In the U.S. and Canada, we celebrate Black History Month in February and learn about the important Black figures and events that make up the world and areas we live in today. At the beginning of Lake Nona’s history, the area wasn’t home to too many people as it was still mainly grasslands before being developed by the Tavistock Group. Nowadays, we see entire communities filled with homes being built at rapid pace all over Lake Nona and an array of shopping and dining emerging to accommodate the ever-growing population. None of these developments would be possible without some of these influential Black idols who made Central Florida the place to develop.
Dr. William Monroe Wells was one of the first Black doctors in the Orlando area. In the 1920s, Wells constructed The Wells’Built Hotel in Orlando, which served as the first hotel for African-Americans during the segregation era. Wells also constructed a nearby casino to serve the segregated Black community. It is now a historic site located in Parramore. Bo Diddley, B.B. King, and Ella Fitzgerald are just some of the famous celebrities who stayed at his hotel. Dr. Wells can be credited with beginning the vacation theme that Orlando has by establishing a hospitality industry for the Black community, thus cementing Orlando as a major tourist attraction. Without Dr. Wells, the tourism of the ’20s would not have included the Black community and would not have set the precedent for the enormous tourism potential that Orlando now has fully utilized.
Zora Neale Hurston was a Black author famous for her 1937 book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, or her powerful autobiography Dust Tracks on a Road. Hurston grew up in Eatonville, here in Central Florida. Eatonville was the first incorporated African-American town in the U.S. at a time when segregation was common and Black communities were seen very negatively. Hurston’s influence as a popular author expanded the culture of the Orlando area and put Central Florida on the map, with her books becoming well known internationally. Hurston is honored in festivals at Eatonville yearly and at the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts.
Tiger Woods has owned a home in Windermere and now has a home in Jupiter. The legendary golfer’s home in the Central Florida area has helped showcase the different kinds of lifestyles we have to offer here. When Woods chose to live in Windermere, the luxury real estate business began to accelerate. Since Woods was known to live in Central Florida, many other celebrities and professional athletes followed in his footsteps to take advantage of the style of living. Woods opened the door for the many athletes who now live in the Lake Nona area and often golf at the Lake Nona Country Club.
As we’ve seen voiced at a magnitude like never before in the past year, diversity and inclusion are crucial for the growth of an area, especially somewhere like Lake Nona. With the Lake Nona Regional Chamber of Commerce having one of the only diversity committees in Orlando, we are beginning to make steps in the right direction and hope others recognize the necessity, as we did, and aim to follow suit. Learning Black history should not begin and end in February.
