Palm Beach County’s First Black Trailblazers: Foundations of Leadership
This interactive timeline highlights the pioneering Black leaders who shaped Palm Beach County’s history and public service. Their leadership, resilience, and vision helped build the foundation for the community we serve today.
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Clarence E. Anthony
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the National League of Cities; former Mayor of South Bay.
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Verdenia C. Baker
First Black woman to hold the County Administrator position in Palm Beach County.
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Joseph Bernadel
First Haitian American to found a public school in the United States (in Delray Beach).
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Mack Bernard
First Black man of Haitian descent from Palm Beach County elected as State Representative, County Commissioner, and County Mayor (appointed).
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Louise E. Buie
Led efforts ensuring Black history and contributions were added to previously all‑white textbooks in the Palm Beach County School District.
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Edith Bush
Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coordinating Committee.
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Emanuel Perry
First Black Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council Executive Director.
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Maxine Cheesman
First Black Jamaican woman elected as a Circuit Court Judge.
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F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr.
Opened the first Black law practice in West Palm Beach and founded the first minority‑owned commercial bank in Florida.
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Reginald Duren
First Black Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief.
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John Russell Dyett
Built the first Black maternity hospital.
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Vera Farrington
Founder of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum.
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Dr. Donald Fenney
First Black Superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District.
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Clinton B. Forbes
First Black Palm Beach County Palm Tran Transportation Director.
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Maude Ford Lee
First Black female Palm Beach County Commissioner.
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Dr. Dennis P. Gallon
First Black president of Palm Beach State College.
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Mildred W. Gildersleeve
First Black nurse midwife in Palm Beach County.
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Bernice Gordon Greene
First Black Supervisor for Negro Education and Schools.
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Addie L. Greene
First Black woman from Palm Beach County elected as a Florida State Representative.
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Bradley Harper
First Black man elected as a Circuit Court Judge.
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James “Hank” Harper, Jr.
First Black man from Palm Beach County elected as a Florida State Representative.
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Alcee Hastings
First Black man from Florida to serve in the United States Congress.
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Daniel Hendrix
First Black man elected to the School Board of Palm Beach County.
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William M. Holland, Sr.
Palm Beach County’s first Black lawyer and civil rights activist.
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Ineria E. Hudnell
School teacher and historian of Black history in Palm Beach County.
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Dr. Thomas L. Jefferson
First Black physician in West Palm Beach.
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Eva Williams Mack
First health specialist for the Palm Beach County School Board.
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Dr. Ava L. Parker
First Black woman president of Palm Beach State College.
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C. Spencer Pompey
Teacher, principal, author, and founder of the Palm Beach County Teacher’s Association for Black Educators.
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Cashus W. Richardson, II
First Black man to manage a business in the Guaranty Building in WPB for the federal government.
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David L. Ricks
First Black Palm Beach County Engineer Director.
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Debra L. Robinson, MD
Founding member and first chair of the Coalition of Black Student Achievement.
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Edward Rodgers
First Black judge in Palm Beach County.
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Edna W. Runner
Founder of Runner Tutorial Center for students in Limestone Creek.
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Britton G. Sayles
First Black college president in Palm Beach County.
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Solomon D. Spady
Black educator and community leader in Delray Beach.
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Priscilla A. Taylor
First Black woman mayor of Palm Beach County.
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Daisy T. Washington
First Black woman postmaster.