Save examples of early African American architecture in Sarasota before it's too late

Preserve early examples of Black settlement

Old Sarasota is rapidly disappearing. I try to envision what Sarasota must have been like in an earlier time, when my great-grandmother lived on Goodrich Avenue in a house that no longer exists. It’s a parking lot now.

One of the few remaining examples of historical significance from that period is the Colson Hotel for Negroes , at Eighth Street and Central Avenue in the Rosemary District.

I recently went to an open house called “Moderns that Matter.” I was impressed but wondered why Sarasota does so little to honor some of the few remaining examples of Florida architecture before Paul Rudolph’s time.

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Why doesn’t Sarasota make the same effort to preserve some of its earlier architecture, including the limited examples of African American life in the city, before the forced relocation to Newtown?

The Colson Hotel for Negroes is one of the few remaining examples of old Sarasota that we can honor and preserve that speaks to a time when a person of color just needed a place to lie down. Those places were few and far between in Florida.

Marilyn M. White, Sarasota

More eligible for free clinic, pharmacy

There has been a recent change in the laws governing the maximum amount of money a person may earn in order to receive benefits.

Until recently, the Florida Legislature determined the maximum was 200% of the federal poverty level. For example, a single person was eligible for aid if he or she earned no more than $2,510 monthly.

The amount has now been increased to 300% of FPL or $3,765 monthly. Many people who last year could not qualify for health aid are now eligible.

The Good Samaritan Pharmacy and Health Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency in Nokomis whose mission is to provide free medical care and prescription medicines to people without health insurance. Patients who were rejected last year for not meeting income requirements are now eligible to reapply for assistance.

Good Sam offers a walk-in medical clinic staffed by volunteer licensed nurses, doctors and pharmacists, as well as trained patient advocates, every Wednesday evening. The dispensing pharmacy is open every Tuesday.

Call 941-445-5687 to check on your eligibility and learn the hours of operation.

Bill Palace, Sarasota, Good Samaritan volunteer and board member

Steube votes with opponents of Ukraine aid

In March 2022, Florida’s Legislature passed a Ukraine Resolution condemning “the ruthless military assault on Ukraine, and on democracy itself, by Russian President Vladimir Putin” and proclaiming “unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis even designated Nov. 7 as “Victims of Communism Day,” when public schools must teach about communist dictators and how people suffer under their regimes.

Against all odds, with American weapons, Ukrainian civilians became fearless freedom fighters who persevered under incredible hardships for two years, fighting the massive Russian Army to a standstill.

When the House voted to support Ukraine’s fight for survival of its democracy, 14 Florida lawmakers, including Sarasota’s U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, joined “Moscow” Marjorie Taylor Greene in voting against it.

They knew that abandoning Ukraine would reward and strengthen Putin and condemn 35 million Ukrainians to the “Victims of Communism” for Florida students to study on Nov. 7.

On Nov. 7, perhaps those 14 House members would like to lecture Florida students with their pro-Putin view of the “Victims of Communism,” or better still they should be required to attend as students, where they might learn something about American leadership in the Free World and how people suffer under communist regimes.

Virgil Pope, Parrish

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Save examples of early African American architecture in Sarasota before it's too late