Pictured: Odessa Butler. Photo courtesy of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

Community leaders spend a great deal of time talking about the future. We discuss opportunities, challenges, data, trends and possibilities. We focus on what comes next. But recently, I was reminded that understanding where we’re going requires understanding where we have been.

Last week, members of our Community Foundation of Sarasota County team took a trolley tour led by local historian and community advocate Vickie Oldham, who is also the executive director of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition. What I expected to be an educational experience became something much more meaningful: a morning filled with stories, music, history and perspective.

Our morning began with a prayer and song led by Brenda Watty, a former Motown Marvelette whose voice and stories set the tone for the journey ahead. Also on board was Odessa Butler, a former Miss Booker High and longtime community advocate whose oral history is invaluable. Throughout the morning, Mrs. Butler recalled her mother’s efforts to lead economic boycotts in pursuit of civil rights, while Brenda shared memories of performing on the Chitlin' Circuit, singing snippets of well-known hits and inviting us to join in.

At one point, as our trolley rolled through St. Armands Circle so that we could learn about the Lido Beach wade-ins, Brenda led our entire group in enthusiastically belting out “This Little Light of Mine.” It was joyful, unexpected and unforgettable. On a morning centered on history and remembrance, it was a reminder that music has always brought people together, carried stories forward and strengthened communities through celebration and struggle.

Away from the beach, the bulk of our morning was spent in Newtown, learning about the places and people that have defined Sarasota's Black community and individuals whose courage and determination helped shape our region. We stopped at the Historic Leonard Reid House, learned more about the legacy of the Booker schools and the woman behind their names, explored the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, and heard about Dr. John Chenault, the first African American physician granted practicing privileges at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and the critical role he played in providing healthcare to residents during a time when access was limited and inequitable.

What struck me was the spirit of resilience woven throughout every story. Again and again, we heard examples of people who faced barriers, exclusion and inequity, yet continued to build, create, educate, heal and lead. Their legacy is not defined by the obstacles they encountered, but by what they accomplished despite them.

That lesson feels especially relevant as we approach Juneteenth later this month.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans learned of their freedom—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. It is both a celebration and a call to reflection. It invites us to honor those who came before us, acknowledge our shared history and continue the work of building communities where opportunity is accessible to all.

At the Community Foundation, we believe that understanding community conditions requires more than data and demographics. It requires listening. It requires learning from lived experience. And it requires creating opportunities for stories to be shared and preserved.

That is one reason we are proud to support the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's upcoming Juneteenth celebration, a free two-day festival that includes live music, spoken word, dance performances, visual art, short films, food and more. As we think about those who shaped our community’s past, this celebration presents a dynamic opportunity to connect with artists, performers and leaders who are shaping our present, and our future. The celebration kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 19, and continues from 1 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20. I hope you can make it.

I also hope that you have the opportunity one day to take the Newtown trolley tour, which brings history to life not through textbooks and slideshows, but through stories, voices, music and the people who lived it.

Jessica Muroff is the President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

Pictured: Odessa Butler. Photo courtesy of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.