Roy Lightfoot
Mr. Roy Lightfoot was a philanthropist, chairman of the Paradise Valley Better Business Council, and the first elected mayor of Paradise Valley in 1936. As a businessman, Lightfoot was the owner of B & C club (a famous nightclub), the Creole Chicken Kitchen (inside the Biltmore Hotel), and Long’s Drug Store. While operating as a pharmacy, Lightfoot’s drug store was described as an “information center” (Paradise Valley Days, 20) where residents of Black Bottom could find information on relatives and friends who may be sick or deceased. Additionally, Lightfoot’s engagement in the community extended to his Christmas Basket Fund, which provided over 563 families and elderly women with care packages around the holiday season, according to the Baltimore Afro-American.
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Sources
Peggy More, “Paradise Valley,” Paradise Valley Days, p. vi.
Toni Jones, “The Great Black Strip.” Paradise Valley Days, p. 20.
“Paradise Valley Yule Fund Aids 563 Families.” The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988); Jan 4, 1941; p. 22.
“Detroit’s 1st Paradise Valley Mayor Dies.” The Chicago Defender, May 2, 1942, p. 7.