M-DCPS RENAMES SCHOOL AFTER JESSE J. MCCRARY JR,
FLORIDA’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN SECRETARY OF STATE

Miami-Dade County Public Schools renamed the former Little River Elementary School after the late Jesse J. McCrary Jr., a civil rights and community activist, and the first African American to serve as both Florida’s Secretary of State and the Miami-Dade School Board attorney.

The McCrary family, Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, School Board Chair Solomon C. Stinson, Board Member Lawrence S. Feldman, and several state and local officials gathered together last Friday to unveil the school’s new name and to celebrate the many accomplishments of Mr. McCrary, who passed away in 2007.  Mr. McCrary, who was the state’s first African-American Assistant Attorney General in 1967, also was the first Black attorney to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
           
Dr. Stinson, who spoke at the ceremony, appealed to the audience, “In honor of this great man and the legacy he has bestowed upon us, I challenge you all to strive for academic excellence in memory of him.” 

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PHOTO ATTACHED:

RENAMING CEREMONY FOR JESSE McCRARY JR. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
From left to right:  Jesse McCrary Elementary Principal Andy Pierre-Louis, Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, Miami-Dade School Board Chair Solomon C. Stinson, Mrs. Margaret McCrary, daughter Jessica McCrary, State Sen. Frederica S. Wilson, Board Member Lawrence S. Feldman, and Miami City Commissioner Richard Dunn.

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