In the northeast corner of Florida, Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. Sitting on the St. John’s River and the Atlantic Ocean, the city has a long storyline, from the time of the original inhabitants, the Timucua people, to the occupation by the French, Spanish, British, and finally, the United States. With all that history comes a rich Black history in Jacksonville that visitors can still learn about today via these seven ways.
Disclosure: I was provided complimentary admission and tours to several locations below. All opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links. I may earn compensation when you click on the links. There’s no charge to you and helps keep the site up and running.
Kingsley Plantation
Important Note: I do not generally promote, visit or tour plantations. Most plantations in the southern United States romanticize what were death and torture camps for those they enslaved and do not tell the whole story of every human being that lived there. There are several exceptions to this. Kingsley Plantation is one of them, which makes it an important part of Black history in Jacksonville.
Photo courtesy of jshanebut – depositphotos
Located on Fort George Island, Kingsley Plantation is the oldest plantation home remaining in the state. In addition to the original main house, slave cabins remain on site, which is a rarity. Initially, the plantation was on the entire island. Today, the site is part of the National Park Service as the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
Owned by different people over the years, the plantation’s name comes from Zephaniah Kingsley. A complex man, Kingsley was a slave trader in his younger years. Yet, as a plantation owner, he let his enslaved hire themselves out and eventually purchase their freedom at half of their value. He also married an African woman, Anna Jai, whom he had also bought and enslaved, freed five years later and left her a substation inheritance in his will. Their descendants include the founder of American Beach, located north of Jacksonville, which was once a beach resort for African Americans during segregation.
Visitors to the National Park location can tour the main house (at limited times to preserve the structure), listen to an audio tour about the history or hike along some of the island’s trails.
Black History in Jacksonville Tour with Explore Jax Core
What’s a better way to get a good city overview than on a driving tour? Even better – a tour from an enthusiastic guide in an electric cart! Then, be sure you take a tour with Explore Jax Core.
Owned by Yollie Copland, who also conducts the tours, Explore Jax Core takes visitors on a city tour that is rarely told. The two-hour tour in a street-legal, open-sided electric vehicle takes you around areas of the city once known as the ‘Harlem of the South.’ From the neighborhoods where Black millionaires once had their mansions to churches, sports venues, and murals, Yollie covers it.
Tours start at James Weldon Johnson Park, the oldest park in the city. At one time, it was home to a Confederate statue that in 2020 was removed. Renamed for the famous Jacksonville native, it is now a location for festivals, gatherings, and families to enjoy. Across the street, you’ll see a mural that honors Augusta Savage, a Black female sculptor from the area. Savage was part of the Harlem Renaissance and created the people’s harp for the 1939 New York World’s Fair depicted in the mural. From there, you’ll head to the St. John’s River, used by enslaved people escaping bondage, and visit various locations throughout the city. Some are still standing, some are just memories, but they’re all important parts of Black history in Jacksonville.
Enjoy Food and Drinks at Black Owned Venues
What’s a tour of a city without exploring some food and drinks? In Jacksonville, there are many restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops and other food service establishments owned by African Americans. Thankfully, the team at Visit Jacksonville has compiled a list! One of my favorites was Silkies Chicken & Champagne Bar. Owned by renowned chef Kenny Gilbert, Silkies offers upscale food in a relaxed atmosphere. From fried chicken and waffles to biscuits, sides, and cobblers, there’s comfort food for everyone. And remember to try one of their signature mimosas.
Durkeeville Historical Society and Museum
A historic section of the city, Durkeeville was originally the first public housing in Jacksonville. Built in 1936 to segregate Blacks from living near whites, it became an essential part of the African American community. Don’t let the term’ public housing’ throw you. Durkeeville was known for being a model community that had a street car, restaurants and clubs, and even Durkee Field, where the Jacksonville Red Caps, a Negro League team, played. Durkee Field was so famous that the first Florida-Georgia college football game and the first Golden Gloves boxing tournament were played there. In the 1970s, after the elimination of Jim Crow laws and the interstate cutting through the neighborhood, things deteriorated until the late 1990s when residents founded the Durkeeville Historical Society to tell the area’s history. Today, visitors can tour the museum and learn about the area’s rich history.
Ritz Theater & Museum
Built in 1929 as a movie theater for African American residents in the LaVilla neighborhood, the Ritz Theater closed in the 1970s. In 1999, it reopened as the Ritz Theater & Museum, which seats 400 and is a museum honoring Black history in the area. In its original life, the second floor also housed a local radio station on the second floor. Today, visitors can see many artifacts depicting life as an African American during the Ritz’s operation. There are displays showing barbershops, rooms in homes and offices representing Black history in Jacksonville. There are also items from Bullet Bob Hayes, the only man to have won an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring, and works from civil rights activist and composer James Weldon Johnson, who wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” later known as the Negro National Anthem.
Eartha M. M. White Museum
Women in the late 19th Century were often seen but didn’t have a voice. Black women were even more constrained. This did not apply to Eartha Mary Magdalene White. Born to a formerly enslaved person, she was adopted at an early age by Clara White and learned to help those in Jacksonville who were less fortunate. As an adult, Ms. White had many interests, including opera singing around the country and in Europe. However, she chose to return to Jacksonville and founded the Clara White Mission. Today, the mission and the Eartha M. M. White Museum tell the story of these remarkable women while still helping those in need in Jacksonville.
Norman Studios
At one time in the early 20th Century, Jacksonville was the ‘Winter Film Capitol of the World.’ Three hundred films were made in the city between 1907 and 1917 before filmmakers discovered Los Angeles was a better location weather-wise. That didn’t stop director Richard Norman from purchasing what is known as Norman Studios to produce what was at the time called race films. Norman’s six silent films, with all Black casts, were very popular. However, only one, The Flying Ace, is the only Norman Studios film still in existence. Today, the five buildings on site comprise a National Historic Landmark. They are the only complete silent movie complex in the United States. Making it a very important part of Black history in Jacksonville. While the studios are still being restored and not open all year to visitors, they hold events onsite and have an online museum.
Share on Pinterest!
You May Also Like
