This episode features special guest Vickie Oldham, President and CEO of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.

SAACC’s goal is to open an art center and history museum. The precursor of this historic preservation initiative is “Newtown Alive.” Led by Oldham, the project traces the history of Newtown, one of Sarasota’s oldest communities.

Newtown Alive products include a research report, a book, historical markers, a documentary short, a guided trolley tour, traveling exhibition, walking tours, a mobile app, oral history interviews, an inventory of historic structures, a podcast series, and newtownalive.org, the official website. The project has received local and state awards. Visit Sarasota County named Ms. Oldham the 2020 Voice of Tourism.