Johnnie Ruth Clark was the first African American to obtain a doctorate from any Florida public university. She served as dean of Gibbs Junior College and as assistant dean of academic affairs at St. Petersburg Junior College, which offers a scholarship in her name. The Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center was also named after her.

Enoch Douglas Davis (1908—1985) was an American reverend, author and civil rights activist in St. Petersburg and was reverend of the Bethel Community Baptist Church, then known as Second Bethel for over 50 years. As a civil rights activist, his played an integral role in ending citywide segregation and empowering the black American community;

In 1964, Judge James B. Sanderlin was an attorney for five Clearwater families and one family from St. Petersburg who successfully sued the Pinellas County School Board over segregation. With this case, integration became a reality in Hillsborough and Sarasota Counties. In 1972, he became the first black County Judge, and for years, the first black Circuit Court Judge. In 1985, Gov. Bob Graham appointed him to the Second District Court of Appeals.

In 1904 Jordan Sr. and his family moved from Columbia County and settled on the western edge of the city on a dusted road, 22nd Street. During this time, this part of Tampa Bay was considered Hillsborough County. Jordan Sr. and his sons began constructing wooden houses and grouped them into enclaves, reported between 1917 and 1925, in the 22nd Street area. He had ambitions to establish an African-American Community that would thrive. According to data, “The Deuces” boasted more than 100 businesses during the late 1950s and the early 1960s.

Known as the "Father of Black History," Dr. Woodson was an influential historian who lived in St. Petersburg for a brief period.