Newtown is one of the first African American neighborhoods in Sarasota, and the people who live there want to make sure its importance isn’t lost to time. They’re getting some assistance from students at the University of South Florida.
Since 2016, WUSF has teamed with USF student journalists for a series called “Telling Tampa Bay Stories,” which highlights communities in the area and the people who call them home.
Previous projects have taken us to the Hillsborough County community of Plant City (2018), Tampa’s Progress Village (2017), and St. Petersburg’s Midtown (2016).
This year, WUSF 89.7 is airing portions of interviews with some of the people who have made Newtown what it is, some who are attempting to document the history, and some who are recent arrivals.
First, here's a video overview of the project, produced by USF student journalist Sonu Trivedi:
Here are links to some of the students’ profiles:
- Harriet Moore shares holiday memories of Newtown
- Thomas Clyburn was one of the first African American students to desegregate the Sarasota County school system
- Fred Atkins talks about what it was like going to Sarasota's beaches during segregation
- Harriet Moore remembers Newtown as a thriving business community
- Johnny Hunter says black newspapers are important to a community
- Willie Charles Shaw says Newtown has changed, but it's still his home
- Newcomer La'Tiara Love shares what she's found out about Newtown
- Former NFL player Patrick Carter talks about growing up in - and moving out of - Newtown
- Vicki Oldham says saving the history of Newtown is vital
Special thanks to all those who shared their stories with us both on and off the air, USF journalism instructor Jeanette Abrahamsen, and the employees at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex in Newtown for helping facilitate our interview sessions.
