The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
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Florida and the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 with Kathleen Dupes Hawk
January 27, 2015
The 1980 Mariel Boatlift episode was a profound event in American history as the state of Florida was forced to respond to the sudden arrival of more than thirty thousand Cuban refugees in Key West.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, Kathleen Dupes Hawk and Adolfo Leyva de Varona, authors of Florida and the Mariel Boatlift of 1980: The First Twenty Days, discussed the political, legal, and administrative response to the crisis and recounted how local and state agencies along with private volunteers were left to provide food, shelter, and security to these new arrivals with few directives or resources.
Dr. Lillian Guerra, Professor of Cuban & Caribbean History, moderated of the discussion.
Based on a wealth of first-hand accounts, archival research, government records, and interviews with policy-makers, volunteers, and refugees, Hawk’s book brings into focus the many far-reaching human, political, and cultural outcomes of the Mariel Boatlift that continue to influence Florida, the United States and Cuba today.
This event is sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, the Center for Latin American Studies, the University of Florida International Center and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
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