Daytona Beach in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Daytona Times Building

429 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

— Black Heritage Trail —

Daytona Times Building Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, January 7, 2026

1. Daytona Times Building Marker

Inscription. The Daytona Times has owned this building since it was purchased in 1981 by Black newspaper founder, Charles W. Cherry, Sr. from Black physician, John R. Parnell.

A decorated Korean War veteran, Cherry moved to Daytona Beach in 1952, and became one of the community's leading Civil Rights activists, determined to bring about racial integration and social justice particularly in Daytona Beach and Florida. Before that, Cherry graduated from Morehouse - a historically Black men's college in Atlanta - in 1949. He attended the small school of 500 attendees with Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was only 15 at the time. Their paths crossed many times after graduating.

As one of the state's few Black bail bondsmen, he worked to get Civil Rights protestors released from Florida jails in the 1960s - including getting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. out of jail in St. Augustine more than once, according to a January 17, 2021 The Daytona Beach News Journal article.

According to Cherry's 2014 induction into the Florida Press Association Hall of Fame, "Charles, Sr. began his newspaper career when he launched

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Daytona Beach's Westside Rapper in 1969 ...to have our own Black voice." The Daytona Times succeeded the Westside Rapper in 1978. In 1989, Cherry, Sr. established the Florida Courier and after his death in 2004, the family, initiated by Julia T. Cherry, his wite of 52 years, relaunched the Florida Courier as a statewide newspaper with a 90,000 weekly circulation. “Both the Florida Courier and the Daytona Times stay true to the Black Press's tradition of "...pleading our own cause." The Julia T. and Charles W. Cherry Sr. Cultural and Educational Center is a community center operated by the City of Daytona Beach named in honor of the Cherrys and is located at 925 George W. Engram Blvd. next to Cypress Park.

Timeline
1949 Graduates from Morehouse
1952 Moves to Daytona Beach
1964 Assists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1969 Westside Rapper launches
1978 Daytona Times launches
1981 Purchases Building
2001 Largest Black-owned Media Group
2014 Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame
2020 Building was damaged by a fire

To learn more about the Black Heritage Trail and additional locations, visit daytonabeach.gov/blackheritagetrail

Soul Of A Community/Light Of A Nation

Erected by City

Photographed by Stephen Thomas White, January 7, 2026

2. Daytona Times Building Marker

of Daytona Beach and the Department of State, Division of Historical Rsources.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Communications. A significant historical year for this entry is 1981.

Location. 29° 12.108′ N, 81° 1.491′ W. Marker is in Daytona Beach, Florida, in Volusia County. It is at the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Verdell Street, on the right when traveling north on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 429 Dr MLK Jr Blvd, Daytona Beach FL 32114, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are

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within walking distance of this marker: John H. Dickerson Community Center (approx. 0.2 miles away); Historic Childhood Home of Dr. Howard Thurman (approx. ¼ mile away); Olds Hall (approx. 0.4 miles away); Delos A. Blodgett House (approx. 0.4 miles away); St. Mary's Episcopal Church (approx. half a mile away); First Church of Christ, Scientist (approx. half a mile away); The Abby (approx. half a mile away); 432 South Beach Street (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Daytona Beach.

Also see . . .
1. Daytona Times Building. (Submitted on September 16, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia.)
2. Daytona Times. (Submitted on September 16, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2026, by Stephen Thomas White of Norfolk, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.