Weekly Challenger Newspaper Stories
A StoryMaps project about St. Petersburg's African American community newspaper
The Weekly Challenger has documented the history of St. Petersburg, Florida's African American community since the paper was established by Cleveland Johnson Jr. in 1967. A long-time reader once said, “If the news is important to the community, then it is in The Weekly Challenger .”
The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus is honored to partner with The Weekly Challenger to preserve and create digital access to this important community newspaper’s archives.
In 2016 the library started a digital archive of Weekly Challenger newspapers by scanning old papers and compiling digital files of recent issues. Once the project began, the library needed an effective way of sharing this valuable primary source content. To address that need the " Weekly Challenger African American Digital Newspaper Archive and Research Guide " was created.
Posted below on our StoryMaps page are excerpts from Weekly Challenger stories, a short 50th anniversary video, a map about the St. Petersburg African American Heritage Trail with links to related Weekly Challenger stories, and other St. Petersburg African American history resources such as the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum and the African American Heritage Association .
We hope these newspaper stories give you a sense of the valuable role The Weekly Challenger has served in helping to preserve and share the history of St. Petersburg's African American community.
"Commemorating 150 years of black history in Pinellas County"
"In 1868, 150 years ago this year, John Donaldson and Anna Germain became the first African-Americans to settle permanently in lower Pinellas, what would become St. Petersburg.
Donaldson arrived shortly after the end of the Civil War by oxcart to work with homesteader Louis Bell, Jr. He met Anna Germaine who also worked for Bell. They married and moved to their own homestead; 40 acres of land about a mile northwest of Lake Maggiore in a section of the city now known as Midtown. Donaldson, a formerly enslaved person from Alabama, played a significant role in the history of this city."
" Commemorating 150 years of black history in Pinellas County ." By Gwendolyn Reese, The Weekly Challenger, November 29, 2018.
"The life and legacy of Elder Jordan"
"Residents old and new of long standing Jordan Park came together last Fri., June 6 to honor the contributions of Elder Jordan Sr., a man who lived a few lifetimes ago, but whose gift to the City of St. Petersburg will be remembered forever.
....Elder Jordan is known for erecting, along with his sons, the Jordan dance hall, which is now known as the Manhattan Casino. He was also responsible for the construction of houses and establishing a bus line and a beach for African Americans during the time of segregation here in St. Petersburg."
" The life and legacy of Elder Jordan ." By Holly Kestenis, The Weekly Challenger, June 12, 2014.
"Keeping the history of Mercy Hospital alive"
"In the early part of the twentieth century, the black community in St. Petersburg had its own schools, churches, restaurants and retail stores. Everything a person needed, except a hospital.
Since African Americans were not accepted at the whites-only hospitals, care came from members of the community who had a little medical knowledge. In 1913, the all-white, five-room Good Samaritan Hospital was moved to the south side to service the black community. It was rechristened Mercy Hospital."
“ Keeping the history of Mercy Hospital alive .” By Raven Joy Shonel, The Weekly Challenger, July 28, 2016.
"City of St. Pete to honor Ray Charles and his song"
"The City of St. Petersburg plans to declare Feb. 15 'Ray Charles Day,' with a proclamation and a musical evening at The Studio@620. A group of presenters and local musicians will showcase the legacy of Ray Charles, whose first recorded song in 1950 was 'The St. Pete Florida Blues.'
....Over a half century, Ray Charles often returned to Florida with many visits to St. Pete, including performances at the Manhattan Casino, a venue for black performers in the days of segregation, but also at the Bayfront Center and at an outdoor concert at Campbell Park."
" City of St. Pete to honor Ray Charles and his song ." The Weekly Challenger, January 24, 2019.
"Baseball & the Segregated South"
"A Mecca for baseball’s spring training since 1914, St. Petersburg in 1961 became a focal point in the battle to end discrimination in the lodging of black and white players.
....Doctors Ralph Wimbish and Robert Swain were civil rights leaders who also housed African American players. At about the same time, they decided to take on baseball’s housing segregation. Wimbish had helped desegregate the city’s lunch counters, and said he couldn’t square his activism in other areas if he didn’t make a stand for the players."
“ Baseball & the Segregated South .” By Jon Wilson, The Weekly Challenger, February 27, 2014.
"City honors the Courageous 12 with plaque at new police building"
"The City of St. Petersburg, a segregated, race-based stronghold in the 1950s and 60s, this week honored a cohort of black police officers’ 'faith' and 'resilience' in fighting and beating back segregated policing with a memorial plaque in the main lobby of the new police building."
" City honors the Courageous 12 with plaque at new police building ." By Roger Clendening, The Weekly Challenger, November 1, 2019.
"St. Pete celebrates Juneteenth"
"For many white Americans, the recent protests sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery all within a few months have driven their awareness of Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States first celebrated in 1867.
