{"id":171945,"date":"2026-02-27T20:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171945\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:32:08","slug":"explore-jax-core-offers-front-row-seat-to-jacksonvilles-black-history-action-news-jax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171945\/","title":{"rendered":"Explore Jax Core offers front row seat to Jacksonville\u2019s Black history \u2013 Action News Jax"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 On the Black Heritage Trail<\/a>, Jacksonville\u2019s history is not just remembered — it is revisited.<\/p>\n

The self-guided trail includes 25 stops across the city, highlighting historic churches, schools, parks, and neighborhoods that shaped Jacksonville\u2019s Black history. <\/p>\n

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n

For Yollie Copeland, the trail is more than a list of locations. It is a mission.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Urban Core. That curiosity eventually became Explore Jax Core<\/a>, a tour company focused on the city\u2019s Black Heritage Trail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Copeland said. \u201cI would park and explore Jacksonville\u2019s core, and that is really how Explore Jax Core was birthed.\u201d<\/p>\n

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Copeland now drives visitors through history in a six-seat, low-speed electric shuttle, guiding them through some of Jacksonville\u2019s most significant landmarks, many of them located in the LaVilla neighborhood.<\/p>\n

One of the stops includes Lift Ev\u2019ry Voice and Sing Park, which honors James Weldon Johnson Jr. and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson, who wrote \u201cLift Ev\u2019ry Voice and Sing.\u201d The brothers were educated in Jacksonville, and their legacy is tied to several locations along the trail.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/a>] <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were full neighborhoods. They were places where people lived and came and went and shopped,\u201d Copeland said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the original structures remain. Others are gone. But Copeland continues to share the stories behind them, working to ensure Jacksonville\u2019s Black history is not forgotten.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to learn more about the stops along the Black Heritage Trail.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here<\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here<\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/p>\n

Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 On the Black Heritage Trail, Jacksonville\u2019s history is not just remembered — it is revisited.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[982,81749,81731,81729,10579,81745,81751,18583,43437,28,81754,1853,81752,45638,969,81737,81735,116,118,117,81747,81742,81743,81748,81738,81740,81744,634,81750,81753,81739,81741,16649,81732,7174,81746,232,81733,81734,81736,81730],"class_list":{"0":"post-171945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action_news","9":"tag-ashley_street","10":"tag-beaufort","11":"tag-black_heritage_trail","12":"tag-blues","13":"tag-brewster_hospital","14":"tag-clara_white_mission","15":"tag-deja_mayfield","16":"tag-explore","17":"tag-florida","18":"tag-frioli","19":"tag-georgia","20":"tag-globe_theater","21":"tag-heritage","22":"tag-jack","23":"tag-jacks_core","24":"tag-jackson_core","25":"tag-jacksonville","26":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","27":"tag-jacksonville-news","28":"tag-james_weldon_johnson","29":"tag-james_weldon-_johnson_jr","30":"tag-jay_rosamon_johnson","31":"tag-jay_rosemary","32":"tag-la_villa","33":"tag-lift_every_voice","34":"tag-lift_every_voice_and_sing","35":"tag-local","36":"tag-ma_rainey","37":"tag-ray_charles","38":"tag-ritz_theater_and_museum","39":"tag-sing_park","40":"tag-south","41":"tag-south_carolina","42":"tag-south_florida","43":"tag-stanton_school","44":"tag-tallahassee","45":"tag-tifton","46":"tag-valdosa","47":"tag-yoli","48":"tag-yoli_copeland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}