Mr. Zellie L. Riley was a prominent African American leader and businessman in the Parramore area of Orlando, FL. In 1950 he founded the Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce now known as the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida. An active member of his community, he was behind several projects to empower African Americans of Orlando, such as a community center in Washington Shores. Today his memory and significant contributions are commemorated by Z.L. Riley Park, located in the heart of Parramore.
See the faces of just some of the many African Americans who have contributed to building the United States into the country it is today.
African Americans in the early history of the United States had an extremely difficult start as immigrants. Having been primarily forced to immigrate to a new continent, African Americans worked throu...
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Support ). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in San Jose (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our previous Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.