Metro Jacksonville

Best things about Jacksonville....exploration of times past. 

Joe and I were invited to walk around Adorkaville today (more on that later) and I learned about Princess Laura Adorka Kofi (Mother Kofi as she is called by her followers). 


She was born in Ghana in 1893.  As a princess of privilege she left her country to attempt to unite African Americans with their homeland.  Hers was a message of self-help and commerce and always with a spirituality tied to personal empowerment. 

She spent the years of 1926 - 1928  in this small house on Florida Avenue.  At this time she had tens of thousands of followers.

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/DSCN4182.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/DSCN4182.jpg.html)

She was arrested in Jacksonville on trumped up charges. 

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/princessinprisoninjacksonville.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/princessinprisoninjacksonville.jpg.html)
from http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf

Wow. Great find. We don't hear too much about the history of Jax's black neighborhoods. Thanks for sharing.

Shortly after this event, she traveled to Miami to preach her message.  An assassin shot her while she was at the pulpit.  March 1928.

Martyred at 35 while preaching the gospel .

Her body was brought back to Jacksonville. Huff's Funeral Home, on Davis Street, had 10,000 followers show up to pay their respects.

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Huffsfuneralhome.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Huffsfuneralhome.jpg.html)

Her followers in this country received special permission to bury her body in Jacksonville.

She is interred at the Old City Cemetery. 

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/PrincessGrave.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/PrincessGrave.jpg.html)

Terrific stuff, thanks! Is that page from a larger story/book? I followed the link and it was just a few more pictures.

Is her former home still standing?

 Yes still standing !!

Dig around the website and see if you can find t. I'll try too. It is a 40+ page document

I found it, and your link was right, but for some reason it didn't take me there right away and I did the old 'Google-it' with her name and found it. It's a terrific read. he had a huge following all over the U.S.

Here's the link (but I think it's the same as yours):

http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf (http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf)

I see what happened: I am on a touch device (iPad), and I touched the picture instead of the link (they're close together).

I encountered this fascinating story about 10 years ago when I interned at the old Neighborhoods Magazine. The Times-Union has covered it a couple of times, most recently last March: http://jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-03-07/story/after-85-years-slain-ministers-jacksonville-legacy-lingers

Here's an older piece: http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/021205/neR_17931357.shtml

Laura Adorkor Kofi, also spelled "Kofey" and other variations, got her start in Marcus Garvey's black nationalist movement and at one point had a high position in the UNIA organization. Evidently a lot of people think she wasn't really a princess from Africa, but rather an African American from Georgia. Either way, she played a major role in bringing the movement to the South and was its main force here in Florida. She was a forceful enough speaker that she began attracting followers in her own right to the "African Universal Church". As she became more popular she had a falling out with Garvey in 1928 and her movement split off. It was evidently Garveyites who killed her in Miami that year, but no one was ever convicted.

In the 40s her organization reorganized as the "Missionary African Universal Church" formed Adorkaville on New Kings Road. Her successor died in the 1970s, after which a number of other groups split off, including at least one that's still around on North Old Kings Road.

According to the Times-Union article, the Historic Preservation Commission has been supportive of declaring Adorkaville a historic site.

Lecture on Laura Adorka Kofi:  Queen Mother of the America's Black Nationalist Movement.


We learn good stuff from this lecture including a section on her time in Jacksonville. (45:48)

"In the 1920s Jacksonville was the hottest and one of the greatest cities in America when it came down to black people..."

"You have been a long time away from home..."

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/princess--comehometoAfrica.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/princess--comehometoAfrica.jpg.html)
from http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf

Why she chose Jacksonville as her headquarters:

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Princess--distancebetweenjacksonvilleandafrica.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Princess--distancebetweenjacksonvilleandafrica.jpg.html)
from http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf

Thanks she clown.  I missed this bit of local history.  Too frequently, the good get assassinated. .... M.L.K... J.F.K..... R.F.K. ....MX ..... those who have a sense of looking after those positioned less able to look after themselves.

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/AmericanUniversalChurch.png) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/AmericanUniversalChurch.png.html)

Her legacy -- a Black Utopian Community off of Soutel Drive -- Adorakville. 

(And yes...it is in danger of demolition by code enforcement).

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Princesslegacy.png) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Princesslegacy.png.html)

Joe and I went to visit Adorkaville yesterday.  I will post pictures and tell that story in a bit.

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/PikoHorne.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/PikoHorne.jpg.html)
With Piko Horne, daughter of Eli Nyombolo

This post is excellent, thank you for sharing the historic details. I look forward to more.

Thanks for posting this wonderful story. 

thanks guys -- although you really shouldn't encourage me -- I'm not getting to those chores I need to do :)

Great thread, Sheclown! We forgive you for not doing your chores.

Quote from: thelakelander on January 19, 2014, 02:27:11 PM
Great thread, Sheclown! We forgive you for not doing your chores.

:)

This is truly an inspirational story of a woman who traveled from afar to do her king's bidding, bring her fellow brothers and sisters home and sadly died for her efforts.  Why would the City of Jacksonville NOT grant landmark status? 

