Janabelle Taylor
*Janabelle Taylor was born on December 3, 1920. She was a Black administrator and social worker.
Born Janabelle Murphy in St. Paul, Minnesota, Murphy was the oldest of three children. She attended local schools, graduating from Central High School in 1939, and then moved on to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1944 with a degree in physical education.
Following college, she worked from 1944-45 at the Hallie Q Brown Center, a nonprofit social service agency in St. Paul. During World War II, she lived at home with her family in the Hamline Midway neighborhood of St. Paul and, like many families, dealt with the effects of shortages and rationing. A brother, John, was stationed stateside in military service during the war. In 1945, she took a position as a social worker in Asbury Park, New Jersey, organizing athletic programs for girls. She remained here until 1947, when she moved to a similar position in Peoria, Illinois.
Murphy married James Taylor in 1949, and the couple raised three sons at their home on Thomas Avenue in St. Paul and returned to the Hallie Q Brown Center until her retirement. Janabelle remained very active with the Rondo community service and Pilgrim Baptist church. She was a teacher at Pilgrim Baptist Church school, worked with youth groups, and was treasurer of the church for over 20 years. She and her husband of 20 years, James E. Taylor, had three sons and raised many more, living in the Rondo community. She served on the St. Paul Planning Commission and was a member of several social service organizations, including the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women.
She was also an organizer of the United Negro College Fund and a member of the Federation of St. Paul Community Centers. Taylor has received many community service awards from her church, the Inner-City Youth League, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the St. Paul Urban League, the American Camping Association, and Minneapolis Public Schools. Janabelle Taylor died in 2009.
