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Pine Hill Legacy Is At The Heart Of MLK Tribute

Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

The Union Missionary Baptist Church choir sang a repertoire of gospel songs during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 19, 2008

PORT RICHEY - They came from Georgia with just the clothes on their backs and a few dollars in their pockets, looking for work in the sawmills and a place to call home.

It was the mid-1920s. The South was segregated and the Ku Klux Klan was roaming the countryside in white hoods and cloaks, burning crosses and lynching black men.

For the two-dozen migrant families that trekked hundreds of miles to west Pasco, there was no place for them in the surrounding white community.

So they built their own.

They settled on a small piece of land near Pine Hill Cemetery. They cleared away trees and brush, built rows of wooden shacks, a church and a one-room schoolhouse.

Back then, the area from Leo Kidd Avenue to Congress Street was nothing but woods, but the community thrived as the all-white cities around them were being developed.

More than 80 years later, the legacy of those founding families still exists in Pine Hill.

That's one of the reasons why organizers of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations decided the time had come to return to the old neighborhood.

This year, the event traditionally held at Sims Park in downtown New Port Richey will take place in Union Missionary Baptist Church, the epicenter of west Pasco's black community.

"This is about getting back to our roots," said Eugene Scott, founder and past president of the African-American Club of West Pasco. "It's about recognizing our heritage."

Scott grew up in Pine Hill. He remembers when it was called "the quarter" and neighborhood kids were forced to attend the all-black Booker T. Washington School.

He was the first black student to attend nearby Gulf High School when desegregation tore down the walls that had separated the races for decades.

A large part of the club's mission is educating younger blacks about their culture and history, and that's a message organizers plan to highlight at the MLK event.

"We're going to have an excellent program," said Vivian Lockett, current president of the African-American Club. "And we're hoping to get a big turnout."

Organizers plan to honor Laura Burch, who grew up in Pine Hill and at 95 is the neighborhood's oldest black resident.

Pastor Ronald Smart, who took over at Union Missionary Baptist a decade ago, will lead participants in prayer and song and talk about King's life and message.

James Vincent Pierce, a Clearwater-based attorney, will be the keynote speaker.

The event will coincide with speeches, parades and memorial services across the state and nation honoring King, whose struggle for civil rights came to a devastating end when he was assassinated on a Memphis motel balcony in 1968.

In Pine Hill, the celebrations come at a time of transition. Many old families have moved away. The housing stock is decaying and little has been done to redevelop the residential areas.

The neighborhood also is still struggling to emerge from its reputation as a hub for drug dealing and gang activity in west Pasco.

"In some ways, the neighborhood is dying," Scott said. "There's no drive to revitalize it."

But the legacy of those founding families, like that of Martin Luther King Jr., has survived the years.

"It's still there and it's a part of our history," he said. "And that needs to be recognized."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances

ON THE EAST SIDE: Dade City's annual celebrations begin today with a 9 a.m. breakfast at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 14518 Seventh St. The Rev. Theopulas Robinson, pastor of Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, will be the speaker.

On Monday, the AME church will host a day of programs and speeches beginning at 11 a.m. The Rev. Betty Watson of Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church in Trilby will be the keynote speaker. The program also will feature choir music and dancers.

For details, call Irene Dobson at (813) 782-2360.

ON THE WEST SIDE: Noon to 1 p.m. Monday at Union Missionary Baptist Church, 6235 Pine Hill Road in Port Richey.

For information, contact Vivian Lockett at (813) 996-2199.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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