Sheila Sanders has a sweet smile but

don’t mistake it for weakness. She organized a boycott of the Sarasota Federal

Bank as a third grader at Booker Elementary School. At that time, her class

learned money management by filling out savings deposit slips for their

pennies, dimes and nickels, but the students could not take tours of the bank

as children from other schools did. Sanders persuaded her classmates to send

deposits to Palmer Bank where they could tour.  Her actions foreshadowed

future activism. The teenager proactively participated in the NAACP

accompanying leaders John Rivers and Maxine Mays to local and state meetings. In

high school, Sanders learned about the political process by reviewing the agenda

of school board meetings and attended the meetings by taking the city bus.

“Some things won’t be said just because you’re sitting there.” 

Sanders, William “Flick” Jackson and

John Rivers joined Dr. Edward E. James II as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against

the City of Sarasota. They successfully pushed for single member district

voting that opened the way for African American representation on the Sarasota

City Commission.