ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Writing on the walls is usually frowned upon, especially with permanent markers.
But Friday, it was encouraged, by nuns, no less!
In St. Augustine’s Lincolnville neighborhood, people gathered Friday at the old St. Benedict the Moor schoolhouse on M. L. King Avenue.
The once-crumbling building from finally has a new roof and framing for walls.
The Sisters of St. Joseph are restoring this building, originally built in the 1800's. Their predecessors taught Black students in this building for decades before integration of schools.
Sister Kathleen Carr told the small crowd, "In 1916, they (two of the sisters) were arrested for, what was then a crime, being white and teaching Black students."
Friday, former students, community members, and fellow sisters met inside the two-story building that is still under restoration. Their plan: to write on the walls.
Carr told the group, "We invite you to write whatever you’d like on the wood. Just keep it clean!" People laughed.
With permanent markers, they wrote on the wooden frames of the walls as well as on blocks of wood hammered into those frames. They wrote hopeful messages, their names, scriptures, and some even drew pictures. The writings will eventually be covered by drywall and other building materials.
The sisters are turning the building into a neighborhood center. It will eventually house a program dedicated to helping single mothers who need a little extra help getting steady, good-paying jobs.
Natasha Rakich is one of the single mothers in the program. Friday, she pointed to a wooden block with her two sons' handprints. She had also written her name on a wall frame. "To be able to mark your name in history is wonderful."
AJ Crespo has been working with the contractor's crew on the building. He didn’t even know he was connected to this spot.
"I stumbled upon this job. I didn’t even know the history of it until I got here," he told First Coast News."
While working on the building, someone in the community told him that his grandmother had been a teacher at the St. Benedict the Moor School before it closed in 1964.
"I didn't know that," Crespo said. "I was born in Miami. My mom’s family is from St. Augustine," he said. "I came back here and started learning about my roots. And it’s so amazing."
And so Crespo is also adding a message to the walls. On a block of wood, he wrote the names of his ancestors and others who helped found the Lincolnville neighborhood.
He is a connection to the past who is literally helping build the future.
"I feel like I’m here for a reason, you know," Crespo nodded.
If these old walls could talk, they’d tell about Crespo’s family intersecting with the sisters’ past.
However, these newer walls will talk.
And, oh, the stories they will tell.