DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It’s an honor for which some families waited decades. Eighteen banners hang throughout Daytona Beach in honor of Black History Month. 

What You Need To Know

  • Daytona Beach is honoring local trailblazers in the Black community

  • The city raised 18 banners to pay tribute to accomplishments

  • Among the honorees is the late William Duncan Prince Senior

  • The college professor taught mathematics at the former Daytona High

The banners pay tribute to local Black trailblazers in the community, many of whom led a life of distinction without widespread recognition of their contributions or impact.

Among those honored are Marva Hopkins’ late grandfather, William Duncan Prince Senior..

“We are very proud and excited that our grandfather is being honored and recognized for his extraordinary educational accomplishments,” Hopkins told the crowd that gathered for an event at the Center for Civic Engagement on Bethune-Cookman University’s campus. “He was a scholar and professor of math.”

It’s the same story Hopkins has shared many times over, but it took on new meaning this month as the banners hang throughout Volusia County.

Hopkins said Prince was born in 1884 in Palatka, Fla.

After fighting in World War I, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., where he met his future bride — a student at neighboring Spelman College. After getting married, they moved to Selma, Ala., where Prince taught mathematics. Eventually, a college professor job brought him back to Florida.

Years later, Volusia County schools recruited Prince to help a school become accredited. At the time, Daytona High School only went up to the 10th grade, Hopkins explained.

Prince left his college professor job to teach trigonometry, calculus and geometry so the school — renamed Campbell Street High School in the 1930s — could expand its curriculum and Black students could continue on to college.

And while Hopkins said that she didn’t know Prince growing up, stories of what her grandfather did to expand the educational opportunities for the area’s Black community were a mainstay in her own academic experience.

Hopkins said she was incredibly excited to see Prince’s picture grace a street banner. She parlayed that feeling into a passionate speech at the podium, flanked by four of eight living grandchildren.

“This is something I’ve been wanting for years, but I didn’t know how to go about it,” she explained. “Everyone was just looking at me so hard and smiling and everything. I had a ‘senior moment,’ and I left out my two cousins’ names!”

The Midtown Community Development Corporation selected the 18 honorees in its fourth year of the project.

Daytona Beach City Commissioner Paula Reed implemented the idea from DeLand, with the city serving as co-sponsor of the project.