By Hy lo News
Samuel Delevoe was born March 04, 1936. His family moved to Liberia when he was a child, and he attended Attucks High School. When he was just a teenager, Delevoe fought in the Korean war. After serving his time in the military, he completed his schooling at Dillard High School. In 1959, Samuel fell in love and married Lois Delevoe. She describes him as a loving family man and a provider. Samuel Delevoe became one of the first Black police officers in Fort Lauderdale and vowed to bridge the gap between the Black community and the police force.
Through being a community advocate, Delevoe became the president of Broward County Minority Builders, President of the Black Coalition of Broward County and was a member of HOPE. He was also one of the main organizers that brought peace to the community dissolving several conflicts during the riots in Fort Lauderdale. In 1968, Samuel Delevoe became a street minister and also focused more on entrepreneurship. Many young people looked to him for guidance and motivation. He also would help people who were going through rough times financially.
When talking about Samuel Delevoe, we must always acknowledge his wife Dr. Lois Delevoe. She was a thriving entrepreneur in her own right. She was the first Black woman in Broward County to open up Black Credit Union. She also started “clean sweep,” which was a community clean up that brought together city officials, Black business owners and international entertainers like James Brown. She also owned a thrift shop and opened a facility to accommodate people who were homeless. In 1977, tragedy struck when an irate yardman went into the real estate office Samuel Delevoe was in and a confrontation broke out due to the yardman stealing from Mr. Delevoe.
Samuel and Lois Delevoe were both shot. Lois was shot in the arm but Samuel’s wound ended up killing him. She stood in the streets for 10 minutes screaming for help. The Delevoes had 2 sons and the city of Fort Lauderdale honored him by naming “Samuel Delevoe Park” after him. Lois Delevoe is still active by teaching in the Dade and Broward county schools. She’s even taught at a few of the South Florida colleges.
The Delevoes have made their mark as one of the premier families of Black Broward through their contributions to their community and for their work we are forever grateful.
The namesake of Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park (2520 NW Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33311.4-357-8801 on November 11th., that date was proclaimed Sam Delevoe Day in 1979 by Florida Governor Bob Graham, to coincide with the renaming of River Bend Park in recognition of Delevoe by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. This year marks the 40th observance of the day with a free public celebration.