Regarding expanding the mothball ordinance to structures outside of registered historic districts....Sheclown and I met with CM Reggie Brown on September 30, 2013 to discuss this very issue.  It just makes sense to afford this protection to structures all over the city!  CM Brown was very interested in the subject and even started to set up the meeting with the pertinent parties on 10/3/13.  Shortly after, we received an email saying the 10/03/13 meeting was cancelled because CM Gaffney (whom sheclown and I had also met with immediately before meeting with CM Brown) had set up a meeting with the exact same people for 10/22/13, and they were going to combine the two issues into the same meeting.

The meeting scheduled for 10/22/13 never happened and has yet to be rescheduled despite numerous requests from me.

CM Brown, as this is in your district, will you now re-schedule the very important meeting to discuss expanding the mothball ordinance to all of Jacksonville???

Thanks for the info, Sheclown. It strikes me that landmarking the whole compound may be viable path so that the site can get the protection it needs while still allowing the congregation to decide their own course of action. At any rate, the fact that the greater Adorkaville site is what makes this area so unique and significant.

I can think of two other religious compounds that have taken somewhat different paths to become historic sites in Florida, and it has definitely paid off. Both are, shall we say, "unique", and both have become decent visitor attractions. However, both sites are much bigger than Adorkaville and the buildings are in much better shape.

First is the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp. It's not far from here, in Volusia County. "Spiritualism" in this context refers to the 19th-century movement that thought living people could communicate with the dead through seances, mediums, Ouija boards, and whatnot. Cassadaga was founded in 1894 by George P. Colby as a camp and meeting center for Spiritualists across the country.

Due to its importance as a hub for this movement, historic landmark status was sought and the camp was added to the National Register of Historic Sites in 1991. As a historical site it benefits from having a number of impressive buildings and the fact that it's still a functioning camp for so-called psychics as well as others who just want to check it out.

Camp entrance and Cassadaga Hotel:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Southern_Cassadaga_Spiritualist_Camp_Hist_Dist_entr01.jpg/800px-Southern_Cassadaga_Spiritualist_Camp_Hist_Dist_entr01.jpg)

Even crazier than Cassadega is the Koreshan State Historic Site near Estero, in Lee County. This was formerly the site of the Koreshan Unity utopian compound. This sect was founded by Cyrus Teed and relocated to Florida in 1894. Among other things, they believed we all live on the inside of a hollow earth, with the sun in the center.

The last living Koreshan follower inherited the compound and deeded it to the state in 1961. There are only a few buildings to be seen there. As a historic site the Koreshan Site benefits from state ownership and many acres of beautiful wilderness around it.

The Koreshan "Planetary Court"
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Koreshan_SHS_planetary_court02.jpg/800px-Koreshan_SHS_planetary_court02.jpg)

It may be possible for Adorkaville to have the whole site get landmarked, and then apply for grants to put the necessary work into the buildings. It seems pretty clear they need a lot of help. Or perhaps at some remove the congregation would be willing to sell or donate the land to the city or state to make a park out of it. There are many possibilities.

This is fascinating history! I have a question and a couple comments, but first I want to say I greatly appreciate this story being shared. Thank you to everyone who digs up little-known gems like this from Jax's past.

I'm curious about the use of terms like king and princess in Africa. Are there fundamental differences between a kingdom and a chiefdom in native Africa, or are they more or less interchangeable or unclear distinctions?

I've always found it hard to grasp how easily Africa adopted the religion of their colonial oppressors, to the point that there's nothing ironic about an African princess calling African Americans simultaneously to their roots and to God.

Quote from: sheclown on January 19, 2014, 09:10:14 AM
Why she chose Jacksonville as her headquarters:

(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Princess--distancebetweenjacksonvilleandafrica.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Princess--distancebetweenjacksonvilleandafrica.jpg.html)
from http://www.lauraakofi.org/Princess_Laura_Adorka_Kofi.pdf

As a geography nut, I have to express fault with the point drawn from this map. Jacksonville is in fact the farthest city on the East Coast from Ghana, with Miami and everything from Savannah to Maine being closer. Boston is over 500 miles closer, and even inland Pittsburgh is closer to Ghana than Jacksonville. It's a minor fault, of course, as it simply means she must have chosen Florida primarily for other reasons.

Those are all very good questions.

And I do not have any answers to them! 

I found this story to be magical and wondrous as well.

The demolition of this property will occur very shortly.   The city contractors were there this week doing the preliminary environmental reviews which is a requirement of this demolition.

It is a very sad statement indeed.  Not only is this rich in history, it is rich in Jacksonville's unique history. 

They're demolishing all the remaining buildings? So much for turning it into a park or community area. I understand everything's been in pretty bad shape for a long time.

Does anyone know what happened with this? Are the buildings gone?

How consistent: the Garveyites kill her because (it seems) she gained her own level of fame just as Elijah Muhammad's people killed Malcolm X for much the same reason.

Sigh.

I'm not so sure Adorkaville was a site that should have been saved. It's an incredibly interesting history, though, no doubt about that.

Quote from: Tacachale on April 27, 2016, 04:14:03 PM
Does anyone know what happened with this? Are the buildings gone?

Looking at recent aerials, it appears all the buildings have been demolished.