Copyright © Preservation Resource, Inc. 2005-2010
Central to the homes relocated north of I-4 in the
Tampa Interstate Study Project is the St. Benedict the Moor School site, a site
of historic significance to the African-American community. The Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ) of St. Augustine started the St. Benedict
the Moor School in 1903. St. Benedict’s students were mostly Afro-Cuban children of workers in the cigar industry of Ybor City and
West Tampa. In an era governed by racial segregation, educating black children was prohibited by a 1913 Florida legislature that forbid
individuals of one race teaching another. Defiantly, the SSJ challenged this law and continued to teach the student-body. The 1913
law was eventually declared unconstitutional on May 20, 1916. The School was transferred to the Allegany Franciscans in 1944, and
the school continued to serve the community until it was permanently closed in 1952 due to severe fire damage and was demolished in
2001.
In order to recognize the significant history of the site and the lives of those who were forever changed by the events that
occurred at the school, USDOT/ FDOT worked in conjunction with the City of Tampa to create a commemorative art piece installed at
the corner of East Columbus Drive and North 20th Street. The work consists of an original poem by City of Tampa Poet Laureate James
E. Tokley, Sr.engraved in a granite ribbon over 130' long embedded in the sidewalk. A commemorative granite marker is located at one
end of the poem telling the history of the site. This poem is in recognition of the vital role that St. Benedict the Moor School and
the SSJ played in the enrichment of the African American community for over 40 years.
