Murals commemorate influential Hill leaders
Drive through the heart of the Hill neighborhood in Apalachicola, the traditional home of the city’s Black community, and on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, between Seventh and Eighth Streets you’ll see three works of art featuring people you may not be familiar with.
But those who grew up on the Hill, these men and women are quite well-known, as they served as leaders in the fields of education, of politics and of economic empowerment for both the minority and general communities within Franklin County.
Created by Port St. Joe-based muralist Javier Arreguin, the murals were funded as part of a $20,000 grant from a Keep America Beautiful MLK Community Corridor Grant, part of a program sponsored by beverage company Diageo to beautify areas along or near MLK corridors.
The grant was awarded to the local affiliate in Franklin County, and also went towards adding new benches and native plant landscaping at the Holy Family Senior Center, a former Roman Catholic church and school that is now owned by the city and hosts a variety of community programs and events.
While the murals were dedicated at a ceremony in January, last month Lynn Wilder, the executive director of Keep Franklin County Beautiful, and Valentina Webb, the vice-president of the Northwest Florida African American Corridor Project, attended the three-day Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Washington, D.C. where the project was honored.
“We, along with two other MLK grant recipients, participated in a panel discussion about our project,” said Wilder. “The room was full with an audience of about 100 people, and all were leaning forward in their seats. It was an inspiring event that fit the conference themes – ‘We are Better Together’ and ‘There is Power in Beauty.’”
In her role with the Northwest Florida African American Corridor Project, a non-profit with a focus on the history of African American culture and settlement in a multi-county region, Webb oversaw the creation of the murals, both the selection of the individuals portrayed as well as the logistics of creating the art.
Contractor Glen Coxwell and his wife, LaRaela Lee-Coxwell, who live on the Hill, gave the organizers the lot on a permanent loan at no cost, and then donated $5,000 towards the creation of the steel canvases, frames and their foundations set in concrete. Lee-Coxwell said that in the event they eventually decide to sell the lot, they have pledged to relocate the murals to another suitable site at their own expense.
Webb then set about creating a selection process for depicting the leaders in three groups – educators, political stalwarts and economic empowerment leaders.
“The intent is to preserve the rich history of The Hill and the contributions of African Americans who made it possible for people to live and prosper in a caring community,” she told the audience at the dedication. “The murals are historical markers that are a first step. There will be more.
“This community enabled Apalachicola residents over the years to move beyond constraints created by local, state and federal governments that were meant to do harm,” Webb said. “The Hill neighborhoods of caring people, through faith and hard work, were blessed to generate a community of care. With your help, their work, and their gifts will continue to light the paths of generations to come.”
Webb reached out to area residents to get an idea of who would be pictured, and then held a light brunch at the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and the Arts to collect photos that Arreguin could work with.
“From those photos brought in, we decided where we would go, and came up with categories,” she said. “We did due diligence trying to get the information. We knew everybody can’t be included, and to me there will be many more opportunities to do this.
“It’s just the first of many; there are more projects to come,” Webb said.
Once the selection was made, and the photos given to Arreguin, he set about over the last two months of 2024 to create the murals.
He painted on site, all by hand, no spray paint, and only used five colors in depicting what he saw in the old photographs. He said it was his first non-commercial mural in quite some time, and meant a lot to him.
“He appreciated the work even more when people stopped by and told him stories about those he was painting,” said Webb. “I was very pleased with him, and guided him every step of the way.”
She tweaked some of his sketches, recommending that Dr. King be placed in the background of one of the murals, rather than front and center. “I didn’t want Dr. King to overshadow the local people,” Webb said. “I also asked that the courthouse be in the background of the middle one.”
At the January unveiling, Lorine Banks, who is pictured in the Educator mural, snipped the ribbon alongside Wilder. Also appearing in that mural are Mrs. Ruby Tampa, whose story was told by FAMU professor Dr. Dreamal Ingram Worthen; Charles E. Watson-Clark, whose story was told by retired New York University professor Dr. Willie Tolliver; and Dr. Frederick Humphries, whose story was related by his niece Falan Goff.
On the mural dedicated to Political Stalwarts appears Rev. Clarence Williams, his story related by his brother Anderson Williams; Warren Hayward, his story related by daughter Dolores Croom; Rev. O. H. Walker; Bryant Hand, his story told by daughter Alisa Hendels; and Bettye Sudduth Williams, her story told by daughter Cleo Henderson.
On the mural for Economic Development are featured Ruffin “Tom” Rhodes, his story told by nephew Gary “Nick” Rhodes; Edward Tolliver, his story told by brother Willie Tolliver; Charles Jones Sr., his story told by son Sam Jones; Rose McCoy Thomas, her story related by Myrtis Wynn, president of the Northwest Florida African American Corridor Project; and Arthur “Trigger” Hutchinson, his story told by his wife Tami Ray Hutchinson.
Wilder said Keep Franklin County Beautiful has already submitted an application for a 2025 grant which will focus on another new way to beautify the neighborhood.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.