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Loving - The Movie. A beautiful portrayal of a forgotten civil rights story

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Ruth Negga (2 nd from right) stars as Mildred and Joel Edgerton (right) stars as Richard in Jeff Nichols LOVING, a Focus Features release. Credit : Ben Rothstein / Focus Features   Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving grew up in the rural unincorporated town of Central Point, Virginia. They met in high school, spent time together, and eventually, when Mildred became pregnant, decided to marry. But this was the 1950’s and Mildred was African American and Richard was white. Virginia had anti-miscegenation laws which made their marriage illegal. How did these two young people get beyond Jim Crow and fall in love? Well that had a lot to with Central Point VA. Central Point was and is still a very rural area. At a distance of about 90 miles south east from Washington DC it was community with a history of poor farmers, black and white, ignoring the rules of segregation, living together. According to a 2012 article in the Washington Post , Central Point and Caroline Count...
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Fort DeSoto and Beach Towns in Florida

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  Like most of Florida’s coastline, the Pinellas Peninsula is lined with small islands or keys. Near the City of St. Petersburg, these islands offer beautiful beaches, some history, and, of course, resorts. Fort DeSoto Park Fort DeSoto Park covers five keys at the southern tip of Pinellas Peninsula. It sits at the main channel into Tampa Bay, so the site played a key role in several wars fought by and among the United States. The keys were used by the Union Navy during the Civil War to help anchor the blockade of Tampa Bay. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the local governments in Tampa and St. Petersburg were worried about being invaded, so they petitioned the federal government to build a protective encampment at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The fort was never fully enclosed by walls, so the only structure left is the poured concrete embankment that offered protection to the Laidley Battery, a collection of eight 12-inch mortars, of which four are left today. Fort DeSoto was...
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Location: North Beach At Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL 33715, USA
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Walking Through Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida

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  The city of St. Petersburg, Florida, sits at the southern tip of the Pinellas peninsula, on the western side of Tampa Bay. The city was founded in 1892, and by 1900 it had grown to a population of 1,600 people. During the 20th century, St. Petersburg became a major tourist destination on the Gulf Coast, with train service providing easy to access from the center of the United States. Today, downtown St. Petersburg is a tale of two cities, with Central Ave. its dividing line. South of Central Ave is an area with almost all modern buildings, mostly high-rise condos and office buildings. It is an area that has been totally built up and gentrified during the past 20 or so years. My interest has always been in more historical buildings, so, when I found a self-guided walking tour that focused on the historical buildings in the area north of Central Ave., I jumped at the chance to explore some of the city’s past. Central Avenue and the First Block St. Petersburg was founded by Russian ...
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Location: St. Petersburg, FL, USA
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