Sunshine Matters

In February, BET viewers will be able to see a a series of short stories produced by VISIT FLORIDA that invite visitors to “come for vacation and discover your roots.”  In collaboration with destination partners in St. Augustine, Pensacola, Orlando, Eatonville, Miami and Overtown, as well as prominent African Americans in the travel and tourism community, four 60-second vignettes will tell the amazing and inspirational stories of Florida’s rich African American heritage and culture.

With broadcast and digital media buys on BET, the vignettes will be running as national TV spots during the entire month.  As part of VISIT FLORIDA’s creative rotation strategy, these story passages will also run on cable’s Ophra Winfrey Network, as well as digitally across the BET platform.

St. Augustine is well-known as the oldest, continually occupied city in the continental United States, but it also has a rich and significant history for African-Americans.  Fort Mose, the first legally sanctioned African settlement in what would become the United States, was a refuge for slaves who escaped English colonies in the Carolinas.  St. Augustine was also a crucial battleground in America’s civil rights struggle, joining in the fight for racial equality.

Pensacola is world-renowned for beautiful white sand beaches and emerald waters like Johnson Beach, which was named for a local African American war hero. Pensacola native “Chappie” James became the first black four-star general in American military history, known for his valor and air tactics as a fighter pilot in both Korea and Vietnam.

Just minutes from Orlando is Eatonville, known as “the town that freedom built.”  Founded in 1887 as the nation’s first all-black city, Eatonville is also home to Zora Neale Hurston, the prominent African American Harlem Renaissance writer best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Miami is a destination of memorable names, including Little Haiti, Little Havana, West Coconut Grove, and perhaps the most storied of all, Overtown.  In the Jazz Age, Ella, Louis and the Count all played here.  And today, Overtown remains a vibrant and historic place where you can feed your soul and walk in the footsteps of legends.

In 2014, Florida was the top vacation destination among African American travelers within the U.S. Through this year’s partnership with BET – the leading provider of entertainment for African Americans – VISIT FLORIDA will reach an audience of more than 40 million adults age 25-54 and provide their viewers with even more reasons to explore the Sunshine State.