Honoring Palm Beach County's First Black Leaders
Nemoure Ahmed: Palm Beach County Library System's first African American Branch Manager and Area Coordinator.
Clarence E. Anthony: Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the National League of Cities; former Mayor of South Bay; Namesake of the South Bay Branch Library
Verdenia C. Baker: First Black woman to hold County Administrator position. Visit discover.pbc.gov for more information on County Administrator Baker.
Major Joseph Bernadel: First Haitian American to found a public school in the United States.
Mack Bernard: First Black man of Haitian descent from Palm Beach County elected as FL State Representative, County Commissioner and County Mayor (appointed).
Addie L. Greene: First Black woman from Palm Beach County elected as a Florida State Representative.
Edith Bush: Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Coordinating Committee.
The Honorable Maxine Cheesman: first Black woman to be elected to the 15th Circuit bench without receiving a gubernatorial appointment.
F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. opened the first Black law practice in West Palm Beach and founded the first minority-owned commercial bank in Florida.
Chief Duren joined Palm Beach County government in 2019 as the Fire Rescue Administrator, responsible for more than 1,600 employees and a budget in excess of $450 million.
Dr. J.H. Russell Dyett, "a pioneering General Practitioner, established his medical practice in West Palm Beach in 1930... [operating] the renowned Twin Palm Lying-in Hospital. He was honored with the Service Award for founding the first pre-natal clinic, sponsored by the State Board of Health..." - African American Research Library & Cultural Center of PBC
Vera Farrington's "dream was to preserve the history of the Black communitty in her native Palm Beach County. Through her efforts... the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum opened in July 2001." - Spady Cultural Heritage Museum
Dr. Donald E. Fennoy II, Ed.D was the youngest and first African American Superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County.
Clinton B. Forbes served as the first African American Executive Director of Palm Tran from Nov 2015 to Nov 2023.
Maude Ford Lee: First African American female Palm Beach County Commissioner.
Dr. Dennis P. Gallon was the first African American president of Palm Beach State College (then Palm Beach Community College) until his retirement in 2015.
Mildred “Millie” Wilborn Gildersleeve was born into slavery and becamse the first African American nurse midwife in Palm Beach County.
