Featured image for “BIT OF JOY | Lincolnville mural”
A mural by a local artist celebrating Lincolnville's history was recently unveiled. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
February 25, 2025

BIT OF JOY | Lincolnville mural

St. Augustine muralist Nancy Christensen unveiled a new mural this month on the side of the Corner Market building in…

Featured image for “Johnnie Mae Chappell honored 61 years after her murder”
Shelton Chappell, left; Jacqueline Williams and Alonzo Chappell are among the surviving children of Johnnie Mae Chappell. Racists murdered their mother March 23, 1964, nine days after Jacqueline turned 13. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 21, 2025

Johnnie Mae Chappell honored 61 years after her murder

A memorial marker now stands where racists gunned down the 35-year-old Black woman on March 23, 1964.…

Featured image for “‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ highlights Jacksonville’s past and promise”
Members of the Lift Every Voice and Sing Children’s Choir as well as The Ritz Voices are captured moments before they sing Lift Every Voice and Sing as part of a 125th anniversary celebration for the song inside The Bethel Church on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 13, 2025

‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ highlights Jacksonville’s past and promise

On its 125th anniversary, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is being celebrated with five days of events and programming.…

Featured image for “OPINION | Battle of Olustee, now a celebration, was infamous for its cruelty to Black troops”
Battle of Olustee drawing circa 1864 | State Archives of Florida
February 9, 2025

OPINION | Battle of Olustee, now a celebration, was infamous for its cruelty to Black troops

The annual Battle of Olustee reenactment and festivities are Feb. 14 through 16.…

Featured image for “‘Lift Every Voice’: February festival will celebrate Black National Anthem written in Jacksonville”
The title of the song written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, stand tall on one end of the park honoring the men at their birthplace in Jacksonville's historic LaVilla community. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
January 30, 2025

‘Lift Every Voice’: February festival will celebrate Black National Anthem written in Jacksonville

Perhaps the most famous song ever written in Jacksonville was a call to action when it was written. Sharon Coon…

Featured image for “Jacksonville cemetery reveals a forgotten history”
Graves at Mount Herman Cemetery in Jacksonville. | WUFT
December 11, 2024

Jacksonville cemetery reveals a forgotten history

Beneath the Emmett Reed Community Center lies the site of Mount Herman Cemetery, a historic burial ground from the 1880s.…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | Ray Charles in Jacksonville”
November 12, 2024

THE JAXSON | Ray Charles in Jacksonville

Here are six sites associated with Ray Charles’ time as an up-and-coming musician in Jacksonville.…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | 9 historic Durkeeville photographs”
October 8, 2024

THE JAXSON | 9 historic Durkeeville photographs

During the early 20th century, the greater Durkeeville community became a segregation-era hub of Black culture, business and social life…

Featured image for “OPINION | The Mathews Bridge needs a name that reflects all of Jacksonville”
The Mathews Bridge as seen from Talleyrand on Sept. 9, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 10, 2024

OPINION | The Mathews Bridge needs a name that reflects all of Jacksonville

The bridge’s namesake, John E. Mathews, was quoted in 1920 as saying: “This is a white man’s country and government.”…

Featured image for “The Beatles integrated their Jacksonville concert 60 years ago this week. An event gives a look back”
The Beatles speak on Sept. 11, 1964, at Jacksonville's George Washington Hotel, where they did not book rooms in protest of the hotel's segregation policy. They had also refused to perform at the Gator Bowl until they were assured that the audience would not be segregated by race at the concert. | Vern Barchard, via Florida State Archives
September 9, 2024

The Beatles integrated their Jacksonville concert 60 years ago this week. An event gives a look back

On Thursday, Sept. 12, a tribute cover band and two noted historians will revisit what was the first major racially…

Featured image for “Black historical society creates Freedom School to close knowledge gaps in Jacksonville”
Christina McNair will serve as one of the educators for the James Weldon Johnson ASALH chapter's Freedom School. McNair is a retired science teacher and educator who has lived in Jacksonville for nearly 50 years. | Will Brown, Jacaksonville Today
September 6, 2024

Black historical society creates Freedom School to close knowledge gaps in Jacksonville

Freedom School is designed to help school-aged children, and their families, learn about Black history.…

Featured image for “Highway 17 North Heritage Trail celebrates local icons”
A. Philip Randolph, one of the chairmen for the March On Washington, stands in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial after a parade through the streets of the capital, Aug. 28, 1963.
July 25, 2024

