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New SAAC Updates for Reid House and more!

March 29, 2023

Here are some SAAC updates about our current programs, events, and efforts to convert a historic house into an African American arts, culture, and history center in Sarasota. Our momentum

Sarasota African American Arts and Cultural Center designer receives unique donation

October 24, 2022

Sarasota Herald-Tribune Juan Self is the designer and architect for the Sarasota African American Cultural Center (SAACC), a center and museum planned for the heart of Sarasota’s historically Black neighborhood of Newtown.

Baseball Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil’s legacy honored with Key to the City of Sarasota

August 16, 2022

Sarasota Herald-Tribune The enduring legacy of John “Buck” O’Neil was honored with the Key to the City of Sarasota on July 24 to celebrate his induction into the National Baseball

YourObserver.com: Historic Leonard Reid House on the move to Newtown

May 30, 2022

After it arrives from the Rosemary District to its new site in Newtown, the home of the “right-hand man” to Sarasota’s first mayor will become home to a new Sarasota

WTSP Tampa Bay 10: Leonard Reid’s descendant speaks as house moves to become a museum

May 30, 2022

Reid’s house would be moved to a new location on Orange Avenue at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Way in Newtown early Friday morning. The City of Sarasota joined by

WTSP Tampa Bay 10: Historic Leonard Reid house set to move to Newtown on Friday

May 30, 2022

Reid helped set up Sarasota’s first black community in Overtown. The house would be the first home for the Sarasota African American Art Center and History Museum. This Friday, the

ABC 7: Sarasota historic home to be moved to new location

May 30, 2022

The City of Sarasota has announced that the historic Leonard Reid house will be relocated this week to City-owned property in North Sarasota. There, the structure will become the first

Fox 13 Tampa Bay: Historic Leonard Reid home relocated to new location in Sarasota to preserve history

May 30, 2022

History was literally on the move in Sarasota during the overnight hours. Crews drove the Leonard Reid house from its original spot in Newtown to a location in north Sarasota. It

Herald Tribune: Home of African American trailblazer Leonard Reid relocated to the heart of Newtown

May 30, 2022

The history of Sarasota’s African American early settlers can be traced back to one name in the historic Overtown community, Leonard Reid. The Reid home was built in 1926. The

Sarasota Magazine: Historic Leonard Reid House Will Be Relocated to Newtown This Week

May 30, 2022

The structure will become the first home for Sarasota African American Art Center and History Museum. On Friday, May 27, the historic Leonard Reid house will be relocated this week

Sun, sand and civil rights: Uncovering Black history at the beach and beyond

March 21, 2022

Sarasota, Florida’s white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters draw visitors from far and wide, but they weren’t always so welcoming. “Few of our guests, our international and domestic tourists who come

The Soul of Sarasota | Greater Sarasota Video

March 21, 2022

Building on her roots in the black church in Newtown, Melanie Lavender turned to writing and performing spoken word as a way to heal from multiple tragedies. She continues to

SUNDAY ‘NOIRE: Black Historian Shares The Hidden History Of Newtown, A Historically Black Neighborhood In Florida

March 20, 2022

Deep within Sarasota, Florida lies the historic neighborhood of Newtown, a community where thousands of African American residents flocked in the early 1900s. The Black community built their own safe

Home carrying legacy of Sarasota’s first Black community to be relocated, transformed for cultural center

March 20, 2022

SARASOTA, Fla. – A home in Sarasota‘s Rosemary District will soon carry the legacy of the city’s first Black community. Plans are in the works to transform it into an

A coalition is teaching Sarasotans about African American history, as it waits to open a museum

March 20, 2022

HERALD TRIBUNE- Vickie Oldham wants Sarasotans to understand the courage and dignity of the African American residents who built Sarasota’s infrastructure. Black laborers built the railroad that ran through downtown

The Soul of Sarasota

February 13, 2022

Greater Sarasota Building on her roots in the black church in Newtown, Melanie Lavender turned to writing and performing spoken word as a way to heal from multiple tragedies. She

Sun, Sand and civil rights: Uncovering Black history at the beach and beyond

February 13, 2022

A New Museum Will Bring to Light the Often-Forgotten Role of African Americans in Sarasota

February 13, 2022

Sarasota’s Black history has long been neglected, and Vickie Oldham has been on a mission to change that. Largely due to her six-year effort, as the head of the Sarasota

Cultural arts centers, museums and libraries situated in the heart of African American neighborhoods add texture, vibrancy and richness to a community. The facilities bring diverse people together and invite residents, visitors and guests to venture into underrepresented communities. Welcome doors swing open both ways for an understanding and exploration of the unknown and unfamiliar. READ MORE

“More than a dozen Gators sat in a circle at the Goodwill Selby Newtown Center on Friday morning to launch an academic project that the community hopes will have a concrete outcome. The University of Florida architecture and construction students had come from Gainesville on a mission to develop proposals for a new cultural arts center in the heart of the Newtown on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.” Read more about the upcoming Newtown Cultural Arts Center in the Herald Tribune. READ MORE

Cities from Washington, D.C. to Punta Gorda have centers preserving local black history. Why doesn’t Sarasota?

St. Petersburg has one. So does Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Manatee County and (soon) Longboat Key. Tampa has two. And though it took decades to realize, one finally opened in the nation’s capital two years ago. READ MORE

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