TAMPA, Fla. — Throughout February, ABC Action News' Anthony Hill will be highlighting historical African American figures who’ve had an impact in their fields, whether that be art, music, politics, or sports, and all of them have a Florida connection.
Fred Hearns is a historian with the Tampa Bay History Center and was born and raised in Tampa. He’ll be helping me tell some of these stories.
In our second story, we’re highlighting some of the first African Americans who were stationed at MacDill Airforce, but as it turns out, they weren’t welcomed with open arms.
“Well, many Blacks were able to launch their careers in the military when other job options were closed to them during the days of segregation,” explained Hearns. Many of those black soldiers who enlisted in the military from around the country would get their orders that they were being stationed in Tampa.
“MacDill Airforce Base opened in 1941 in Tampa, and at that time, Black airmen were not allowed to live on the base with their families,” said Hearns.
So, the federal government found land where these newly arrived families could live.
“It was Lincoln Gardens and Carver City, named for Abraham Lincoln and George Washington Carver. Two predominantly Black neighborhoods that still exist just off Dale Mabry and Spruce on the West Side of the city of Tampa,” said Hearns.
To this day, many of those original families still own property in those neighborhoods. They served a country that didn’t see them as equal, volunteering to make the ultimate sacrifice if needed, which is why those soldiers are not just Black history; they're Florida history.
