I AM: The story of the Gas Plant Neighborhood
The area known as the Gas Plant neighborhood was the second African-American neighborhood formed in St. Petersburg between 1890-1900. By…
I AM Eugene H. McLin
By Gwendolyn Reese Eugene H. McLin was city recreational director, football coach, baseball official, sports writer for the St. Petersburg…
I AM: Midwives
Mary E. Brown By Gwendolyn Reese The word midwife comes from the Old English words mid, “with” and wif, “woman.” The word…
I AM: Joseph E. Savage
Joseph E. Savage spearheaded the 1968 garbage strike in St. Pete. By Gwendolyn Reese Joseph E. Savage, a sanitation worker, spearheaded a…
I AM: The blank wall in city hall
On Dec. 29, 1966, Joseph Waller – now known as Omali Yeshitela — stripped the mural from the wall as he was leaving the building.…
I AM: Commemorating 150 years of Black history in Pinellas County
John Donaldson aboard an ox cart in 1885. By Gwendolyn Reese I haven’t forgotten part 2 of the story of Mercy Hospital, but Senator…
I AM: Emanuel M.W. Stewart
Durning Emanuel M. W. Stewart’s tenure at Gibbs High School, the school received its first full accreditation and became a member of…
I AM: The Manhattan Casino, part 2
William H. “Buddy” West was a barber, a tailor and a promoter at the Manhattan. He is credited with bringing in Louis Armstrong…
I AM: The Manhattan Casino, part I
Rosalie Peck and Major Kelly dancing at a Club 16 event held at the Manhattan Casino. Club 16 was one of the city’s leading…
I AM: Joseph L. Lovett Sr.
Joseph Lovett, Jr., son of Gibbs chief custodian Lovett Sr., with his family in the 1970s On May 29, 1959, a headline in the St. Petersburg…
I AM: A person with a building named after me, part 2
Olive B. McLin was an educator for more than 40 years, community activist, cultural arbitrator, and accomplished pianist By Gwendolyn Reese…
I AM: A person with a building named after me
I AM Freddie Dyles, educator and basketball coach. In 1964, I joined Gibbs High School as a teacher and a coach. In 1966, Gibbs became the…
I AM: Our communities
The Orange Belt Railway came to St. Petersburg in 1888. Black workers built the beds and laid the rails. Gwendolyn Reese The first…
Mercy Hospital and its pioneering physicians
By Gwendolyn Reese I would like to thank you for your patience during a very challenging time for me. Six weeks ago, I had a terrible fall…
I AM Parker Watson
The Parker Watson lynching brought outcries from a number of people including St. Petersburg ministers. By Gwendolyn Reese Parker Watson…
I AM: John Evans
John Evans was brutally lynched and shot on Nov. 12, 1914, by a mob of 1,500 white men, women and children. Photo courtesy of the City of…
I AM: The James Weldon Johnson Branch Library
Kevin W. Johnson, vice president of the Friends of Johnson Branch Library, leads a group of scholars in a march around the James Weldon…
I AM Rosalie Peck
Author and poet Rosalie Peck co-wrote ‘St. Petersburg’s Historic 22nd Street South’ and ‘St. Petersburg’s Historic…
I AM: Lonnie Donaldson
Political activist Lonnie Donaldson By Gwendolyn Reese Lonnie Donaldson was a revered name among community and political activists. He…
I AM: Perkins T. Shelton
Perkins T. Shelton was a political and civil rights activist and a staunch defender of justice and equality. By Gwendolyn Reese Perkins T.…
I AM: Gibbs Junior High School
Pictured, Gibbs Senior High School By Gwendolyn Reese The Tampa Bay Times, as does many other newspapers, offers limited access to past…
I AM: Black education in early St. Pete
Before Gibbs High School opened in 1927, Pinellas County had no school for Blacks students past the sixth grade. By Gwendolyn Reese In…
I AM: Iveta Jones Martin-Berry
Iveta Jones Martin-Berry was a pharmacist and community activist. By Gwendolyn Reese Iveta Jones Martin-Berry was a St. Petersburg native…
I AM: Fred G. Minnis, Sr.
Fred G. Minnis Sr. is often called the grandfather of African-American lawyers in Pinellas County. By Gwendolyn Reese Born in 1912, Fred…
I AM: Rosa Jackson
Rosa Jackson served Thanksgiving dinners for 23 years to anyone who was hungry until her death in 1996 at the age of 73. By Gwendolyn…
Memorable Moments in African-American History
By Gwendolyn Reese During the process of researching the community ancestors you’ve been reading about these last few months, I found an…
I AM: John ‘Geech’ Black
John Black opened Geech’s in the 1930s and sold it in 1973. By Gwendolyn Reese John “Geech” Black was the owner of Geech’s…
I AM: Bishop John L. Copeland
John L.Copeland was a pastor at Macedonia Free Will Baptist Church for about 23 years and was elevated to bishop by his denomination about…
I AM: John Hopkins Sr.
Mr. John Hopkins Sr. seen here receiving one of his many awards. By Gwendolyn Reese John Hopkins Sr. was born October 16, 1911, in…
I AM: Emanuel M.W. Stewart
During Emanuel M. W. Stewart’s tenure at Gibbs High School, the school received its first full accreditation and became a member of…
I AM: Louise Graham
Louise Graham founded the Florence Nightingale Circle in 1952 to help developmentally disabled persons become self-sufficient. After her…
I AM: Norman E. Jones Sr.
Norman Jones Sr. was a photographer, publicist, journalist, entrepreneur, and political conservative whose controversial opinions on racial…
I AM: Sidney Harden Sr.
Sidney Harden Sr.’s grocery store was a mainstay in the Black Community for decades. By Gwendolyn Reese Sidney Harden, Sr. came to…
I AM: Cecil B. Keene, Sr.
Cecil B. Keene Sr. dedicated his life to education, serving students in Pinellas County and throughout the state of Florida. By Gwendolyn…
I AM: George W. Perkins
George Wesley Perkins will be remembered as one of the early African-American pioneer educators of St. Petersburg. By Gwendolyn Reese…
I AM: Marie Yopp
Marie Yopp became the first Black registered nurse at the Pinellas County Health Department Negro Health Clinic. By Gwendolyn Reese Marie…
I AM: Alvin J. ‘Al’ Downing
Famed Tuskegee Airmen, Alvin J. “Al” Downing, was an influential jazz musician, bandleader, and Gibbs High School educator. By…
I AM: Rev. Enoch Davis
Rev. Enoch Davis with Rev. Wayne G. Thompson in the 1970s. By Gwendolyn Reese On Oct. 27, 2017, The Weekly Challenger newspaper celebrated…