“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. But Sarasota, whose racial history is as rich and influential as what you’ll find in any of those places, […]

“Students ran barefoot onto Lido Beach and went ankle deep in the clear saltwater. It was a moment of reconciliation after they learned about the struggle that local civil rights activists faced to even step foot on the sand. About 20 teenagers from the Roy McBean Boys & Girls Club went on a trolley tour […]

“Beginning the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and continuing until the start of Black History Month in February, Sarasota County School District fourth-grade students will have the opportunity to embark on a field trip touring 15 historical markers around Newtown and taking in a Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe play. District administrators hope the […]

“One of Vickie Oldham’s earliest memories is watching her grandmother don her white dress and purple-tasseled fez for her lodge meeting at the Evening Star, a black social and benevolent organization that helped fill a gap in social services. It’s a memory that Oldham fully appreciates now that she has led the initiative Newtown Alive to compile, […]

Read the latest about Newtown from the Herald Tribute http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170407/students-volunteer-for-newtown-trolley-tours  

In 1950s Sarasota, Shiela Sanders found her voice. She sat in the back of the library. Amid stacks of papers and books, Sheila Sanders sat separated from other patrons of the Sarasota County Public Library. She was smart, competitive and stubborn. At age 5 she could read, write and tell time. Sanders was black. In […]

The book “Newtown Alive: Courage, Dignity, Determination” by Rosalyn Howard Ph.D. and Vickie Oldham M.F.A. is available for purchase from Barnes and Noble. Find out why early settlers came to the tiny fishing village, how they made a living, and why they organized a self-sustaining neighborhood. The book also describes their religious and social traditions, […]

A new project will offer a picture of the community’s history from 1914-2014. There was a time when home remedies made from cobwebs, cotton balls and turpentine cured everything in Newtown. Back then, hospitals would turn their heads at black residents, but that didn’t stop the community from thriving. Nearly 100 African American-owned businesses dotted […]

Local community leaders want to make Newtown a destination When exploring Sarasota, there are a few iconic spots that come to mind, like Siesta Key, St. Armands and the long stretch of island that is Longboat. But there’s one place that’s missing, according to a contingent of community leaders from the city’s historically black neighborhood. […]

‘You know how we do it in Newtown’: trolley tours bring community together

The Newtown Alive project put on a block party to dedicate Newtown’s newly installed historic markers. Newtown Alive lead consultant Vickie Oldham had a lot to dance about at the Newtown Redevelopment Office on April 8. Residents, local officials and Newtown Alive volunteers gathered in the parking lot for the Taste of Newtown block party […]

The Newtown Alive project revealed 15 markers that will mark historic locations throughout Newtown. Vickie Oldham said she was grateful to find tissues tucked inside the podium at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex Feb. 18 during the unveiling of 15 historic markers that will be placed throughout Newtown as part of the Newtown Alive […]