Florida civil rights matron dies [Tampa Tribune, Fla.]

Dec. 08--TAMPA -- It was through their work with the Tampa NAACP chapter that Helen and Bob Saunders Sr. met and fell in love.

They were a team in the service of civil rights during 49 years of marriage. Bob Saunders Sr., who died in 2003, became the Florida NAACP field director; Helen Saunders was the second woman to serve as president of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Last Thursday, Helen Strickland Saunders died after a long illness at age 90.

"I hope that people understand what they were all about, not just my parents, but everyone involved in the civil rights movement," said their son, Bob Saunders Jr. "The legacy they left we pay homage to, but to continue to honor them we have to do it in our daily lives to make sure that change continues."

Helen Saunders grew up in Mims, also the hometown of civil rights activist Harry T. Moore. Her activism began there, and her son recalls that she often had Sunday dinners with Moore's family.

Moore and his wife, Harriette, were killed on Christmas Eve in 1952 when a bomb exploded beneath their bedroom.

Bob Saunders Sr. was named as Moore's replacement at the Brevard County NAACP.

Their son remembers his parents worked and often traveled together, helping to organize NAACP chapters and encouraging voter registration.

"She was strong-willed," he said. "She was very friendly and generous, but when she had a point to be made, she made a point."

Helen Saunders was president of Tampa'sNAACP branch when the organization won a federal lawsuit that mandated single-member voting districts.

In 1961 the couple enrolled their son in MacFarlane Park Elementary School. He was the second black child to integrate a white school in Hillsborough County.

"They both felt they couldn't ask someone else to put their child in that situation if they couldn't put their own child there," said Saunders Jr. "She had a lot of faith in Christ. She didn't let things bother her."

Helen Saunders was a claims clerk for Central Life Insurance Company of Florida, which had an office at Harrison Street and Central Avenue. She was the first woman promoted as manager of one of the company's departments, and later served as secretary of the board of directors.

She retired in 1987.

Her most recent public event was for the unveiling of a bust of her late husband at the Robert Saunders Sr. Public Library in February.

Family friend Fred Hearns said Helen Saunders was "very sweet and very soft-spoken."

While her husband might have been the more visible of the two, Hearns said, "She did a lot of good work in the background. Her contribution was tremendous."

A homegoing service celebrating Saunders' life will be held today at 11 a.m. at Beulah Baptist Institutional Church, 1006 W. Cypress Street.

Helen Saunders will be buried beside her husband at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

___

(c)2011 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.)

Visit the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) at www.tampatrib.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services