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Editor’s Note: This is the 26th in a series of historical obituaries written today to honor men and women of the past who were not honored in death due to racial or gender discrimination.
Spencer Bibbs, professional driver or hacker, advocate of equal access to education, and one of the founders of Edwards Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, was born on December 18, 1922. He died at his home early in the morning. He suffered from bronchial asthma and asthma. He was ill for two months. He was 65 years old.
Mr. Bibbs was born in Montgomery, Alabama, from July 1857 to September 1858, to B. Bibb, a white planter from Alabama, and Frances Taylor, an enslaved black woman from Virginia. According to his family, Spencer had at least two other siblings, Henry and Virginia.
By 1878, Spencer had moved to Pensacola. In his early 20s, Edwards became a co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. As director of the newly organized congregation, he was responsible for the administrative, operational, and financial aspects of the church. Early church records show that the elders tasked Spencer with organizing the church’s quarterly meetings and leadership meetings. In 1883, Spencer helped negotiate the purchase of land at 13th Street and Scott Street. Built around 1892, this church still stands on East Hill.
On February 27, 1879, Reverend J.M. Butler of Talbot Chapel AME Zion Church officiated Spencer’s marriage to Priscilla Taylor, a fellow Alabama native who lived with her family in Pensacola. Spencer worked as a laborer, and Priscilla took care of her home. They lived near Edwards Chapel Church at 12th Street and present-day Lakeview Avenue, and welcomed their only child, Mary, in July 1885.
The year before Mary was born, tragedy struck Spencer. On the night of September 1, 1884, a sick neighbor asked Spencer to call for a doctor. Along the way, Spencer stopped at the home of another neighbor, Walter Acosta, for help. He stumbled on Acosta’s porch and spooked the horse. When Spencer ran to retrieve his horse, Acosta, fearing an intruder, shot Spencer dead. The bullet passed through his lung and then lodged near Spencer’s spine. Shocked, Acosta rushed for help. The bullet was removed the next morning, but the damage to his lungs remained for the rest of his life.
By 1890, Spencer was working with horses as a horse owner. He was a member of the Colored Hackman’s Exchange, an association of hackers (or taxi drivers). Founded in 1892, the association promised its patrons “excellent vehicles, prompt service, and safe, courteous treatment.” The company boasts a “reputation as courteous, careful drivers and the most knowledgeable taxi men in the city.” Spencer was responsible for both public and private hacking, and took on private work when needed or asked.
While Spencer was working as a hacker, Priscilla was pursuing her own entrepreneurial endeavors. In addition to the grocery store attached to her home, she operated a restaurant called The Owls., Located on Via Zaragossa and Via Bailen. Owlsand Priscilla will be fondly remembered decades from now for its delicious menu, classy accommodations, and flair for advertising.
Spencer’s status within the community increased. In 1899, he was elected superintendent of School No. 44, which served African American elementary students on the city’s east side. For more than 30 years, he fulfilled his obligations to pay the school’s rent and taxes. He provides coal and wood to heat the building. Supervise repairs. And that he always “stands up for the school.” As one citizen wrote in the newspaper, this position is “an important position in the school and must be filled to complete the educational system as a continuous chain from Hearthstone to the highest ranking official.” It was thought that
At that time, students who graduated from School No. 44 could attend the Upper Elementary School on the west side of town. The school board did not provide transportation. However, many students had to walk 10 miles round trip each day to continue their studies. Initially, Spencer used a wagon to transport the children in bad weather. Ultimately, he went to the school board at the request of community members and successfully advocated for a new school to be built on the east side.
The new school was built in 1919-1920 on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Jordan Street, two blocks from the old school. Edwards Chapel opened its doors to serve as a temporary school building during construction. The first teacher at the new school was Spencer’s daughter, Mary Bibbs Washington. By the spring of 1922, the new school, now called Public School No. 102, had a reported enrollment of “300 or 400 negro boys and girls.”
He served as one of the operating representatives and agents of Escambia High School, a public high school built for African American students on the East Side that opened in 1899 and operated for four years.
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In the last decades of his life, Spencer remained a prominent and active member of the church, serving in numerous roles, including chairman and secretary of the board of directors, Sunday school teacher, and member of the governing board. Both his wife and his daughter worked with him for the benefit of the church.
Mr. Bibbs passed away at his final home at 2000 North 12th Street, surrounded by his wife and a trusted community of church, business and educational institutions.
In honor of his advocacy for equal access to education for African American students in the East Hill and East Side neighborhoods, the Escambia County Board of Education designated school number 102 for him in 1928. His legacy is honored by the Bibbs, Taylor and Williams families. His memory was particularly noted and passionately conveyed by Dr. Marion Williams, author of Uncle Spencer’s biography, completed in 2008. May they both rest in peace knowing that their lives and work were not in vain.
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