Elder Jordan’s grandson to speak at history museum Tuesday

One of the most historically significant contributors to progress in St. Petersburg, Elder Jordan Sr. was a savvy business leader, a philanthropist and a tireless advocate for the rights of African American people.

Jordan’s accomplishments, during the darkest days of the Jim Crow era, were many. He donated 26 acres for the city’s first Black housing development, Jordan Park, and built (with his sons) the Manhattan Casino, the south side’s center of activity and entertainment for many years. In 1925, he developed the second elementary school for Black children (Jordan Elementary).

Dr. Basha P. Jordan Jr. Photo provided.

Jordan’s grandson, Rev. Basha P. Jordan Jr., will appear at the St. Petersburg Museum of History Tuesday, discussing his book The Legacy of Elder Jordan, Sr.: From Slavery to Philanthropy.

“To be recognized as a trailblazer and a pioneer takes a certain kind of man, especially if you are a minority,” Basha Jordan writes. “Even though his six-foot one-inch, large, framed body build helped him to command respect, it was his assertive mannerism, his ability to study human nature, and the God in him that made him who he was.”

Born into slavery in the mid 19^th century (the exact date is not known), Jordan bought his own freedom. He was believed to be in his 30s when he arrived in St. Petersburg in 1904.

In his heavily-researched book, Basha Jordan contends that his grandfather loaned money to the city in 1929, at the start of the Great Depression. As to how much money, or whether it was paid back, the records have yet to be located. “That is something that I am committed to solving,” he writes.

In his book’s epilogue, he contends that Elder Jordan Sr. once owned the land where the Gas Plant District once stood.

“I don’t believe that Elder Jordan Sr. did the notable things for the city of St. Petersburg so that his name would go down in history as a former slave turned philanthropist, or as a wealthy Black pioneer,” Basha Jordan writes. “I believe he did what he did because he loved God and he loved people.

“He gave of himself because he knew this was the ordained calling on his life and he was determined to fulfill it no matter what.”

Happy Hour With the Historian with Dr. Basha P. Jordan Jr., at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 2nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg. Tickets, $10, are available here.