The Friends of Grove Hall Branch Library have proposed renaming the branch’s second floor community space after civil rights advocate Mamie (Mimi) Jones, a move supported in a resolution by the City Council last month.

Born May 4, 1947, Mimi was an outstanding student deeply engaged in civil rights activism by the age of 15 when she helped register new voters and tutored them to pass poll literacy tests while living in the South.

She and her sister staged a “swim-in” during that time to draw attention for desegregating public pools and beaches in St. Augustine, Florida. During this protest, she and other demonstrators were attacked with acid, targeted by police dogs, and arrested on various charges. Photographs of the event helped to convince federal officials that they needed to act on civil rights legislation.

Jones eventually left the South, and in time, found herself in Grove Hall, where she used her experience as an activist to build community throughout Grove Hall – hosting dialogues, communal readings, and supporting library programming.

Since her passing in 2020, patrons and staff of the Grove Hall Branch Library have continue to remember her and, after getting the council’s approval, they honored that remembrance by renaming the mezzanine space the Mimi Jones Conference Room.