion of the program, which began in the classroom on dedicated weekends. With each class, the students’ everyday existence is fused with their history and cultural lineage in ways that are immersive and memorable, having a positive effect on their self-esteem, self-image, and mental health.
Learn more about the Black History Study Palm Beach County Program, click here.
And learn more about the Second Seminole War from these resources:
http://www.fbhrpinc.org/
https://www.jupiteroutdoorcenter.com/floridas-black-seminoles-at-riverbend-park/
https://www.jupiter.fl.us/784/The-Seminole-Wars