St. James Episcopal Church (pictured, 1933), was once a community hub for a Black Tampa neighborhood colloquially known as the Scrub. Credit: Photo via Hillsborough County Public Library System Digital Commons
In 2017, Tampa Housing Authority (THA) started the hard work of restoring the century-old St. James Episcopal Church (pictured, 1933), which was once a community hub for a Black Tampa neighborhood colloquially known as the Scrub.

On Juneteenth—to kick off a new educational initiative by the Tampa Bay History Center and THA—”The James” opens its doors to the public which will gather inside to have a conversation with Rev. Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr.

LaFayette was born in Tampa 82 years ago and took part in nonviolent protests for racial equity in Selma and the Alabama Freedom Rides. His work drew the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who actually offered LaFayette the position of program director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1967.
Beloved Hillsborough Community College mathematics professor and icon Dr. Liana Fernandez Fox will moderate. There’s no cover for An Evening with Bernard LaFayette Jr. at The James in Tampa on Monday, June 19, but registration is required.

The talk arrives not long after the opening of the History Center’s latest exhibit, “Travails and Triumphs,” which tells the stories of African descendents who’ve lived and labored in the Tampa Bay area for over 500 years. To make the exhibit more accessible, the History Center is offering free tickets to the museum on Juneteenth, June 19 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2023.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...