The city council officially approved the honorary designation for Lois D. Martin Way. They listened because 164 of you refused to let the history of Pearl City go unrecognized. Send a quick email to your council member thanking them for this vote so they know we are still paying close …
November 28, 2022
Final supporters
Support an honorary street name designation of ”Lois D. Martin Way” on Glades Road between Federal Highway and Dixie Highway
Did you know Pearl City, Boca Raton’s Historic Black neighborhood was split in two by the extension of Glades Road in 1978?
Lois D. Martin (1928-2022) - Pearl City Resident, Boca Raton Community Activist and Educator
PEARL CITY
In 1915, Pearl City was established for African American residents south of what is today Glades Road between Dixie and Federal Highway so that workers on local farms did not have to make the long walk from Deerfield Beach. Eventually, the community spread beyond the original three-block area near Federal Highway and Glades Road to include about another eight blocks to the north. Pearl City grew to be an independent community with its own churches, businesses, school, and entertainments in the days of segregation.
In 1978, the Florida Department of Transportation, FDOT, extended Glades Road from Dixie Highway to Federal which ran directly through Pearl City causing the community to split into two.
Mrs. Martin boldly objected to this divide and also to the removal of a massive banyan tree “aka” in the community as “The Tree of Knowledge” which is currently located at the corner of Old Dixie Highway and Glades Road.
LOIS D. MARTIN
Educator and community leader Lois Martin was born on September 23, 1928, in Boca Raton, Florida to Sallie and Jasper Dolphus, the first minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church. After graduating in 1946 from Carver High School in Delray Beach, she earned an A.A. degree in 1948 from Florida Normal College and B.S. degree from Florida A&M College in 1950 before beginning to pursue graduate studies at Boston College. In addition to her career as an educator, Mrs. Martin had always been an active member of her community.
Ms. Martin acted as secretary to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and later served as vice chairman for the Housing Authority. She was a contributor to Habitat for Humanity, sat on Boca Raton’s Historic Preservation Board, held the offices of vice chairman of the Pearl City Blue Ribbon Committee and treasurer for the Martin Luther King Memorial Committee.
In addition, she served as a Sunday School teacher and treasurer for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Lois Martin Community Center, named in her honor, serves the underprivileged communities of Boca Raton with a variety of services for children and teens, including tutoring and after school program
D.I.S.C.
Developing Interracial Social Change, (https://www.discofpearlcity.org), an organization that works to bridge racial and economic gaps in the community, are in the process of obtaining a national historic district designation within the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
PLEASE SHARE THIS PETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Updates
November 4, 2022
The city council remains quiet regarding our request but the silence only proves they know how much this history matters to us. Send an email to your representative today demanding that they acknowledge the original split of Pearl City. Post our link on your Facebook page to remind your neighbors that the community has not forgotten Lois D. Martin.
November 4, 2022
The momentum behind renaming Glades Road is now undeniable. Call your city council representative today and demand they recognize the legacy of Lois D. Martin. Post this link on Facebook to ensure our local officials hear us loud and clear.
Reached 100 supporters
November 4, 2022
23 Comments
I am a member of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church on Ruby Street in Pearl City. Mrs. Martin was selfless, wise and kind to all who came in contact with her. Having a section of the street named "Lois D. Martin Way" will honorable.
This would be a well deserved honor that acknowledges the sustained contributions that Mrs. Martin has made in Boca Raton.
It is the importance to know history and maintain a history of communities especially African American communities. Mainly because of the social disadvantage at disadvantage economics that is being practiced throughout the United States against people of color who have helped build This country we should never forget
Although I now live in the Pacific Northwest, I was a Boca resident for 25 years and a member of DISC. I think this is an important way to honor a truly remarkable citizen of Boca Raton and Pearl City.
Lois D. Martin deserves this honor as does Pearl City, which predates Boca Raton.
Mrs. Lois Martin was dedicated to the community and deserves to be honored throughout Pearl City and Boca Raton Glades Road area.
My mother, Elle Carolyn Goddard Bowe was born in 1926 and raised in Pearl City/Boca Raton, Florida as was 1 sister and 4 brothers. I am her oldest child of 6 children. I was born in 1947 in Pearl City/Boca Raton also but grew up in Riviera Beach, Florida but currently reside in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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The city council officially approved the honorary designation for Lois D. Martin Way. They listened because 164 of you refused to let the history of Pearl City go unrecognized. Send a quick email to your council member thanking them for this vote so they know we are still paying close …
November 28, 2022
Final supporters
Support an honorary street name designation of ”Lois D. Martin Way” on Glades Road between Federal Highway and Dixie Highway
Did you know Pearl City, Boca Raton’s Historic Black neighborhood was split in two by the extension of Glades Road in 1978?
