African American Heritage Project Hosts Outreach Meeting

An additional community outreach meeting for Mayor Foster’s African American Heritage Project initiative will be held at Bethel Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, 3455 26th Ave. S., on June 19, beginning at 6 p.m.

According to a city news release, the community outreach meetings are designed to inform residents of the project and collect additional information to develop the scope and sites for the project. The project will be completed in two phases. Phase One will be a walking tour of historic sites on 22nd Street and Ninth Avenue South and the adjacent areas and Phase Two will be preparing walking tours for other significant African American sites throughout the city. The Steering Committee has prepared a preliminary list of sites to be included in Phase One.

The public is invited to attend the June 19 meeting to view and comment on the preliminary list –and to bring any relevant information such as newspaper articles, photographs or memorabilia related to the buildings and businesses along 22nd Street or Ninth Avenue S. Any photographs of friends, family, or events taken along these streets or in front of any significant churches or schools would be extremely useful. City staff has a process in place to nominate people, places and sites for inclusion in the project as well as to collect, catalogue and return items to their owners at a later date.

The Heritage project was initiated in August 2011 to examine the rich history of African Americans in St. Petersburg. The city’s Historic Preservation staff has been conducting preliminary archival research as well as reviewing books, maps and a variety of other resources to identify historically significant people, places and buildings associated with the African American community. The Community Outreach movement for this project was launched in February 2012 to receive input on the preliminary findings as well as receive suggestions, resources and materials from the community.

The African American Heritage Project Steering Committee was formed as a resource and guide to the City on this project. The Friends of the African American Heritage Project group is comprised of residents and historians who have expressed an interest in obtaining information or contributing to the project. City support includes the Business Assistance Center and Historic Preservation staff.  For further information, contact Aimee Angel at 727-892-5470.