Updated Ella Jordan House is telling the stories of Black contributions to Pensacola life

The Ella Jordan House highlights the contributions of African Americans in Pensacola and tells the story of the Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood.

The new stories in the house spans backwards from the founding of the home, to famous lawsuits, trailblazers, and the various ways Pensacola was shaped in the last 100 years.

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The Ella L. Jordan African American History Museum, a bright pink home at the corner of North C and West La Rua streets, had its grand opening on Oct. 15, 2022, and since its opening has added new pictures and vignettes for the community to see and learn from.

It's a valuable part of history that might otherwise be lost, say museum visitors such as Kammy and George Young who moved to the Belmont-Devilliers area from Tennessee. The Youngs wanted to show their grandchildren, Houston and Margaret Brabham, the complete history of Pensacola.

Now reciting the history of the neighborhood with the new vignettes included after the grand opening, Kammy hopes her grandchildren will be able to soak in the knowledge about the contributions of African Americans in Pensacola

“I do a lot of justice ministry work and community organizing around the problems that we all face. And so many of those problems are rooted in an oppressive system that measures people by how much money they have or what color their skin is or what gender they are," Kammy Young said. “And I homeschool them so that I can help them have a start and remind them, and all of us, we all need each other and we are all basically the same.”

One of the new vignettes added to the museum highlights the 1977 Escambia Voting Rights case where 10 Black men filed suit in federal court against the Escambia County Commission, the county school board and the Pensacola City Council, contending the at-large system of elections used by the three bodies discriminate against Black voters.

Another informational piece in the house looks at Theophalis May, who was instrumental in historic preservation in Pensacola with his successful restoration business, May’s Construction Company.

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The museum highlights little-known historical figures like Catherine Kelly, who helped create equal opportunities for African American workers in Pensacola working for the U.S. Postal Service. She took part in Hampton v. U.S. Postal Service lawsuit, which mandated the Pensacola Post Office hire and promote African Americans.

“We wanted to make sure that the people that are on the walls are the people that had a significant part in making Pensacola a better place for Black people,” said Georgia Blackmon, whose fundraising efforts helped ensure the home was preserved and renovated.

Ella Jordan was the founder of the Pensacola Federation of Colored Women's Clubs in 1929 and was a community leader, educator and political activist in the city. The club originally met at members' homes or local schools until Jordan purchased the home in 1951, though the house itself dates back to 1890.

Historically, it was the home of the Pensacola chapter of the Federation of Colored Women's Clubs starting in the 1950s. Through the years, it was used by organizations like sororities, book clubs and educational groups until it fell into disrepair in the early 2000s.

Through her organization the Mother Wit Institute, Blackmon was able to raise funds to save and restore the Ella L. Jordan House and by 2020 renovations were completed.

Blackmon understands stresses if you do not know your history, you are doomed to repeat it, and urges the community to visit the museum to learn more about the contributions of African Americans in Pensacola.

The Ella L. Jordan African American History Museum is free and open to the public Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Want to learn more? Check out this related event below:

Music and retelling of "The People Could Fly"

What: Celebrate the art of African American storytelling with Lili Forbes and Monica R. Woods.

When: 11:30 a.m., April 1

Where: The Ella Jordan Home

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola history highlighted at Belmont-DeVilliers Ella Jordan house