The historic Bing Rooming House in Plant City is a historic gem.
"This area of Plant City was almost like a black wall street if you will, a black economic center, if you'd like to say that," says Henry Johnson.
You see, Henry's great-grandmother owned this house.
The Bing Rooming House was built in 1928. Janie Wheeler Bing and her husband Elijah owned and operated the house. They opened their doors and their hearts to African Americans during segregation.
"Some of the names I've heard are James Brown, Duke Ellington."A lot of the negro league players, Jackie Robinson.. folks like that. So it was a huge amount of different celebrities that would stay here," explains Johnson.
The Bing Rooming House is now a museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Go for a visit, you'll see how the walls are lined with pictures telling the story of Plant City's African American history.
"A lot of us don't know about this history. A lot of people just saw this as this old house that we grew up seeing and once it got renovated and repaired and they're now starting to ask what is this?," explains Johnson.
The Bing Rooming House is open, masks and temperature checks are required.
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