Jacksonville, Florida
It was 121 years ago that Jacksonville brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson created and performed the anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem” – was written as a poem by NAACP leader Read More …
JUNETEENTH is the oldest celebration in the nation to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, officially freeing slaves. However, word of the Proclamation did not reach many parts of the country right away, Read More …
“Let’s celebrate #Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday by recognizing the generations of enslaved Black people who fought so hard for their freedom. And one of the best ways to do that is by fortifying our sacred right to vote. Right now, we have the opportunity to Read More …
Inscription: Built in 1885 as a private residence, Old Brewster Hospital and Nursing Training School was the first medical facility to serve Jacksonville’s African-American community. Located in the LaVilla neighborhood, the hospital opened in 1901 through the efforts of the Women’s Home Missionary Society of Read More …
The Jacksonville City Council just voted unanimously in favor of adding baseball legend Hank Aaron’s name to a local ballpark Aaron had ties to Northeast Florida, playing one season for the Jacksonville Braves at J.P Small Park. The new name of the park will be Read More …
Inscription. On Saturday, August 27,1960, 40 Youth Council demonstrators from the Jacksonville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) advised by local civil rights leader Rutledge H. Pearson (1929-1967), sat in at the W.T. Grant Department Store, then located at Read More …
Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play baseball in the Major Leagues, played his first Minor League exhibition game with the Montreal Royals against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Daytona Beach on this date in 1946. The following season, Robinson was called up to the Read More …
Sculptor Augusta Christine Savage (née Fells) was born in Green Gove Springs on February 29, 1892. Savage was considered a preeminent contributor to the Harlem Renaissance movement of the early twentieth century. Her work was featured in many prominent shows, including the 1939 New York Read More …
Ten years after the Great Fire Jacksonville’s population had nearly doubled to 57,699. 29,293 were black, 28,329 were white. Churches, schools, businesses, a new city hall, a new library, skyscrapers, and many other buildings had been built with more going up every day. The city’s Read More …
Our Black History Month celebration continues by celebrating Black Artists in Jacksonville. Art by Maiya Elaine is a rising artist in Jacksonville. She attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts where she learned theatre tech, set design, lighting, sound, costume and prop making, and focused Read More …
Photographs from The Crisis, the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Front Inscription.The Afro-American Insurance Company, formerly the Afro-American Industrial and Benefits Association, was founded in 1901 to provide affordable health insurance and death benefits to the state’s African-Americans. Read More …
We continue our celebration of Black History Month by highlighting local Black Artists and their art. Traci Mims Artist is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida currently living and working in Jacksonville, Florida. She says “Art has always been a part of my Read More …
Our Black History Month celebration continues by highlighting Black artists and Black art in the community. Did you know that the Jacksonville Public Library has an original Augusta Savage sculpture? The piece, whose title is unknown, is available in the Special Collections Department for the Read More …
As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we will highlight local Black artists & art like Christopher Clark, Cooli Ras Art all month long. Since selling his first piece at Downtown Vision, Inc. Art Walk 8 years ago, we have seen much more of Read More …
To celebrate Black History Month, we want to recognize local black artists & art around our great city. The latest works from Jacksonville native Keith Doles, Artist are great additions to our JaxParks . Keith recently completed an amazing mural on the basketball court at Read More …
They called him the Black Swallow, and from the beginning of his life, all he wanted to do was get to France. He was born in Georgia, his father a former slave from Haiti, his mother full-blooded Creek. He ran away while still a child, Read More …
December 31, 1862 the people of the United States waited through the night to see if President Abraham Lincoln would issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the states of rebellion. Lincoln had first shared a draft of his Emancipation Proclamation with his Cabinet early Read More …
Wendell Scott raced into history on Dec. 1, 1963 at Speedway Park on the west-side of Jacksonville. That was the day he became the first black man to win a NASCAR race in the Grand National Series. Richard Petty was the favorite to win the Read More …