On the morning of June 19, the City of St. Petersburg pulled out all the stops in commemorating Juneteenth with a colorful mural.
It all started when Terri Lipsey Scott, executive director of the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, decided a Black Lives Matter mural should sit in front of the museum at 2240 9th Ave. S and be revealed on Juneteenth."
" St. Pete celebrates Juneteenth ." By Brittanye Blake, The Weekly Challenger, June 25, 2020. and St. Petersburg African American History Resources Page
"The Weekly Challenger turns 50!"
"Fifty years ago today, The Weekly Challenger came into existence. My father, Cleveland Johnson, Jr., borrowed $40 from a friend to keep a months-old publication alive called the Weekly Challenge after the owner M.C. Fountain passed away. He added an “r” and the rest is history."
“ The Weekly Challenger turns 50! ” By Lyn Johnson, The Weekly Challenger, print edition, September 21, 2017. (Posted online September 22, 2017.)
MAP: ST. PETERSBURG AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE TRAIL
We end our StoryMaps page with a map about the St. Petersburg African-American Heritage Trail with links to related Weekly Challenger stories.
This last section reminds us that The Weekly Challenger is like the Heritage Trail -- each uses stories to help bring a community in conversation with itself.
9th Avenue South Heritage Trail (runs east/west)
- Marker #1 -- "End of an Era"
- (Stories about Civil Rights -1, Civil Rights-2 ,
- Sanitation Strike , Yeshitela and City Hall mural , Gas Plant Neighborhood )
- Marker #2 -- "Jordan Park Housing Complex"
- (Stories about Jordan Park )
- Marker #3 -- "Pioneer Schools"
- (Stories about education )
- Marker #4 -- "Civic Associations"
- (Stories about the Ambassadors Club )
- Marker #5 -- "Women United"
- (Stories about Fannye Ayer Ponder )
- Marker #6 -- "Avenue of Faith"
- (Stories about churches )
- Marker #7 -- "Happy Workers - Trinity"
- (Stories about Happy Workers Day Nursery )
- Marker #8 -- "Housing"
- (Stories about building/construction )
- Marker #9 -- "Campbell Park & Schools"
- (Stories about Campbell Park )
- Marker #10 -- "Empowered Negro Women"
- (Stories about Olive B. McLin )
22nd Street South Heritage Trail (runs north/south)
- Marker #11 -- "The Beginning"
- (Stories about Woodson Museum , John Donaldson )
- Marker #12 -- "In the Name of 'Progress'"
- (Stories about Interstate 275 )
- Marker #13 -- "Manhattan Casino Hall"
- (Stories about the Manhattan Casino )
- Marker #14 -- "At the Crossroads"
- (Stories about the Deuces )
- Marker #15 -- "Building 22nd Street S."
- (Stories about the Deuces )
- Marker #16 -- "Royal Theater"
- (Stories about Royal Theater )
- Marker #17 -- "Faces and Stories"
- (Stories about Norman Jones )
- Marker #18 -- "A Community of Caring"
- (Stories about Mercy Hospital )
- Marker #19 -- "Blazing the Way"
- (Stories about C. Bette Wimbish )
- Marker #20 -- "Crossing the Line"
- (Stories about the African American Heritage Association )
Selected Resources: Books
Arsenault, Raymond. St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950. Norfolk: Donning Co., 1988.
Davis, Enoch D. On the Bethel Trail. St. Petersburg: Valkyrie Press, 1979.
Henig, Adam. Forward by Ralph Wimbish Jr. Baseball Under Siege: The Yankees, the Cardinals, and a Doctor's Battle to Integrate Spring Training. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.
Lineberger, Anna Maria, Dyllan Furness and Kelly Kennedy, eds. Faculty Advisor, Thomas Hallock. Voices of Booker Creek. St. Petersburg: University of South Florida, Tampa Bay Writers Network, 2020.
Peck, Rosalie and Jon Wilson. St. Petersburg's Historic 22nd Street South. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.
----. St. Petersburg's Historic African American Neighborhoods: Community, Culture, and Connection. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2008.
Rooks, Sandra W. St. Petersburg Florida. Black America Series. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.
Vatelot, Sarah Jane. Where Have All The Mangoes Gone?: Reactivating the Tropicana Field Site -- On the Threshold of St Petersburg’s History, Culture and Memory. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Press, 2020.
Selected Resources: Websites
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum , St. Petersburg, Florida
The African American Heritage Association , St. Petersburg, Florida
Research Guide Overview (Weekly Challenger African American Digital Newspaper Archive and Research Guide)
Research Guide Index (Weekly Challenger African American Digital Newspaper Archive and Research Guide)
St. Petersburg African American History Resources (Weekly Challenger African American Digital Newspaper Archive and Research Guide)
Tampa African American History Resources (Weekly Challenger African American Digital Newspaper Archive and Research Guide)