Emma Booker, educator
Commemorated on a new mural in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, Emma E. Booker began teaching at Sarasota County’s first black school in 1918. At a time of racial segregation, the school was starved of resources, with old orange crates being used as desks and relying on hand-me-down books discarded from white schools. Eventually achieving recognition for her pioneering efforts, Emma E. Booker gave her name to a local elementary school - which President George W. Bush was visiting when he was informed of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Emma Booker, educator
Commemorated on a new mural in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, Emma E. Booker began teaching at Sarasota County’s first black school in 1918. At a time of racial segregation, the school was starved of resources, with old orange crates being used as desks and relying on hand-me-down books discarded from white schools. Eventually achieving recognition for her pioneering efforts, Emma E. Booker gave her name to a local elementary school - which President George W. Bush was visiting when he was informed of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.