Once upon a time, there was a small town named Eatonville that was an outlier in the post-Reconstruction South because it was founded by Black people. Impressive, right? And the cherry on top? The town leaders went on to open the first school for Black children in Central Florida, with the help of none other than Booker T. Washington. They were quite the trailblazers, I must say.
Although the school has since closed, Eatonville remains a functioning community and has transformed into a heritage-tourism destination. With a population of roughly 2,500, the town is still majority Black and adorned with small businesses, churches, and historical markers. It’s like a little slice of paradise right in the middle of Florida.
Every January, folks from all around the globe come to Eatonville for the ZORA! Festival, which is a celebration of the town’s favorite author, Zora Neale Hurston, who also happened to grow up there. She even wrote a novel based on her charming little hometown called “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It’s like she knew Eatonville would become a big deal.
Now, here’s where things get a little dicey. The Orange County School Board owns the land that the school once stood on. They were planning to sell 89 acres of it to a developer because, you know, everyone loves economic development and money. Some members of the town council were all for it, but other residents were not so keen. They were worried that the fancy new housing development would turn Eatonville into a “town within a town” that only rich people could afford to live in. They were afraid it would force the poorer residents out of their own community, and honestly, that’s just not cool.
Thankfully, the developer chickened out thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and all the media attention. But the future of the land tract and, more importantly, the community, is still up in the air. The fate of Eatonville rests in the hands of fate. Or maybe the town council, but hopefully not the developer again.
Serious News: nytimes
