Jimmie B. Keel, social worker and pastor, has died.

Jimmie Keel

Jimmie B. Keel, social worker and pastor, has died. Jimmie Keel served as Hillsborough County’s first Black social worker and assistant county administrator.

Career

According to The Tampa Bay Times, he began his career in 1965 after the Civil Rights Act passed. As part of his job he also oversaw Library services. In 1988 he started the Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund to help local students seek higher education.

Keel retired in 2001 and The Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library was named after him. Keel was honored by the library naming because while growing up in Jackson County he wasn’t allowed to use libraries because of segregation. 

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