Robert L. Taylor
Robert L. Taylor is a graduate of Morehouse College. Admittedly, his was a charmed life free of heavy chores at home.
The goal set for the seven-year-old was to become the first college graduate in the family. That meant no hanging out with friends on the corner in Overtown. The neighborhood had a few restaurants, a barbershop, a hotel and Bethlehem Baptist Church on the corner of Central Avenue. There were no doctor’s offices. “There was no medical care, no doctors. We used cobwebs, cotton balls and turpentine to treat everything. I went to the dentist as a 15-year-old, but the instruments were tarnished and disgusting. I didn’t go back to the dentist until I was 25.”
Studying hard, Taylor earned the title of salutatorian at Booker High School. An academic scholarship to attend college followed. He served in the military, finished college on the GI bill and returned home to work small part-time jobs at the recreation center, a furniture store, on a construction crew, and cleaning sewers (he pauses). “It has only been recently that I could talk about some instances without bursting out crying. People don’t know what racism really is.”
The part time job at the Rec eventually turned into full time employment. Some days, Taylor spent 15 – 20 hours making sure the pool and other facilities were ready for children. He was the manager, a certified swimming instructor and pool operator who planned all programs because the center was the “only game in town.”
(above) Robert L. Taylor Community Complex City of Sarasota
