Developer drops land purchase in historically Black town

EATONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A developer has dropped plans to purchase a 100-acre property from the local school system in a historically Black town in Florida following public outcry that the deal threatened the cultural heritage of the community made famous by Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. Derek Bruce said Friday in a letter to Orange County Public Schools in Orlando that he had terminated the deal to purchase the land where a former school for Black students stood in the town of Eatonville. The school system said in a statement that it wouldn’t consider any further bids for the land.