Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: The West Bradenton Woman’s Club and the 13th Avenue Youth Center occupied this site for much of the 20th century. Together, these institutions served as the educational, recreational, cultural, and social hub of the African American community in Bradenton from 1935-2010. The Woman’s Club was formed in 1911, in a time when women throughout the U.S. were organizing similar clubs to provide services to their communities in the absence of public programs. In 1935, the Club moved to this city-owned site, which was used as play space for African American children. Local residents Minnie L. and G.D. Rogers were close friends with educational and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune, who was allied with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Bethune was also affiliated with the National Youth Administration (NYA). The NYA provided jobs and funding to expand the Club’s building and to construct the recreation center that became the Youth Center. The center was a gathering place for sporting and social events; the site of nursery schools, day care, and after-school programs; a drug prevention program; and music and cultural events.