Kiki Carter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 21, 1957 (age 66) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Known for | Being an environmental activist, organizer, musician, songwriter, and columnist |
| Spouses |
|
Kiki Carter (born Kimberli Wilson; November 21, 1957 in Gainesville, Florida) is an environmental activist, organizer, musician, songwriter, and columnist.
In May 1984, Carter married first husband Rick Carter. [1] She had only known him for a month when they eloped to Las Vegas. [1] Together, they had a son, Richard, in 1986.
In February 1998, Carter married singer/songwriter, Greg Webb, the lead singer of the Gainesville, Florida based Rhythm and Blues Revue, changing her name to Kiki Webb. They began collaborating musically and formed the acoustic duo, Dancing Light. [2] The name Dancing Light came from a song of the same title, written about a vision Carter (then Kimberli Wilson) had after a near-death experience. [3] [4]
Carter and Webb moved to his family's property on Leech Lake in northern Minnesota in 2000. [5]
As a euphonium student at the University of Florida Carter won the Sigma Alpha Iota "Outstanding Freshman Musician Award" for the 1974-75 year. Throughout her college years, Carter performed in various ensembles, symphonic bands and wind ensembles as principal/solo euphoniumist.[ citation needed ]
In the summer of 1976, Carter traveled to Ruston Louisiana to study with euphonium soloist, Raymond Young, then head of the Department of Music at Louisiana Tech University. [6]
In 1979, University of Florida Music Department Chairman Budd Udell included a euphonium solo written for Carter in Forces One, the first movement of his Symphony for Band. The Symphony was premiered at the Music Educators National Conference convention in Miami Beach on April 9, 1980 with Carter performing the solo. [7] The same year, Carter was one of eight national finalists in the Tubist Universal Brotherhood Association's national collegiate solo contest for euphonium.
Carter graduated from the University of Florida in March 1981 and briefly did post-baccalaureate work as a theater major, before leaving to audition for euphonium jobs in Washington D.C. military service bands. [1] She started studying with Brian Bowman, euphonium soloist of the United States Air Force Band in Washington DC. During her studies in DC, Carter worked as a governess for Washington Post publisher, Donald E. Graham and his wife, Mary. [1]
While in Washington DC, Carter began playing guitar and writing songs. She became disillusioned with the prospect of a professional military band career and returned to Gainesville in February 1982. [1] Through a mutual friend, Carter met Michele Marino, who began managing Carter's career. Marino booked Carter's first television appearances a solo performer on The Kim Edstrom Show. [8] Carter started playing in area clubs, often accompanied by pianist and singer, Sidney Bertisch.
In 1984, Carter and Marino travelled to Los Angeles, California, where Carter won the weekly music contest at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood [1] The contest brought her to the attention of Capitol Records VP Joe McFadden who gave her his business card and suggested she contact him. Through manager, Michele, Carter came to the attention of Robert L. "Bumps" Blackwell, [1] songwriter, record producer, and manager of Little Richard. Bumps arranged for Carter to sing with a group appearing in a 1983 Los Angeles television show with Billy Preston. Robert Blackwell managed Carter until his death in March 1985.
During those years, Carter made several trips from Gainesville to Nashville to meet with Capitol Records. Before a deal was struck, Capitol Records experienced a major restructuring and her contacts had been replaced.
She and her husband, Greg Webb, later began touring Minnesota, as the acoustic duo, Dancing Light. [9] [10] As Dancing Light, they released their first full-length CD, Meadowdance in 1993. [11]
Carter and Webb co-founded independent record label Sunblossom Records, and she is founder of music publishing company Shebreana Music (BMI) They started Saturday Cafe Concert Series, a weekly Concert series in Northern Minnesota. [12] They continued to perform at benefit concerts. [13] [14] [15]
At the end of 1986, Carter's mother, author Patti Greenwood learned of the US Department of Energy's plans to build a demonstration irradiation facility in Gainesville, Florida. [16] [17]
Greenwood shared the news with Carter. In early 1987, Carter called the local television station, ABC affiliate WCJB-TV to alert them to plans by the United States Department of Energy and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to build a food irradiation facility in Gainesville, Florida, using radioactive caesium-137. [18] [19] [20] [21] This project was part of the United States Department of Energy's By-Products Utilization Program (BUP). The BUP was born out of a Congressional mandate to find uses for by-products of plutonium production.
