In celebration of Black History Month, we bring you a moment in Black History in Southwest Florida.
Dr. Ella Mae Piper was a pioneer, a prominent businesswoman and philanthropist in Fort Myers.
She was born on March 8, 1884, in Brunswick, Georgia, and developed a passion for service as she was growing up, inspired by her mom, Sarah Williams. Piper attended Spelman College, then graduated from Rohrer’s Institute of Beauty Culture in New York City.
After her graduation, Ella came to Fort Myers in 1916 and began to change the community’s history in a very short time. She opened the first beauty parlor and podiatry office.
Dr. Piper also owned the Big 4 Bottle Company, where customers like Thomas and Mina Edison, enjoyed soft drinks for 5 cents.
Dr. Piper was known as a philanthropist. She was instrumental in helping young people obtain scholarships to attend Tuskegee Institute, using her personal money to help some of the students.
Dr. Piper also continued her mother’s annual Christmas Party for Dunbar Heights children, an event still going strong today.
Her generosity earned her the nickname “fairy godmother.”
Her legacy continues through the Dr. Ella Piper Center in downtown Fort Myers. The organization serves the elderly, at-risk youth, and special needs children in Southwest Florida.
In Sarasota, the Colson Hotel was once a vibrant and electrifying place that provided a safe place for blacks to stay, while visiting southwest Florida during the days of segregation.
During its heyday, the 28 room hotel once hosted black entertainers, celebrities and professional athletes.
As years passed, the building fell into disrepair and was slated to be torn down. However, the city recognized its historical significance as a symbol of hope and dignity in an era of racial oppression.
In 2024, the National Trust for Historic Preservation selected the Colson Hotel as one of their Eleven to Save, highlighting the urgent need its preservation.
The Colson is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was included in the Alliance for Historic Preservation’s “Six to Save” list last year.
Plans for restoration of the Colson are in the works.
The first black man to serve in the Naples police department was also one of the first Naples officers killed in the line of duty.
Strickland had served only 30 days before he was gunned down on November 6, 1954, after breaking up a fight between two men in the McDonalds Quarter neighborhood in Naples.
One of the men later gunned down Strickland. The killer fled but turned himself in to the Collier County Sheriff two days later. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Strickland was buried in an unmarked grave in segregated Woodlawn Cemetery in Fort Myer's Dunbar neighborhood.
His story was forgotten…until nearly 60 years later, when details of his death came to light.
He was finally given the recognition he deserved with a marked grave…and a placard paying tribute to his sacrifice is now a part of memorials of fallen officers in the state and at the Naples Police Department.
There are no known photographs of Strickland. His story is featured at the Naples Depot Museum.
In the 1940s and 50s, music-loving, multi-racial crowds would spill outside of McCollum Hall into "Buck’s" Backyard. That's the nickname of Clifford “Buck” McCollum who built the historic art-deco building.
Today, brightly colored murals stretch along that section of Martin Luther King Blvd. in Dunbar. The spirited art highlights the entertainment venue and the renowned musicians who performed there. Part of the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” you can see images of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong.
The mural also features familiar images: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dr. Ella Mae Piper, Buck McCollum’s Liquor Store, Inside the Dance Hall, and a Tribute to the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, just to name a few.
The 23 eye catching panels were painted by J.P. Almonacid, Erik Schlake and Roland Ruoco.
Activist Melissa Jones along with Candis Walker lead the efforts to open the first hospital to serve the black community in Lee County.
They raised money by selling cakes and pies and holding small concerts at community gatherings. The money raised was matched by other resources.
The Jones-Walker hospital was named after the women and dedicated in 1924. The hospital served black, Indian-Native American and other non-white patients.
The hospital on High Street was a source of much pride in the Black community of Fort Myers. For years there was no such facility for blacks.
The first black doctor in Lee County, Dr. Emmit E. Velasco, he occasionally got help from another black doctor from Arcadia. When no black doctor was available, white doctors from Lee Memorial took shifts at Jones-Walker.
For surgery or X-rays, black patients were taken to Lee Memorial, then sent right back. No black patients were allowed to stay at the white hospital.
The Jones-Walker Hospital was closed in 1966, two years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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