JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On the Black Heritage Trail, Jacksonville’s history is not just remembered -- it is revisited.
The self-guided trail includes 25 stops across the city, highlighting historic churches, schools, parks, and neighborhoods that shaped Jacksonville’s Black history.
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For Yollie Copeland, the trail is more than a list of locations. It is a mission.
After retiring from a 25-year career as a deputy sheriff, Copeland turned a personal passion into a business. What started as researching her own family roots across the South led her to spend time exploring Jacksonville’s Urban Core. That curiosity eventually became Explore Jax Core, a tour company focused on the city’s Black Heritage Trail.
“When I retired, I wanted to dive into finding my family roots from around the South, primarily in Beaufort, South Carolina, Tifton, Georgia, Valdosta, Georgia, Tallahassee, Florida, and Jacksonville,” Copeland said. “I would park and explore Jacksonville’s core, and that is really how Explore Jax Core was birthed.”
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Copeland now drives visitors through history in a six-seat, low-speed electric shuttle, guiding them through some of Jacksonville’s most significant landmarks, many of them located in the LaVilla neighborhood.
One of the stops includes Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park, which honors James Weldon Johnson Jr. and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson, who wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” The brothers were educated in Jacksonville, and their legacy is tied to several locations along the trail.
The tour also stops at the Ritz Theatre and Museum, the historic Brewster Hospital site, and the Stanton School, the first public school for Black children in Jacksonville.
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Along Ashley Street, Copeland points out buildings that once hosted well-known Black performers. The structure now known as Clara White Mission was once the Globe Theatre, where Ma Rainey performed. Nearby, a former record store was a place where Ray Charles recorded.
“These were full neighborhoods. They were places where people lived and came and went and shopped,” Copeland said. “I feel a sense of urgency that I have to keep going and encourage other folks to pick up the message board, whatever their gift is, and continue to spread the history.”
Some of the original structures remain. Others are gone. But Copeland continues to share the stories behind them, working to ensure Jacksonville’s Black history is not forgotten.
Click here to learn more about the stops along the Black Heritage Trail.
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