OutEast

LIFT JAX’s mission is to eradicate generational poverty in Jacksonville. After extensive study and analysis, we decided to partner with resident leaders to begin our work in one neighborhood: Jacksonville’s Eastside.

The Eastside — OutEast — is located less than a mile from downtown, nestled between the Springfield neighborhood to the west, JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal to the east, and the sports and entertainment district to the south. Widely considered to be one of Jacksonville’s most important historically African-American neighborhoods, the Eastside was home to noteworthy sites, including the Boylan Haven School for Girls, which served girls from prominent African-American families, Brewster Hospital, the first hospital for African-Americans in the city, and Mother Midway A.M.E. Church which, organized in 1865, is the oldest A.M.E. congregation in Florida.

Several prominent African-Americans also called Eastside home, including Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a humanitarian best known for starting a tuberculosis center and serving as a member of President Woodrow Wilson’s White House Conference; James Weldon Johnson, the first African-American admitted to the Florida Bar and author of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” now known as the Black National Anthem; A. Phillip Randolph, union leader and father of the Civil Rights Movement; Bob Hayes, running back for the Dallas Cowboys and Olympic gold medalist known as the “Fastest Man in the World;” and the 1958 Matthew Gilbert High School football team, the first all-black Florida state champions.