1 2 NEWTOWN CONSERVATION HISTORIC DISTRICT PHASE I 3 CONTENTS NEWTOWN: PAST AND PRESENT: 1914-2014 FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 3: SYNOPSIS OF ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS ........................................ 23 CHAPTER 4: OVERTOWN AND NEWTOWN: THE EARLY SETTLERS .................... 49 CHAPTER 5: MAKING A LIVING ....................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 6: EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS .................................................................. 134 CHAPTER 7: SEGREGATION, DESEGREGATION AND INTEGRATION ............... 165 CHAPTER 8: POLITICS ..................................................................................................... 189 CHAPTER 9: CHURCHES OF OVERTOWN AND NEWTOWN .................................. 200 CHAPTER 10: MEDICAL CARE ......................................................................................... 218 CHAPTER 11: NEWTOWN AND OVERTOWN ORGANIZATIONS ........................... 232 CHAPTER 12: MILITARY SERVICE ................................................................................. 240 CHAPTER 13: SPORTS ....................................................................................................... 252 CHAPTER 14: REDEVELOPMENT OF NEWTOWN ..................................................... 272 CHAPTER 15: VISION FOR THE FUTURE ..................................................................... 279 CHAPTER 16: MAPPING, DOCUMENTATION AND ANALYSIS ................................ 294 CHAPTER 17: HISTORIC RESOURCES ........................................................................... 312 CHAPTER 18: NEWTOWN ORAL HISTORY TOUR ..................................................... 326 CHAPTER 19: RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................. 331 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 341 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................. 351 4 FOREWORD For over 100 years, African American residents have assisted in the development of Sarasota’s institutions, culture and social history. Black labor cleared snake infested land for real estate developers, laid railroad ties, planted citrus and celery fields, helped plat golf courses and labored in the homes of the town’s most influential power brokers cooking, cleaning, ironing and rearing children. The African American community valued education and practiced their religious traditions despite segregation. The churches and the Booker School triplex have been cornerstones. At the center of the self- contained town within a town with its distinctive neighborhoods was a thriving business district that offered goods and services when downtown shops in Sarasota were closed to African Americans. Newtown has evolved over the last century. The timing of the Newtown Conservation Historic District Project is ideal, following the community’s centennial celebration, which resulted in a greater awareness of Newtown’s origins and development. A comprehensive research study based on primary and secondary source documents and oral history interviews about the factors that led Blacks to Sarasota, their work, history, education, and social life has been available only in fragments here and there. We are proud that there is a companion document available to the public that compliments Annie M. McElroy’s book, But Your World and My World. And we are confident that the information contained in this report will be transformative and contribute to Newtown’s development in the next 100 years. The Newtown Conservation Historic District Task Force Fredd Atkins James Brown Jetson Grimes Trevor D. Harvey Wade Harvin John McCarthy Robert L. Taylor 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Newtown Conservation Historic District research report is a collaborative effort between many Sarasota residents, city and county government leaders, higher education partners and small business executives. Fragments of the Newtown community’s history were found in the collections of private residents, art galleries, historical repositories and research databases. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the late Annie M. McElroy, author of But Your World and My World, published in 1986, the first history book focused on the African American experience in Sarasota County. This book provided a foundation by filling in many gaps in the historic record and included information about Newtown events, places and people that the NCHD team would never have been able to access were it not written. Thanks to Newtown residents who opened their photo albums allowing access to powerful visual images and made time in their daily schedule to share unforgettable, life changing stories. Oral history interviews provided a window into the past and were an invaluable resource. Completion of the report was made possible through the City of Sarasota’s Neighborhood and Development Office and generous in-kind contributions. NCHD Task Force Fredd Atkins James Brown Jetson Grimes Trevor D. Harvey Wade Harvin John McCarthy Robert L. Taylor NCHD Volunteer Researchers Hope Black Dawn Cannavo Phyllis Gipson Lillian Granderson Ellen Heath Dr. Keith Parker Dr. Delores Penn Les Porter Dr. Cheryl Smith Reviewers James and Yvonne Brown, Retired Education Administrators Dr. Edward James, II, Black Almanac Director/Producer/Host Betty Johnson, Retired Librarian 6 Erin Dean, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology, New College of Florida Rev. Patrick Miller, Bethlehem Bible Church, Senior Pastor Rev. Kelvin Lumpkin, Light of the World, Senior Pastor Dr. John Walker, Bethel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Senior Pastor Carolyn Y. Major Harper, Retired Educator Ronnique Major Hundley, Sarasota County Educator Dr. Rachel Shelley, Booker High School, Principal Dr. Harriet Moore, McIntosh Middle School, Principal John McCarthy, SCOPE, Executive Director Dr. Louis Robison, LAYR Group, Inc., President and CEO Robert C. Hayden, Author, Co-Author, Editor Washington Hill, M.D., FACOG Lauretta Anderson Lisa Merritt, M.D. Kinesia Rehab Group Multicultural Health Institute The Honorable Judge Charles E. Williams, 12th Judicial Circuit Court James Ward, Riverview High School, Athletic Director Partners Dr. Clifford E. Smith, Jr., City of Sarasota, Neighborhood and Development Services Lorna A. Alston, Newtown-North Sarasota Redevelopment Office, General Manager Dru Jones, Newtown-North Sarasota Redevelopment Office Rowena Elliott, Newtown-North Sarasota Redevelopment Office Newtown Residents Manasota Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Larry Kelleher, Sarasota County Historical Resources Esther Washington, Smithsonian Institution James A. Gordon, Smithsonian Institution Booker High School Tempo News Cultural Resource Center, North Sarasota Public Library Jarred Wilson, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art David Feldmar, Moving Technology Forward Beatrice Sims, Spaghetti Ninja LLC, Owner and Creative Director James McCloud, Genesis Health Services, Inc. Melanie Thomas Rosa Lee Thomas Gary E. Probst, Producer/Editor Gary Oslin, State College of Florida, Photographer/Videographer Eileen West Jenny Acheson, Photographer Justin Dunnavant, University of Florida, Transcriptionist Jackie Woods, Manasota ASALH Henry Richardson, Bethlehem Bible Church Michelle Smith Jeraline Baker Graham Michael Suarez 7 The John Rivers Family Thelma Upshaw Kim Stocker, The Education Channel, Program Specialist/Senior Producer University of South Florida Diane McGuerty, City of Sarasota, GIS Analyst Miranda Lansdale, Sarasota County Neighborhood Services Steve Koski, Sarasota County Historical Resources Alecia Gregory, Trickey Jennus Advertising Tom Jennus, Trickey Jennus Advertising Derek Kilborn, City of St. Petersburg, Planning and Economic Development, Manager Bill Hartman, William Hartman Gallery Brad McCourtney, Photographer Che Barnett, Martin Luther King Day Celebration Committee Cynthia Wilson Graham Kathie Marsh, Family Heritage House Museum, Museum Specialist The Loft Coffee House Elizabeth Woodruff, City of Fort Pierce, Urban Redevelopment Manager Newtown Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Amaryllis Park Neighborhood Association Delmar Jacobs, State College of Florida, Film & Media Studies Director North Sarasota Neighborhood Association Nikelle Mackey, Ringling College of Art and Design Corin Grover, Ringling College of Art and Design Frances Bermudez, North Sarasota Public Library Manatee Village Historical Park Will Dorner, University of Central Florida, Faculty Center Helen Dixon Wendell Fletcher Kathy Byrd Pobee Michael Dixon 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Newtown Conservation Historic District Project NEWTOWN: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ENCLAVE IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA For many years, Newtown residents and leaders appealed