Highway 17 North Heritage Trail celebrates local icons

The trail will preserve the legacies of Augusta Savage, A. Philip Randolph, and brothers James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson.…

Featured image for “MLK’s nephew preaches at St. Augustine church where King delivered sermon 60 years ago”
The Rev. Derek Barber King preaches from inside the pulpit at St. Paul AME Church in St. Augustine on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. He is joined in the pulpit by St. Paul AME pastor the Rev. Alesia Ford-Burse, left; the Rev. Cerita Battles, and Beverly Troutman. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 16, 2024

MLK’s nephew preaches at St. Augustine church where King delivered sermon 60 years ago

The younger King started his remarks by referencing his uncle’s most famous words.…

Featured image for “Waves of Change: Civil rights demonstrators return to St. Augustine”
The St. Johns Cultural Council recognized Purcell Conway and Shed Dawson for their participation in the St. Augustine Beach wade-ins in June 1964. Their efforts to integrate a whites-only beach was part of a series of demonstrations during Freedom Summer. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 6, 2024

Waves of Change: Civil rights demonstrators return to St. Augustine

Protesters Shed Dawson and Purcell Conway are honored as a new museum exhibit commemorates wade-ins at a whites-only beach.…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | The Chitlin’ Circuit and barbecue in Jacksonville”
May 21, 2024

THE JAXSON | The Chitlin’ Circuit and barbecue in Jacksonville

While the Chitlin’ Circuit is generally recognized for its musical contributions to society, in honor of National Barbecue Month, barbecue…

Featured image for “St. Augustine in driver’s seat for Black history museum”
St. Johns County leaders have identified a West Augustine site, near the former location of Florida Memorial College, as a potential home for a Florida Museum of Black History. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 19, 2024

St. Augustine in driver’s seat for Black history museum

The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force named St. Augustine as one of its top three locations to house…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Jacksonville Alumnae Chapter welcomes first new Deltas in a decade”
March 26, 2024

PHOTO ESSAY | Jacksonville Alumnae Chapter welcomes first new Deltas in a decade

After 10 years, the Jacksonville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta welcomed new members in front of a cross section…

Featured image for “Edward Waters president battles old HBCU perceptions as university grows”
Edward Waters University has been located in Jacksonville's New Town neighborhood since 1904. The university has called Jacksonville home since 1982. | Ben Brown, Special to Jacksonville Today
March 4, 2024

Edward Waters president battles old HBCU perceptions as university grows

For Faison, outdated impressions of Edward Waters are especially irksome as he leads the university through historic firsts.…

Featured image for “New trolley stop called a ‘game changer’ for Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center”
Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine will add a trolley stop in front of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center in February 2024. The move was part of a communitywide effort to embrace St. Augustine's Black history. | Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine
February 19, 2024

New trolley stop called a ‘game changer’ for Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

Old Town Trolley Tours and Attractions will add a stop at the museum to help St. Augustine promote its historic…

Featured image for “OPINION | Joy is not an afterthought”
Beyonce performs in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 4, 2016. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
February 14, 2024

OPINION | Joy is not an afterthought

I write a lot about the ongoing injuries to Black people to connect the dots of history to this present…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | 6 Black cultural heritage sites to visit in town”
February 6, 2024

THE JAXSON | 6 Black cultural heritage sites to visit in town

In honor of Black History Month, here are six historic African American cultural heritage destinations in Jacksonville to visit.…

Featured image for “Remembering Harriet Beecher Stowe in her former community”
A photograph of Harriet Beecher Stowe and her family in front of their Mandarin Road cottage. | Mandarin Community Club
February 6, 2024

Remembering Harriet Beecher Stowe in her former community

A pavilion along Mandarin Road will mirror the architecture of the long-gone cottage where one of Mandarin’s most historic figures…

Featured image for “Visit St. Augustine unveils Black history app”
An Emancipation Proclamation parade proceeds through St. Augustine circa 1922. | St. Augustine Historical Society
February 5, 2024

Visit St. Augustine unveils Black history app

Visit St. Augustine announced the app Monday in an effort to spotlight the extensive history of African-descended people in the…

Featured image for “Fort Mose begins reconstruction of 18th century community”
Fort Mose State Park is the site of the first free African community in what is now the United States. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
January 19, 2024

Fort Mose begins reconstruction of 18th century community

More than 100 people gathered Friday to break ground on a reconstruction of Fort Mose, the first free African settlement…