St. Pete To Honor Wimbish With Highway Designation

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – One of the most recognizable names in St. Petersburg history will have the honor of gracing Interstate 375, which runs through a portion of the downtown area.

The City of St. Petersburg will host an unveiling of the C. Bette Wimbish Interstate 375 highway designation on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. in the St. Petersburg Coliseum parking lot, 545 Fourth Ave. N. near the sign. A brief reception sponsored by Dolman Law Group will take place after the ceremony.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will host the festivities, while State Sen. Darryl Rouson and David Gwynn, the District 7 secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation will also be on hand.

“Honoring the trailblazing legacy of C. Bette Wimbish is important to telling the rich ‘herstory’ of blacks in St. Petersburg,” Rouson said. “My hope is that it inspires others as she inspired me.”

Wimbish was a lawyer, politician and activist in Pinellas County during the 20th Century. A Florida native born in 1924, Wimbish graduated from Gibbs High School in St. Petersbug and received her bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University. Although she majored in education, Wimbish’s exposure to racial discrimination inspired her to become involved in politics and activism.

As the first black woman to run for countywide political office in 1960 when she ran for the Pinellas County Board of Public Instruction. Although she didn’t win the election, running on a platform of desegregation, she received a significant number of votes.

She and her husband, NAACP president Dr. Ralph Wimbish, participated in many lunch counter sit-ins and other protests. The couple were known for opening their home to black athletes, artists and musicians who were turned away from hotels and housing during segregation.

Wimbish later received her law degree from FAMU’s law school and returned to St. Petersburg to work at a family law firm. She was the first black female attorney in Pinellas County and only the third black female attorney in the state of Florida. In 1969, she was elected to the St. Petersburg City Council, where she was eventually named vice-mayor.

“How do you honor someone who blazed trails and opened new paths for women and African Americans in Pinellas County?” Kriseman said. “With a road, of course. The city is honored to recognize Mrs. Wimbish … who carved her own path to success. What a fitting tribute to rename I-375, a six-lane federal roadway that serves as a grand entrance ramp, bringing people from near and far directly into downtown St. Petersburg.”

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