Von Mizell
*Von Mizell's birth is celebrated on this date in 1910. He was a Black Physician and activist.
Von Delaney Mizell was the son of Isadore S. and Minnie (Moore) Mizell, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and became the second Black doctor in Broward County, Florida. During this time, he married Alpha Campbell, and the couple eventually had two children.
In 1938, he co-founded with Mrs. Leona Collins and Dr. James Sistrunk Provident Hospital, the first hospital for Blacks in Broward County, Florida. Mizell was a Veteran of WW II. Dr. Mizell also formed the first NAACP chapter in South Florida and was instrumental in the boycott of Fort Lauderdale's "Colored School" practice of split-year classes in 1942. At the time, the school year was split for Blacks so their children could work in the fields in the winter.
He also sued for and won admittance to the Broward County Medical Association. In the 1960s, Provident Hospital was converted into the Von Mizell Cultural Center and Library, but after it outgrew that location, it was moved to 1409 Sistrunk Blvd. Dr. Von Delaney Mizell died in 1973.
