Garfield Devoe Rogers Sr. | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Garfield Devoe Rogers Sr. Jan 23, 1885 Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia, USA |
Died | February 22, 1951 Tampa |
Garfield Devoe Rogers Sr. (1885-1951) was an entrepreneur, community leader and philanthropist in Tampa and Bradenton, Florida.
He founded a life insurance company for blacks during racial segregation in the United States [1] and helped fund the establishment of Rogers Park, Tampa, the first golf course for Tampa's black residents during the segregation era [2] and the second golf course for blacks in Florida after one was established in Miami Gardens.
He came to Florida from Georgia in 1906 and went to Bradenton where he was engaged in the undertaking business. [3] While there, he was at one time supervisor of black schools of Manatee County. [3] He obtained his early schooling at Thomaston, Ga., and later took correspondence courses in law and real estate brokerage from Washington and Chicago schools. Coming to Tampa in 1933, Rogers assumed the presidency of the life insurance firm which then had assets of approximately $45,000. Through the years, he built the company to its present-day standing with assets of more than $1,600,000. [3] Rogers took the lead in 1937 to get equal salaries for black teachers of Hillsborough County. [3] He was a motivating force in the acquisition of the property which now houses Don Thompson High School. [3] At the time of his death, he was on the staff of the Southern Regional Council, regional vice president of the National Negro League, on the staff of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Urban League, and for many years a director of the Tampa Urban League. [3] For thirty years he served as trustee of the Bethune-Cookman Negro College at Daytona Beach. [3] He was past president of the National Negro Association. [3]
On June 7, 1951, the new park built by the City of Tampa Parks Department near Tampa's waterworks on the Hillsborough River was named in his honor. It was dedicated in a ceremony on June 17, 1951.
Rogers Garden Park Apartments, a segregated public housing project built in 1953 on 13th Avenue West between First Street and Ninth Street West, was also named for Rogers Sr. and was known as the Rogers Project. It was eventually demolished and the site is now home to the G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School. Juneteenth celebrations have taken place on the site to commemorate its history and significance to the black community. It included about 180 2 and 3 bedroom units and was Bradenton’s first public housing. Home to cooks, maids, field workers, and teachers, it was close to Ninth Avenue West, a corridor of black businesses, and the Palms of Bradenton on the other side of First Street was showplace for black entertainers like James Brown and Etta James. [4]
In April 2013 a bust of Rogers was added along the Tampa Riverwalk.
Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County. With a population of 384,959 according to the 2020 census, Tampa is the third-most populated city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami and is the 52nd most populated city in the United States.
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Middleton High School is a public high school in Tampa, Florida named in honor of George S. Middleton, an African American businessman and civic leader who moved to Tampa from South Carolina in the late 19th century. Middleton was established for black students in 1934 during the segregation era. The current facility opened in 2002 on North 22nd Street in East Tampa.
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The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Florida.
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Rogers Park Golf Course is a historic public 18-hole golf course in Tampa, Florida. Land for the park was acquired by the City of Tampa in 1947 and was used for picnics and games by black residents during the era of racial segregation in the United States. Construction of the course was led by Willie Black and began in 1948 on part of the Rogers Park complex. It was completed in 1952. Rogers Park was the only course available to Tampa's black residents.