[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF NEWTOWN COMMEMORATION

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2014

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the centennial 
celebration of Sarasota's African American community of Newtown.
  Since its initial development in 1914, Newtown has experienced 
tremendous challenges and historic triumphs.
  In the early 1900s, African Americans were recruited to provide an 
adequate workforce during Sarasota's economic boom. Many of them moved 
into the Newtown community.
  In its early years, Newtown flourished, despite segregation, with 
several successful small businesses, schools and churches.
  In 1961, four years after the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of 
Education Court decision that declared laws establishing separate 
public schools for black and white students unconstitutional, the NAACP 
filed a desegregation lawsuit in federal court. And in 1962, the first 
African American students enrolled in what had been all-white schools.
  Twenty years later, the NAACP successfully challenged Sarasota's 
system of local representation, alleging it prevented the election of 
blacks to city government, and in 1985 Fred Atkins became the first 
African American to serve on the city commission.
  I appreciate this opportunity to help celebrate the rich heritage of 
Newtown.

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