Carter was invited to appear live in the studio with the WCJB anchors. Soon a grassroots movement was galvanizing with Carter and her mother at the epicenter.
Carter and her mother founded the organization Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment (C.A.R.E.) to oppose the use of Department of Energy stores of radioactive caesium-137 in a demonstration food irradiation facility. The caesium-137 was slated to be used at six different demonstration irradiators through the country, one of which was proposed for Gainesville, Florida. [22] After a groundswell of public opposition, public debates, and public forums, the caesium-137 was never used in the facility. [23]
Carter organized a state-wide coalition of concerned citizens called the Florida Coalition to Stop Food Irradiation in response to plans for another irradiator in Plant City, FL. [24] and national TV [25] [26] [27] and helping to organize fledgling groups in other communities. [28] [29]
Working as an environmental activist expanded Carter's awareness of other environmental and social justice issues. She helped wherever she could, appearing at public meetings and performing at benefit concerts. [30] She became active in helping to raise awareness of radon issues in Alachua County and helped provide free test kits to residents. [31] Her pet projects included the I.C.E.S. fruition project, where she organized plantings of fruit trees in Habitat for Humanity homesites, [32] and promoting the use of reusable bags in grocery stores. [33]
Carter was an independent candidate in 1988 for the Alachua County Commission, losing to wildlife artist Kate Barnes.
In 1992, Carter wrote a weekly column for the Marion/Alachua edition of the Tampa Tribune called Environmentally Speaking.
Carter often used her musical talents and connections to organize and participate in fundraising concerts for her environmental causes, including a 1996 concert at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts featuring world-renowned violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra. [34] Carter also composed songs and produced regional television commercials for the United Way.
She became active in the Leech Lake Head Start program on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation where she chaired the parent committee of her son's Head Start program and was elected to chair the policy council of the Leech Lake Head Start program.
In the fall of 2005 Carter and her husband helped organize the Great Gala for the Gulf, a benefit concert for survivors of Hurricane Katrina, held at the Moondance Jam site in Northern Minnesota. [35] [36] [37] raising over $5,000 for relief to survivors. [38] [39] [40]
Carter is currently a vocal proponent of the campaign to establish a United States Department of Peace.
Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus opened with 106 students.
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,214 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020.
Hawthorne is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawthorne has been known for its agriculture, railroad, and rural lifestyle. Hawthorne's population was 1,478 at the 2020 census, with an area of 7.38 sq mi (19.1 km2).
The Independent Florida Alligator is the daily student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Alligator is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a circulation of 14,000 and readership of more than 21,000. It is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, encompassing a 21,000-acre (85 km2) savanna in Alachua County, Florida lying between Micanopy and Gainesville. It is also a U.S. National Natural Landmark. It is crossed by both I-75 and U.S. 441. It is in the center of the Paynes Prairie Basin. The basin's primary source of drainage is Alachua Sink. During occasional wet periods, the basin will become full. A notable period occurred from 1871 to 1891 when the Alachua Sink was temporarily blocked. During this period, shallow draft steamboats were a frequent sight on Alachua Lake in the center of the prairie. The region was also historically known as the Alachua Savannah. Its drainage has been modified by several canals. Since 1927, Camps Canal has linked the basin to the River Styx which leads to Orange Lake and eventually the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Johns River. That reduced the basins water intake by half. Additional changes to the prairie's environment have been detrimental to its hydrology. In 1970, the state of Florida acquired the land and has been in the process of restoring the environment to a more natural condition ever since.
Margaret "Pegeen" Hanrahan was the mayor of Gainesville, Florida, her native city, from 2004 through 2010. Described by The Nation as a "vegetarian, bike-riding environmentalist", Hanrahan has been active in politics since she was a teenager. An environmental engineer, she was elected to the Gainesville City Commission in 1996, and was elected mayor in 2004. In the 2007 mayoral election she was re-elected to another term.
