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Mother Pearl Graham embodies the spirit of endurance in one of the most renowned historically Black neighborhoods in Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — During this Black History Month, Vivid Hues invites you to explore Jacksonville’s historic Eastside, affectionately called Out East, through the lens of local artists and the narratives of those who have lived its rich history.
Every Monday in February, Good Morning Jacksonville Anchor Keitha Nelson will shine a light on the individuals and landmarks that have defined Jacksonville’s last remaining 19th-century historically Black neighborhood. Today, we focus on a remarkable woman whose life is a testament to resilience, faith, and change: Mother Pearl Graham.
Pearl’s story begins in Georgia, far from Jacksonville. Her early life was marked by picking cotton and surviving years of sexual and physical abuse. By the time she was just 13, she had become a mother, carrying a child conceived through rape.
At the age of 18, Pearl made a pivotal decision that would alter the course of her life forever.
She boarded a train heading south guided by the advice of a stranger and the hope that anywhere would be better than where she had been.
“I had a brown paper bag, and my sister, and a baby, and I said wherever I land, that’s just where it’s going to be. But it’s better than here,” Graham said. “And everything else is history.”
She stepped off the train in Jacksonville in the late 1960s with little more than determination and faith.
“I said God, don’t let me be broke, don’t let me be a whore, I said let me always keep money in my pocket,” Graham recalls.
A simple newspaper ad would soon redirect her path. A local dry cleaner was hiring, Pearl applied and got the job.
Though she faced racism from the shop’s owner, Pearl’s work ethic spoke louder than prejudice. She earned trust through persistence, showing up early, staying late, and doing whatever was needed, including cleaning the bathrooms.
By 1975, she had done the unthinkable: Pearl Graham purchased Spot Rite Cleaners, the very business where she once worked.
“I started cleaning the bathroom that I own now,” Graham exclaimed.
Today, along A. Philip Randolph Boulevard, formerly Florida Avenue, just blocks from EverBank Stadium, a brightly colored row of storefronts stands as a testament to her journey. Mother Pearl owns the entire block.
Despite earning advanced degrees and becoming a pastor, Pearl is most proud of the name the community knows her by.
“I have a doctorate degree, masters, I’m a pastor and all that, but I just love Mother Pearl,” Graham said. “Anytime I introduce myself, it’s Mother Pearl.”
She is a fixture Out East, praying with the homeless, helping those in need, and extending the same grace once shown to her.
Her name has changed over the years, but her purpose has not.
“Before I really got saved, they called me Pretty Pearl,” she laughs. “After I found Jesus, I said I don’t want that name anymore.”
History lives in these moments. In these streets. In these stories.
“I love Out East, ’cause Out East been good to me,” Graham said. “You understand — it’s been really good to me.”
Featured Artist
The first featured artist this month is Alisha Lewis, a fourth-generation Eastsider.
She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in ceramics, a minor in Art History and African American Studies from the University of Florida. After years of working as an independent artist and educator, she obtained a Master of Professional Studies, Business of Art and Design, from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more, visit her website.