Jacksonville’s Hidden Gem: The Eastside

Dating back to the post-Civil War era, the Eastside is considered Jacksonville's last 19th-century historically black neighborhood that is still standing. Like most areas in the South, segregation and Jim Crow ran rampant in cities. As a result, African Americans created an oasis of safety. Black residents built restaurants, churches, grocery stores, nightclubs, banks, and schools within these communities. Whatever they needed to survive and avoid patronizing white spaces could be found there. Eastside was no different. Brewster Hospital, the first hospital for Blacks in Jacksonville, and the Boylan Haven School for Girls, which served girls from prominent Black families, found their place on the Eastside and both are monikers of Black history in Jacksonville. Another historic site is the Mother Midway A.M.E. Church. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest A.M.E. congregation in Florida.

Alongside another historic Black neighborhood, LaVilla, Eastside was where many of Jacksonville’s prominent Black residents lived. One such leader is James Weldon Johnson, the creator of the National Black Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” He was also the first Black person admitted to the Florida Bar. Humanitarian and philanthropist Eartha M.M. White was among the city’s Black leaders to call the area home, too.

These historic sites and a brief overview of their history are available through site markers. For an in-depth narrative of what these sites meant to Jacksonville and the Eastside, book a Black history tour with Explore Jax Core.

While there were several Black neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Eastside holds a unique honor. Unlike other environs that used to be bustling Black epicenters, it has not been gentrified or deteriorated by highway construction. Both have taken over historic Black communities across the United States for decades.

In the years since its establishment, things like civil unrest, disinvestment and redlining laws gradually caused a deceleration of activity. Although Eastside is not the same buoyant corridor it was at its inception, community residents and activists are working hard to “bring back the dream” and preserve what used to be by adding roughly 700 structures in the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Records.

One of their sizeable efforts is the Melanin Market. Melanin Market gathers over 200 Black-owned small businesses and organizations annually along A. Philip Randolph Blvd for shopping, education, workshops, and empowerment. The Melanin Market team also regularly hosts other events in the neighborhood throughout the year, including a Juneteenth celebration.

There is also a hyperfocus on bringing Black-owned businesses back to the neighborhood. Recently celebrating ten years is local restaurant, The Avenue Grill. Residing on the main street of Eastside, The Avenue Grill is a teeming establishment serving local and southern classics.

Another thing that makes the Eastside a hidden gem for Jacksonville is the presence of the Gullah Geechee people. For 200-plus years, enslaved Central and West Africans came to the Americas through slave trades. The enslaved were rehomed in the low country regions of North and South Carolina, extending down to Florida, including Jacksonville. As West Africans forcibly began to call these new cities home, they held on to their heritage. The Gullah Geechee people continued to speak their native language, follow traditional customs, prepare ceremonial foods, and create highly rhythmic music. Eastside holds one of the largest concentrations of historic-age buildings associated with a Gullah Geechee community in the city.

If you meet anyone from the Eastside, you’ll immediately see their passion and pride for the area and the city. They are a welcoming community, eager to share what makes them who they are without shying away from the truth. And after one visit, you’ll be in love with Eastside, too.