My friend Charles Thompson organized new housing for the African Americans of Sarasota called Newtown.
In the Sarasota Herald Tribune on April 16, 1914, the following appeared:
"Newtown is the latest addition to the map of the Sarasota district. It is a subdivision designed for colored people by C. N. Thompson and located east of the Seaboard tracks, about three-fourths of a mile north of the city limits. Lots are being sold on small weekly payments and funds for building will be available after the lots are paid for. The tract consists of about seventeen acres, divided in 96 lots; and is on a line with the extension to be made on Orange Avenue under the next county bond issue."
In Newtown, three institutions were most important: school, church and home. Church services were held in homes until sanctuaries were constructed. Children were educated in the churches, and they were places where residents could exercise control over their own destiny and build self-esteem. The segregated south did not provide such amenities.
Most African Americans who came to Sarasota in the past century, came looking for a way to better their lives. From the onset, they faced the stiff challenges of racism and segregation, and they had to work menial jobs.
Clearly, an indomitable spirit emerged out of their struggle.
African Americans have a long heritage in the region, starting with the maroon community of Angola and individuals coming throughout the mid-19th century. The first settlement was near today's downtown, segregated by state law and became known as Black Bottom. It grew to become known as Overtown.
The community shifted northward to Newtown over the 20th century. Wherever they lived. African Americans in Sarasota raised families, worked, and made as-yet-untold contributions to this region. Newtown Alive is starting to tell those stories.
Sarasota's First Black Settlers
Lewis Colson came to Sarasota with his wife Irene. He drove the first stake into the ground to assist Richard Paulson in platting the town of Sarasota at Five Points in 1885. In 1897, the Colson's sold the deed for the land to build Bethlehem Baptist Church for $1, and soon after it was built, Lewis was appointed as the first minister. The Bethlehem Baptist Church was the first church built by and for African Americans. John Mays, a carpenter and builder helped complete the construction of the church. Between 1899 and 1937, twelve more African American churches are founded.
In 1900, Leonard Reid (seen above driving Blanche Gillespie) arrived in Sarasota from South Carolina. He graduated as valedictorian from Savannah Normal School before coming to Sarasota where he became a community leader. In 1902, Sarasota is incorporated. Colonel John Hamilton Gillespie is elected as the first mayor. Leonard Reid worked for Col. Gillespie and assisted in designing Sarasota’s first golf course and became its first greenskeeper. In 1903, Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was the second church built by and for African Americans. Leonard Reid and wife Eddye Coleman were influential in forming this church.
Wright Bush was born in Georgia in 1863. He moved to Sarasota and built a single-family home (seen above) on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way (then 33rd Street) in 1920. Bush was an entrepreneur, owned land and sold tracts of real estate. The home still exists and was part of a community restoration painting project in 2018. In 1910, Josie Washington opened the first kindergarten in her home. Lucinda Wiggins also started a home-based school. In 1912, the first formal school facility for African American children was established in the Knights of Pythias Hall. Emma Edwina Booker, who Wright Bush helped to recruit, became the principal. In the year of 1937, Emma E. Booker obtained her bachelor’s degree after 20 years of part-time study. During that same period, she was a school principal and teacher.
Some text and images on this page courtesy of NewtownAlive.org with thanks.
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