Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

Black History: The History Behind The Names
Jimmie Keel Regional Public Library
The Jimmie B. Keel Re- gional Public Library is named in honor of Rev. Jimmie B. Keel. Rev. Keel served as an em- ployee of Hillsborough County government for more than 35 years.
In addition to his dedi- cation as a County em-
ployee, Rev. Keel was also passionate about his church.
Rev. Keel was ap- pointed pastor of Mt. Olive AME Church, in St. Peters- burg in October 1979.
In 1993, under his lead- ership, plans were made to tear down the old fellow-
REV. JIMMIE KEEL
ship hall and parsonage, purchase off-site, a parson- age with the proximity of this church and construct a multi-purpose building for the expansion of religious growth through church ministries.
Rev. Keel remained pastor of the church until November 2004.
Robert W. Saunders Public Library
The library opened at 1729 East Broadway in 1933 and named the Ybor City Branch Library. It remained at that location for several years. Construction of a new building at 1505 North Ne- braska Avenue was planned as part of the 1968 Model Cities Maryland Avenue Urban Renewal project. It was dedicated in January of 1969.
On November 5, 2003, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commis- sioners voted to rename the Ybor City Branch Library to honor Robert W. Saun- ders, Sr., Civil Rights Ac- tivist and former NAACP Field Director. The ground- breaking that would connect a walkway from the Saun- ders Library to Booker T. Washington Elementary School was held in May
ROBERT W. SAUNDERS, SR. June 9, 1921 --- March 18, 2003
2009 and opened for use by the students in September of the same year.
Saunders was also a Tuskegee Airman.
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