9 legendary women from Central Florida

Sarah Wilson
·4 min read
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March is Women’s History Month, and in honor of that Channel 9 is sharing the stories of 9 legendary women from Central Florida.

Read about their lives and careers below:

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Zora Neale Hurston

According to Hurston’s official website, she is considered the most successful and most significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th century. Over a career that spanned more than 30 years, she published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several essays, articles and plays. She moved from Alabama with her family to Eatonville when she was a toddler.

Read: Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy lives on in Central Florida, beyond

Mary McLeod Bethune

Bethune grew up in South Carolina and later moved to Palatka to teach, but her goal was to build her own school. She picked Daytona Beach because a railroad was being built through it. Bethune first launched an all girls school on Oak Street named Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls. As the school grew, she bought land at the old dump for $1.50 and moved the school to where it sits today. The college merged with the Cookman Institute in 1923 and became Bethune-Cookman University in 2007.

Read: How Mary McLeod Bethune created Bethune-Cookman University with $1.50 in her pocket

Elizabeth McCullough Johnson

According to the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, Johnson was the first woman in the Florida Senate elected in 1962, following four years in the House. Her chief legislative goals were the establishment of the University of Central Florida and development of planning and zoning systems. Gov. LeRoy Collins eulogized Johnson as “one of the very best public officials.”

Read: ‘Access & opportunity’: Orlando woman is on mission to give young women a future in STEM

According to the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, Johnson was the first woman in the Florida Senate elected in 1962, following four years in the House.
According to the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, Johnson was the first woman in the Florida Senate elected in 1962, following four years in the House.

Dr. Charlotte E. Maguire

Charlotte Edwards Maguire was born Sept. 1, 1918, and grew up in Orlando. According to a biography by FSU’s college of medicine, in 1946 she became the first woman in Orlando to establish a private practice in pediatrics, which she operated for 22 years. Since then, the Florida State University College of Medicine’s library as well as its Center for Clinical Simulation are named after her.

Read: Orlando International Airport honors aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman with special exhibit

Charlotte Edwards Maguire was born Sept. 1, 1918, and grew up in Orlando.
Charlotte Edwards Maguire was born Sept. 1, 1918, and grew up in Orlando.

Harriette Moore

Harry and, Harriette Moore were pioneering civil rights activists. They lived in Mims, a rural part of Brevard County, and taught in segregated public schools in the county from 1925 to 1946. By 1934, the Moores’ had started the Brevard County NAACP, leading a movement to open branches across the state. On Christmas night in 1951, a bomb exploded under the bedroom of the Moores’ Mims home. The couple had gone to bed after celebrating both Christmas and their 25th wedding anniversary. Harry Moore was killed in the bombing. Harriette Moore died nine days later.

Read: Who were Harry & Harriette Moore, the pioneering activists from Mims?

Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood

According to Orange County Public Schools, Hood is a fifth-generation Floridian who dedicated her life to the principles of responsible civic leadership. She grew up in the Lake Conway area. She was appointed to the Municipal Planning Board by Mayor Carl Langford, and in 1982, ran for city commission, unseating a 16-year incumbent. During her third term, she became the first woman (and youngest ever) to be elected as mayor of Orlando.

Read: ‘I got a lot of pushback’: Orlando’s first female mayor reflects on time in politics

Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin

Chapin served as the first elected mayor of Orange County from 1990-1998. According to Orange County Library System, her accomplishments in public office include the construction of the nation’s second-largest convention center, a new Orange County Courthouse, the Orange County Regional History Center, fifteen new parks and recreational trails, and the purchase of over 12,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands.

Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins

Dr. Barbara Jenkins was the first female superintendent in Orange County Public Schools. She also is a product of OCPS and started her teaching career there. According to OCPS, Jenkins was previously recognized as Florida’s Superintendent of the Year and one of four finalists for the national title. The Florida Association for Career and Technical Education named her CTE Superintendent of the Year. In 2016, the Florida Music Education Association named her Superintendent of the Year.

Watch: OCPS Superintendent Barbara Jenkins discusses retirement

OCPS Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins speaks during a press briefing.
OCPS Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins speaks during a press briefing.

Actress Delta Burke

Burke, who is best known for her portrayal as Suzanne Sugarbaker in CBS’s “Designing Women,” is a Colonial High School Class of 1974 graduate. According to the Orange County Regional History Center, the Orlando native was crowned Miss Orlando Flame on October 13, 1972. According to the Florida History Network, in her senior year, Burke became the youngest winner of the Miss Florida pageant in 1974.

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