TAMPA, Fla. — In the early part of the 20 century, Belmont Heights in East Tampa was home to one the largest Black communities in the Tampa Bay area. Many African Americans raised in the area reminisce over their childhoods in that historic community, but now, the community is trying to retain its identity after hearing of a proposal to change the name of their neighborhood.
“This was a wonderful place to grow up,” said Fred Hearns, who was raised in Belmont Heights. Hearns told me about how life was back then for African Americans living in this community. “Historic Belmont Heights had many of those small areas where people lived, went to school together. We knew each other, we worked together, and I have nothing but great memories growing up in historic Belmont Heights,” said Hearns.
A graduate of Middleton High School, Fred scans a list of names on a wall remembering the scholars who attended the original school back then, many of whom were his friends in this community that served as a safe haven for African Americans during segregation.
Just down the street, Coach James Anderson was getting ready for little league practice. When he was a kid, back in the 80s, he was a utility player and pitcher for the Belmont Heights Little League team.
“It’s the only little league in America where we produce more professional athletics, baseball players in MLB than any other little league in the history of the world," Anderson said.
Though this neighborhood has a rich history, recently, people in the community became concerned after hearing about a proposed name change.
“This petition is for here, created for people to sign so that we can preserve the history of historic Belmont Heights and the boundaries and, so, we have the petition here for people to read and sign, and we are getting signatures on Saturday because, we, as a community want to keep our history. We want to keep our community intact,” said Norene Miller, a community member.
They held a community meeting Thursday evening to discuss how they can preserve the legacy of this neighborhood. They also planned their first annual neighborhood reunion.
“I’m excited about meeting and greeting the members I grew up with. I grew up in the 50s and we had plenty of fun,” said Cynthia O. Keeton, a community member.
The Director of Community Engagement at the City of Tampa told ABC Action News the proposal for a name change was made by a now-defunct neighborhood association. The city said there are no plans to change the name of Belmont Heights.
On another positive note, the controversy has brought the community together. The Belmont Heights reunion will take place at Cyrus Greene Park on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m
