Julian Ross Moreland & Margaret Mitchell Moreland
Julian Ross Moreland and Margaret Beverly Mitchell Moreland are the grandchildren of Wright and Sarah Bush and the offspring of James Edward and Margaret Moreland.
The Bush family used their influence to advocate for education, entrepreneurship and civic responsibility. Wright owned a general store in Overtown. “He didn’t discriminate because hell, he looked like that man back there holding that camera. He tended to everybody,” said Julian Ross. His father James Edward ran a juke joint called the “Bamboo Club” on the corner of Links and then 33rd Street (now 29th Street); also a dance hall with live entertainment.
“I went to see James Brown. He learned how to skid across the floor from watching me and another guy. I could dance,” said Moreland who recounted how his dad was run out of town for “smacking the sheriff on the head” with a pistol after he was hit. Outspoken Grandma Bush had the reputation of correcting neighborhood children who acted out in public.
The historic Wright Bush house located at Maple Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way was a popular meeting place because it had amenities such as electricity. Black soldiers stationed at a military base near the airport met their future spouses there.
