Six miles from downtown Orlando sits Eatonville, FL, the country's first all-black town to incorporate. From 27 black families in the 1880s to a population of around 2,400 that is 90 percent black, the town's history has mirrored the pride and complications of the African-American experience, explains a New York Times profile.
In 1887, 22 years after slavery ended, the town's men voted unanimously to incorporate Eatonville. Native daughter Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, was born in Eatonville in 1891 and used her birthplace for inspiration. During desegregation, some residents worried that the introduction of white students and teachers would dilute Eatonville's cohesiveness and its youth's confidence. In 1988 a highway project threatened the town, prompting a new surge of civic spirit. To combat the road that never happened, Eatonville created an annual festival to showcase the its strengths and pride.
Eatonville, which embodies black empowerment, but also sees a poverty rate twice the US average, has increasingly become a Florida tourist stop. Would you pay a visit?
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Wow, welcome to Race Day here on CitizenSugar.com!
1I haven't read through the article yet, but I really like that picture.
2I would definitely visit the first town established by people of color.
3i love hurston's "their eyes were watching god" - one of my all time favorite books.
she writes about eatonville, and i would love to go see it in person.
4I love wandering through small historic towns and I think visiting during the Zora Festival would be very cool.
5I dont know how this post makes it 'race day' but I would visit. I know my father would love it and I love the book 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'
6I have been there,I actually found it kind of run down looking. aesthetically boring. strip malls abundant.
7I loved "Their Eyes". I enjoy books about small towns. Anybody ever read "Liberating Paris"? Paris, Arkansas, by the way. I finished it yesterday. Wonderful book.
8And re: strip malls.
9I imagine it to be extremely difficult for small towns to hold on to their charming Main Streets these days. It's a shame.
I would visit it. Of course, I wouldn't actually expect the same things in Eatonsville as I would Orlando.
Taadie...the Palin post turned into a "race" discussion, so this post definitely is helping to make today "Race Day"
10*Eatonville
11Taadie-there is a big hairy conversation going on about terms for different races a few posts down. That's why I said it was Race Day.
12I pass by that area sometime, maybe I'll do a drive-by.
13[I pass by that area sometime, maybe I'll do a drive-by.]
That was HILARIOUS! I'm soo going to kick your ass in Wii Tennis now...lol
14I probably won't book it as a destination spot out of the blue -- but I think it would be interesting -- I guess.
15Bring it on Dream, :motions to bring it on!:
16LOL -- oh -- Wii Tennis is my game!
17I plan to visit. Right now I'm working my way through all of Hurston's works. I'm just wrapping up Toni Morrison's works.
18I live about 10 minutes from Eatonville and I have been there many times. There is NO "main street" there is nothing except run down homes, and as mentioned earlier, run down strip malls. The only thing there is a very small Zora Neale Hurston museum.
It's sort of funny to see it written about like this, but it would be great if that translated into dollars for the town, so that it could make improvements and really become a destination.
19Um, if its 90% black, its not all black.
With that being said, you might as well call Benton Harbor, Michigan (96% black), the first (or Idlewild, Michigan, which is up there in percentages as well).
Weird. I'm confused at this point.
20Nevermind, I read the date wrong...I thought it said 1987.
21Mich,
The picture is from the cover of "Their Eyes were Watching God" great book by the way
22Thanks BAstyle.
23i'm always a bit un-easy with what's right and what's not right about things like this. i feel like they are very proud of their heritage and if they are opening up their town for tourists then it's one thing, but in the same token, there are communities of color that will find a lot of fault with what they are doing.
24This data shows violent crime levels in Eatonville tend to be much higher than Florida's average level.
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