Black History Month in Muncie: Daniel Kelley Jr.
Editor's note: To celebrate Black History Month, The Star Press will feature a daily brief about prominent Black community members in Delaware County.
MUNCIE, Ind. — In 1967, Daniel N. Kelley Jr. (1922-2002) became the second African American elected to Muncie City Council.
That year, the Democrat, who was a local steel worker and union activist, was elected to the council's District 6 seat.
He would remain in that seat for 16 years, winning re-election in 1971, 1975 and 1979.
In 1983, Kelley declined to seek a fifth council term, saying it was time to "let a new person take over."
His successor on the council was Alice McIntosh, who Kelley would later marry.
Daniel Kelley would later serve as a council appointee to the Muncie Urban Enterprise Association Board. He was also on the local NAACP board and a board member and director of the Industry Neighborhood Council.
The Muncie native was a Central High School graduate and an Army veteran of World War II. He was an electrician at Indiana Steel and Wire Co. for 23 years.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Black History Month in Muncie: Daniel Kelley Jr.