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border, a few miles northwest of Miami, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 begins its national northward journey near Miami, running along the western parts of the Miami metropolitan area before traveling westward across Alligator Alley, resuming its northward direction in Naples, running along Florida's Gulf Coast, and passing the cities of Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Venice, and Sarasota. The freeway passes through the Tampa Bay area before turning inward toward Ocala, Gainesville, and Lake City before leaving the state and entering Georgia. I-75 runs for 471 miles (758 km) in Florida, making it the longest Interstate in the state and also the longest in any state east of the Mississippi River. The Interstate's speed limit is 70 mph (110 km/h) for its entire length in Florida.
The Alachua County Library District (ALCD) is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 280,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. There are branch locations in seven of the eight other incorporated municipalities in the county. ACLD also operates a branch at the county jail, and two bookmobiles.
The 1987 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Galen Hall as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Hall's 1987 Florida Gators posted a 6–6 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, placing sixth among ten SEC teams.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut is an American Democratic politician who served on the Gainesville, Florida City Commission from 1987 to 1989 and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000, representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2000, Chestnut was elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2002, where she served until she lost re-election in 2010.
The Plaza of the Americas is a major center of student activity on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is located in the quad between Library West, Peabody Hall, the University Auditorium, and the Chemistry Building.
Marjorie Harris Carr was an American scientist and environmental activist, well known for her conservation work in Florida. She was born in Boston and grew up in southwest Florida, where her parents taught her about native flora and fauna. After earning a Master of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1942, she went on to establish and lead several conservation efforts in the state, including co-founding the Alachua Audubon Society in 1960 and co-founding Florida Defenders of the Environment in 1969. Her work with Florida Defenders of the Environment — which continued until her death in 1997 — to preserve the Ocklawaha River Valley helped halt construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which is now a public conservation and recreation area named in her honor in 1998. She was inducted in the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. She was married to herpetologist Archie Carr from 1937 until his death in 1987; they had five children.
George E. Edmondson Jr. was an insurance salesman from Tampa, Florida who was known to the University of Florida community as "Mr. Two Bits". Edmondson was a fan of the Florida Gators football team, for which he led a traditional "Two Bits' cheer" at football games beginning in 1949. Though he began the practice in an unofficial capacity, it eventually became so popular among fans at Florida Field that he was invited to lead the cheer from midfield before games, which he did from the mid-1970s until 2008. Citing health concerns, he retired from the role after the 2008 season and died in 2019.
The 34th Street Wall is a 1,120-foot-long retaining wall along SW 34th Street in Gainesville, Florida. It was constructed in 1979 by the Florida Department of Transportation to prevent erosion on the adjoining University of Florida golf course when the road was widened from two to four lanes, necessitating cutting through a small hill.
Charter Amendment One was a citizen-led referendum defeated in Gainesville, Florida's city election on March 24, 2009. Titled the "Amendment to the City Charter Prohibiting the City from Providing Certain Civil Rights," the measure would remove the legal protections not explicitly covered under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, specifically with reference to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers, also known as Florida Organic Growers or FOG, is a non-profit organization founded in 1987. It is classified as a 501(c) corporation. One of the main facets of FOG is Quality Certification Services, a program that extends through 30 states and 14 countries. FOG is also concerned with community outreach and education in order to promote healthy organic lifestyles and social equity.
Carl Esmond "Tootie" Perry was an American college football player. He played at the guard position and was the first All-Southern player for the Florida Gators football program of the University of Florida.
Earle Abbott "Dummy" Taylor was a college football player and oil company distributor. He was one of the first star athletes for the Florida Gators football team.
Edward L. "Ed" Jennings, Jr., is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006, representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2006, Jennings was appointed as the Regional Director for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mathew McFarlan Lewey, was an American newspaper editor and publisher, postmaster, lawyer, politician, and justice of the peace in Florida. He also served as an officer in the Union Army, and as a militia officer. Lewey, who was from Baltimore, Maryland, was the first licensed Black male lawyer in Florida. He was a member of the National Negro Business League. He also used the name M.M. Lewey.