Ocala street to bear name honoring Whitfield Jenkins

File photo: Dr. Barbara Brooks, Loretta Jenkins and Whitfield Jenkins, left to right, pose together during the Heritage Trail Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on West Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Style Magazine] 2024.

The city of Ocala approved a change in name for a portion of Northwest 24^th Road to bear the name “Whitfield Jenkins Road,” in honor of the longtime resident and his work in civil rights activism.

Whitfield Jenkins, 85, is a three-time president of the Marion County NAACP, served in philanthropy leadership and has been a strong community member of the city of Ocala for over 50 years.

The Ocala City Council approved the honorary designation of Northwest 24^th Road, from Northwest 20^th Street to Northwest 21^st Avenue, at its March 4 meeting. Among attendees present was former Gainesville official Rodney Long, joined by Jenkins’ wife Loretta Pompey-Jenkins. Jenkins himself could not attend the meeting because he was in the hospital.

“It’s fitting and it’s well deserved. I might be a little biased, but I feel like it’s well deserved, and I do appreciate and thank you all very, very much,” Pompey-Jenkins said on behalf of her husband.

Long is a longtime friend of Jenkins and is also a former secretary of the Alachua County branch of the NAACP. He also is a former Gainesville City Commission and Alachua County Commission member.

“We go back quite some time,” Long told the council. “I’m here to stand in support of the street naming for my good friend and a person who’s done great work in this city and this county—Whitfield Jenkins.”

Long said the pair met about 47 years ago, while Long served on the board of the Alachua County NAACP while Jenkins served as the Marion County NAACP president at the same time.

“I think it’s a very fitting tribute for a person who’s giving back so much to this community,” Long said.

Jenkins is a 1959 graduate of the historic Fessenden High School, which now serves as Fessenden Elementary School. Jenkins then earned his bachelor’s degree at Florida A&M University, where he played on the football team and won two National Negro National Championships in 1959 and 1961.

Jenkins earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Rollins College. He went on to work for the Florida Department of Corrections at Lowell for nearly 30 years, from 1972 until 2000. Jenkins was also a longtime teacher in Marion County Public Schools and an adjunct professor at the College of Central Florida.