“Manasota ASALH in partnership with historian Ms. Vickie Oldham – ASALH member –was awarded a grant to map and document the 100-year history of the Newtown Community located within Sarasota, Florida.
As Newtown commemorates its 100th anniversary, attention is focused on its past, present, and future. It is important because the hard work, sacrifice, and dedication of Sarasota’s African American residents helped in Sarasota’s development. Blacks cleared snake-infested wooded land for real estate developers, laid railroad ties, planted citrus and celery fields, helped plat golf courses, and labored in the homes of the town’s most influential power brokers – cooking, cleaning, ironing, and rearing children.”
http://www.asalh-manasotafl.org/the-newtown-conservation-historic-district-project/
