USPS Publication Number 16300
THE
SUMMATIONWeeklyy
This Community Newspaper is a publication of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association
S E RV I N G T H E F I RS T J U D I C I A L C I RC U I T Vol. 24, No. 7
February 14, 2024
SummationWeekly.com
1 Section, 8 Pages
Section A, Page 1
HONORING PENSACOLA’S BLACK HISTORY Courtesy of Visit Pensacola
T
his vacation hotspot might be best known for its sugarwhite b eaches and turquoise water, but beyond its postcard beauty lies a rich and diverse history. In honor of Black History Month, here are eight important historical landmarks commemorating the struggles,triumphs and contributions of the Black community in Pensacola
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SITES: PENSACOLA PASS & FORT BARRANCAS In 2021, two sites in Pensacola were named to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom is a federal program that commemorates the stories of the men and women who risked everything for freedom and those who helped them. It honors, preserves and promotes the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight worldwide. In the mid-1800s, Pensacola Pass formed part of a transportation route for freedom seekers sailing on the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers sailed to destinations like the Bahamas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to gain freedom. Fort Barrancas Area, commonly called the Barrancas during the Civil War, became a destination for freedom seekers in 1863. At the Barrancas, the Union maintained a military post—which included the Spanish Water Battery, Fort Barrancas and Advanced Redoubt—for recruiting, training and staging white and Black soldiers. Some freedom seekers became soldiers in the United States Colored Troops, playing an important role in the fight to restore the Union and destroy slavery.
BELMONT-DEVILLIERS NEIGHBORHOOD This historically Black neighborhood came to prominence during the early 20th century, when segregation and mounting racial tension pushed Pensacola’s Black residents out of the city center. The neighborhood, clustered around the intersection of Belmont and DeVilliers streets, became a thriving commercial hub. It was also a prominent stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit—a network of mostly Blackownedentertainment venues that sprung to life during segregation and nurtured the careers of some of the biggest names in American music. In 2019, the area was named a spot on the historic Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker recognizes the works of those in the neighborhood dedicated to fostering the growth and appreciation of the Blues including Gussie Streeter of Gussie’s Record Shop and Abe Pierce Sr., of Abe’s 506 and Savoy Ballroom. Today, more than 200 markers have been placed throughout the southeast region to promote the understanding of blues history.
JULEE PANTON HOUSE IN HISTORIC PENSACOLA VILLAGE Julee Panton was a free Black woman who owned a home in downtown Pensacola in the early 1800s, during the slavery era. Historians write that she acquired her simple, wood-framed house, builtin 1805, for $300. Panton operated her own business selling candles and pastries, but she is also believed to have helped many slaves to escape to freedom. Her home is now called Julee Cottage and is part of Historic Pensacola Village, a complex of historic homes and buildings in downtown operated by the University of West Florida Historic Trust. Patton’s cottage, now on E. Zaragoza Street, is the only surviving Pensacola home reminiscent of the urban Creole architecture of the French Quarter in New Orleans. It now
houses an exhibit on Black history in West Florida.
GENERAL DANIEL “CHAPPIE” JAMES MUSEUM & FLIGHT ACADEMY Daniel “Chappie” James was born in Pensacola in 1920, during the height of the Jim Crow era. His mother, Lillie James, ran a private school for Black children out of her home in Pensacola’s Eastside neighborhood. From an early age, James knew the value of hard work and education — values that would serve him well later in life. James went on to become one of the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” during World War II, and later, the nation’s first Black four-star general. Today, a memorial plaza stands on the site of James’ childhood home — along with the original concrete stoop, emblazoned with the words, “Chappie’s first steps.” The memorial is a palpable reminder of the strength and perseverance of Pensacola’s Black community — even in the face of overwhelming odds. In 2018, James’s childhood home, located at 1608 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in downtown Pensacola, was opened as General Daniel “Chappie” James Museum and Flight Academy. PENSACOLA LUNCH COUNTER SIT-INS The Pensacola Lunch Counter Sit-Ins led to the integration of downtown cafes. From 1960 to 1962, protestors conducted sit-ins at downtown Pensacola department store lunch counters, demanding the restaurants be integrated. The events are commemorated in a historical marker located on Palafox Place near Garden Street in downtown Pensacola, outside the former site of Woolworth’s department store. “Confronted by hecklers, they (the protestors) were physically and verbally harassed and even arrested on falsified charges,” according to the marker. As a result of the sit-
ins, and an accompanying boycott of downtown businesses, the lunch counters were finally integrated on March 12, 1962.
JOHNSON BEACH – ARMY PVT. ROSAMOND JOHNSON, JR. Army Pvt. Rosamond Johnson Jr. was only 15 years old when he enlisted in the army and only 17 years old when he saved two soldiers in battle during the Korean War on July 26, 1950. While attempting to save a third, Johnson was killed, marking him as the first Black soldier and first resident of Escambia County to be killed in the Korean War. At the time of his death, most Pensacola Bay Area beaches were not open to Blacks except for one in Perdido Key. The beach was accordingly renamed in his honor and remains to this day a part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. *Gulf Islands National Seashore is currently working on a project to enhance the visitor experience and decrease habitat impacts in the Perdido Key Area. Johnson Beach Road (beyond the parking lot) will be closed until March 2024. MIDDLE PASSAGE OF PENSACOLA/AFRICAN PRESENCE IN COLONIAL PENSACOLA MARKER Located at the end of Plaza de Luna on Palafox Street, the marker commemorates Pensacola as a Middle Passage port during the largest forced migration in history and the role it played in the transportation of 12 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the Americas. More closely, the historical marker highlights the significant African presence in colonial Pensacola where the “influence and contributions of African children, women, men and their descendants in creating our nation and this region began,” the marker reads. As documented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization Slave Trade Route Project, two million enslaved Africans died during the journey and 500,000 were delivered directly to the North American mainland. Pensacola is one of 28 documented sites of memory for slave arrivals in the United States and the upbringing of this historical marker was recognized through the nonprofit Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. THE ELLA JORDAN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM There are approximately 35,000 museums in the United States, of those, approximately 150 focus on African American studies and/or history. From that 150, less than ten are focused on African American Women’s history. Located at 423 N. C St. in downtown Pensacola, the Ella Jordan African American History Museum was established to honor the significant political, social and economic contributions of African American women in our community throughout our history, particularly that of Ms. Ella L Jordan. This museum preserves the history of the women’s stories, captures the historical importance of place and positions this history to reinstate the philanthropic work of women to support the youth of tomorrow. Although the immediate area is still predominantly a Black neighborhood, several blocks away residents are young people, many of which are first-time home owners with a desire to live in diverse neighborhoods. The Ella Jordan African American History Museum is a vibrant, eclectic, educational community center highlighting Black women’s history and a one-of-its kind in Pensacola and the nation. Today, as in the past, travelers have the opportunity to learn and participate in Black history that has had a profound influence on the Pensacola Bay Area and its culture.■
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