A crumbling wood-framed building in the historic Black community of Jamestown in Seminole County will get a new lease of life as a museum highlighting the experiences of Black schoolchildren during the segregation era.
When finished, it will be renamed the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum, the Orlando Sentinel said in a report.
Testament to Black families’ Struggle for Education
Judith Dolores Smith and other community members in Jamestown are optimistic that their plan to rebuild the old wooden structure will push through.
Smith told Orlando Sentinel the museum would serve as a living testament to how Black families struggled to give their kids a decent education during segregation.
“Former slaves were concerned about education. Because, they knew if their children were to have better lives, they had to be educated. … And they took that initiative,” Orlando Sentinel quoted Smith saying.
Bob Dallari, a Seminole Commissioner, explained the importance of ‘embracing the past, our history, and honoring them.’ Dallari was referring to the efforts done by Jamestown residents in the early 1930s to build the church and school to give their children access to spiritual services and basic education.
Black Community’s Drive to Repurpose Old Church, School
The Orlando Sentinel report noted Smith’s group, the Historic Ovideo Colored Schools Museum Inc., has partnered with Seminole County officials to carry out the project.
Smith, a former council member of Oviedo, had joined others during the groundbreaking rites in front of the old church. The report said the dilapidated structure is at the corner of State Road 426 and James Drive.
The news outlet revealed that Smith’s group got $228,000 in funding from the Florida Department of State under the African-American Cultural and Historical Grant program. The money the group received last year was earmarked for renovating the white wooden-framed building into the target colored schools museum.
Aside from the sizable cash grant, the group also got a brand-new metal roofing from the Certified Best Roofing Co. in Oviedo. The roofing company installed the new roofing in May 2022 without charging Smith’s group anything.
Aside from the roofing, the old church also requires renovation of its flooring and ceiling. The planned museum must also undergo a redesign of its entrances and bathrooms to make it compliant with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) provisions.
Ways Forward
The report noted that Smith’s group eyes opening the museum in a year, Historic Ovideo Colored Schools Museum Inc. Vice President Kelley Mueller-Smith said.
When finished, the museum will house archival documents, artifacts, and vintage photographs relevant to the Black schoolchildren’s segregation experiences. It would also show how local African-American families strived to give their kids an education.
Mueller-Smith noted that the old Jamestown church and schoolhouse was among the different colored schools during the segregation era.
“There were so many Black churches. And even after slavery, they kept us from being educated for so long. Thank God for these churches that were open during the week to educate our children. We didn’t have anywhere else to go and learn,” Mueller-Smith told the Orlando Sentinel of the Black families’ experience at the time.
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