Lois D. Martin (1928-2022) - Pearl City Resident, Boca Raton Community Activist and Educator
PEARL CITY
In 1915, Pearl City was established for African American residents south of what is today Glades Road between Dixie and Federal Highway so that workers on local farms did not have to make the long walk from Deerfield Beach. Eventually, the community spread beyond the original three-block area near Federal Highway and Glades Road to include about another eight blocks to the north. Pearl City grew to be an independent community with its own churches, businesses, school, and entertainments in the days of segregation.
In 1978, the Florida Department of Transportation, FDOT, extended Glades Road from Dixie Highway to Federal which ran directly through Pearl City causing the community to split into two.
Mrs. Martin boldly objected to this divide and also to the removal of a massive banyan tree “aka” in the community as “The Tree of Knowledge” which is currently located at the corner of Old Dixie Highway and Glades Road.
LOIS D. MARTIN
Educator and community leader Lois Martin was born on September 23, 1928, in Boca Raton, Florida to Sallie and Jasper Dolphus, the first minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church. After graduating in 1946 from Carver High School in Delray Beach, she earned an A.A. degree in 1948 from Florida Normal College and B.S. degree from Florida A&M College in 1950 before beginning to pursue graduate studies at Boston College. In addition to her career as an educator, Mrs. Martin had always been an active member of her community.
Ms. Martin acted as secretary to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and later served as vice chairman for the Housing Authority. She was a contributor to Habitat for Humanity, sat on Boca Raton’s Historic Preservation Board, held the offices of vice chairman of the Pearl City Blue Ribbon Committee and treasurer for the Martin Luther King Memorial Committee.
In addition, she served as a Sunday School teacher and treasurer for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Lois Martin Community Center, named in her honor, serves the underprivileged communities of Boca Raton with a variety of services for children and teens, including tutoring and after school program
D.I.S.C.
Developing Interracial Social Change, (https://www.discofpearlcity.org), an organization that works to bridge racial and economic gaps in the community, are in the process of obtaining a national historic district designation within the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
PLEASE SHARE THIS PETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Updates
November 4, 2022
The city council remains quiet regarding our request but the silence only proves they know how much this history matters to us. Send an email to your representative today demanding that they acknowledge the original split of Pearl City. Post our link on your Facebook page to remind your neighbors that the community has not forgotten Lois D. Martin.
November 4, 2022
The momentum behind renaming Glades Road is now undeniable. Call your city council representative today and demand they recognize the legacy of Lois D. Martin. Post this link on Facebook to ensure our local officials hear us loud and clear.
Reached 100 supporters
November 4, 2022
23 Comments
This would be so appropriate. I hope the area gets named for all her contributions to the city and community. I remember laying in her floor with all my algebra books surrounding me, and her teaching me formulas. I would have never gotten through my math classes without her.
I am a member of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church on Ruby Street in Pearl City. Mrs. Martin was selfless, wise and kind to all who came in contact with her. Having a section of the street named "Lois D. Martin Way" will honorable.
This would be a well deserved honor that acknowledges the sustained contributions that Mrs. Martin has made in Boca Raton.
It is the importance to know history and maintain a history of communities especially African American communities. Mainly because of the social disadvantage at disadvantage economics that is being practiced throughout the United States against people of color who have helped build This country we should never forget
Although I now live in the Pacific Northwest, I was a Boca resident for 25 years and a member of DISC. I think this is an important way to honor a truly remarkable citizen of Boca Raton and Pearl City.
Lois D. Martin deserves this honor as does Pearl City, which predates Boca Raton.
Mrs. Lois Martin was dedicated to the community and deserves to be honored throughout Pearl City and Boca Raton Glades Road area.
My mother, Elle Carolyn Goddard Bowe was born in 1926 and raised in Pearl City/Boca Raton, Florida as was 1 sister and 4 brothers. I am her oldest child of 6 children. I was born in 1947 in Pearl City/Boca Raton also but grew up in Riviera Beach, Florida but currently reside in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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This would be so appropriate. I hope the area gets named for all her contributions to the city and community. I remember laying in her floor with all my algebra books surrounding me, and her teaching me formulas. I would have never gotten through my math classes without her.