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Sarasota Magazine

Tagged

Civil Rights

Saving the Colson

A Black Landmark From the Days of Segregation Is Being Reborn as a Civic and Cultural Hub

The Colson was more than a boarding house. For the city’s Black residents and visitors during segregation, it offered something rare and profound: safety, dignity and belonging.

12/02/2025

In Their Own Words

Lifelong Newtown Resident and Organizer Valerie Buchand on Perseverance and Hope

"We need people willing to fight, not for profit, but for justice. That’s what I would tell young people: Be ready for the challenge, but do right. Always do right.”

12/01/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Black History

In the 1920s, Sarasota Was Small, Southern and Segregated

But the very inequities meant to contain the Black community spurred a parallel world—self-sustaining, rooted and determined to endure.

11/03/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Historical Holiday

How to Celebrate Juneteenth in Sarasota and Manatee Counties

One June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas learned they were free—two years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

06/16/2025 By Chloe Nelson

Q & A

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Jonathan Eig to Speak in Sarasota on Thursday

The acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. biographer will give a talk as part of the Boxser Diversity Initiative's Building Bridges Discussion Series.

03/04/2025 By Megan McDonald

Listening to Black Voices

Renée James Gilmore on Continuing Her Family's Historic Local Legacy

Gilmore is the daughter of the late activist Dr. Ed James and the great-granddaughter of Mary Emma Jones, who led the 1955 wade-in efforts to desegregate Sarasota beaches.

09/09/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Listening to Black Voices

Walter Gilbert on Growing up in Newtown, Community Activism and the State of DEI

"Everyone should have an opportunity to be as good as they can be. We all have to be willing to stand up and say some things out loud."

08/20/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Preview

Selby Gardens' New Florida Highwaymen Exhibit Opens Tomorrow

The Highwaymen were a group of Black artists who produced colorful paintings of Florida landscapes despite being denied representation by galleries due to the color of their skin.

07/19/2024 By Megan McDonald

Listening to Black Voices

Transportation Expert Paul Toliver on Growing Up in Segregated Alabama and the Impact of AI on Public Transit

"It's important to believe that we all have a right to be here."

07/09/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Rainbow Connection

Project Pride SRQ, Community Activists Hold Grand Pride Flag March at Ringling Bridge

The event came in response to the news that Florida would not light its bridges for Pride Month this year.

06/29/2024 By Megan McDonald Photography by Hannah Phillips

Listening to Black Voices

Fashion Industry Veteran Claudia Swan on How Being a Fair-Skinned Black Woman Impacted Her Life and Career

“What happens with me being fair-skinned is that I hear the racist feelings that people really do believe and what they're saying to their friends.”

06/17/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Fly Pride

The Pride Flag Will Fly High at Sarasota City Hall for the Month of June

In response Gov. Ron DeSantis' allowing only red, white and blue lights on state bridges this summer, City of Sarasota commissioners voted to fly the Pride flag for a month.

05/21/2024 By Kim Doleatto

Listening to Black Voices

Civil Rights Attorney Victor McTeer on the Power of Serving Underrepresented Communities

McTeer won his first case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, at age 27. He also worked on a major lawsuit against a tobacco company that inspired John Grisham's The Runaway Jury.

05/13/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Listening to Black Voices

World Series Champ John 'T-Bone' Shelby on His Passion for Baseball and Never Giving Up

Shelby, who's now retired and lives in Sarasota, won two World Series championships with the Baltimore Orioles and the L.A. Dodgers, and coached for many years.

03/18/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Q & A

A Conversation Between Pioneering Journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Sarasota Magazine's Heather Dunhill

An intimate discussion that touches on race, friendship and Sarasota.

03/08/2024 By Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Listening to Black Voices

Dale Booker on the Experiences That Shaped Her and the Realities of Living in Florida as a Black Woman

"It’s disconcerting that many of Florida's transplants seem to have never been exposed to Blacks before."

02/19/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Q & A

Glenda Hatchett: 'Black History Is Not Just for Black People. It Is for All of Us.'

The judge, attorney and television star traveled to Sarasota last week for an event dedicated to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

02/12/2024 By Jessika Ward

Listening to Black Voices

Spelman College President Dr. Helene Gayle on Higher Education, Affirmative Action and Black Excellence

“If we are going to lean into who we are becoming as a nation, we’ve got to grapple with the importance of diversity."

01/09/2024 By Heather Dunhill

Unity Awards

David Wilkins Brings Black History to Students Who Aren’t Learning It at School

Freedom School is a series of free lessons on African and African American history for students in grades K-12 that launched last February and was renewed and expanded last fall.

01/01/2024 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Listening to Black Voices

The Hon. Charles Williams on the Importance of Patience and Empathy in the Legal System

Williams also shares what it was like growing up in segregated St. Pete, as well as a touching story about meeting his idol, boxer and activist Muhammad Ali.

12/11/2023 By Heather Dunhill

At Sarasota Magazine, we celebrate Sarasota’s vibrant culture, rich history, and bright future with award-winning, high-quality content that captures the spirit of our community.

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