2023 Black History Icons

The city partnered with the Midtown Community Development Corporation and developed a street banner series for February’s Black History Month for the third year. Banners feature local African American pioneers and are displayed on International Speedway Boulevard between Nova Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Rev. Carl F. Brinkley
1925-2016

• Military Veteran U.S. Marine Corp - Sergeant 
• 1st Black fulltime Deputy Sheriff in Volusia County
• 40-year career as CEO of The Daytona Beach Housing Authority 
• Pastored various AME churches for 47 years

Mrs. Julia Mae Troutman Cherry 
1927-2022

• Educator and community activist 
• Golden Heritage Life Member of the NAACP 
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 
• Owner of one of the largest private Black-owned media companies in America, with 12 radio stations and two weekly newspapers 

Mr. James F. Daniels 
1928-2022

• Entrepreneur 
• Author of "Metamorphosis" 
• Documentary film producer

Mr. Vernon L. Echols
1927-2019

• Successful golf coach 
• Founder of the "L.O.V.E. Golf Tournament" 
• CEO of L.O.V.E. Golftech, Inc.

Mrs. Jennie Mae Fudge
1936-2014

• 1994 Gary Greeson Exemplary Achievement Award from the Volusia Council of Governments 
• 1996 Mt. Zion African-American Episcopal Church Community Service Award 
• 1998 Humanitarian Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee 
• Community activist and change agent 
• Business Owner

Mr. James Griffen Greene
1910-1987

• First and only president of the segregated Volusia Community College (predecessor to Daytona State College) 
• Lifelong educator 
• Professor at Bethune-Cookman College 
• Member of the “Great 2000 Floridians”

Mrs. Josie Queen James 
1868-1983

• Educator 
• Founded many local Kindergarten schools in Daytona Beach 
• Honored with a City of Daytona Beach Children’s Park bearing her name on Pleasant Street 
• Former member and Church Mother at New Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church

Mr. Earl C. McCrary, II
1993-2007

• Educator 
• Principal at Campbell Middle School 
• Director of Minority Achievers YMCA 
• Member of Westside Business and Professional Association 
• Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc 
• Coined the saying "#1 Spartan"

Mr. Jack "Cy" McClairen 
1931-2020

• Military Veteran 
• 1st Bethune-Cookman Football Player drafted by the NFL 
• 1st Bethune-Cookman Football Player selected to the Pro Bowl 
• 6-year career with the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers 
• Served as Head Football & Head Basketball Coach and Athletic Director of Bethune-Cookman
• Inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame

Mrs. Fannie H. Counts McNorton
1917-1990

• Recreational Manager for the City of Daytona Beach
• Mentor & Teacher 
• Member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Order of Eastern Star and Daughters of the Sphinx

Mr. Andrew J. Moore, Sr. 
1924-1984

• WWII Veteran U.S. Marine Corp
• Principal; Andrew J. Moore Junior High School in Glen Allen, Mississippi
• Dean of Men & Professor of Mathematics Bethune-Cookman College
• Director of Student Services Volusia County Schools.
• Daytona Beach City Commissioner Zone 6 for 8 Years
• Westside Business and Professional Association
• Trustee, Mt. Bethel Institutional Baptist Church
• Member, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
• Andrew J. Moore Sr. Youth Baseball Memorial Complex, Bethune Point.

Mr. Cardy Moten, Sr. 
1934-2021

• Successful businessman 
• Owner of C&M Carpet and Drapery 
• Home decorator

Mr. Ralph A. Singleton, Sr. 
1939-2000

• Owner and operator of Singleton Dry Cleaners.
• Life Member of NAACP
• Founding President of the Second Avenue Merchants Association
• Member of the Volusia County Chamber of Commerce
• Member of the Westside Business and Professional Association

Mrs. Daisy Hardy Stocking
1888-1968

• Dr. Bethune's hospital nurse and administrator 
• Community activist 
• Organized and administered the first American Red Cross blood drive in the black community 
• Chairperson of the Board of Florida East Coast Orphanage
• Daytona Chapter the Links, Inc. 
• Daytona Beach Commission created Daisy Stocking Park

Mr. Robert K. Wright
1917-2011

• Personal tailor for Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune 
• Taught tailoring at Bethune-Cookman College 
• Business owner 
• Civil Rights activist 
• Director of Project Upgrade and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 
• Director of the CETA program

Mr. Rufus "Buddy" Young, Jr. 
1924-2002

• Educator 
• Coach 
• Daytona Beach Police Officer 
• Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy 
• Bethune-Cookman University Athletic Hall of Fame 
• Bethune-Cookman University National Alumni Association 
• Shaft of Light Award
• Daytona Beach City Commissioner (1979-1993)