In an election decided by 175 votes, FAMU Alum Ruthi Critton, has been chosen as the next mayor of Eatonville, FL, a small, historic community of about 2,300 residents just north of Orlando.
According to official results from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Critton received about 41.8 percent of the vote in a multi-candidate race, earning a mandate to lead a town that has long symbolized Black self-determination and cultural pride, yet now grapples with acute economic strain.
Incorporated in 1887, Eatonville is the oldest continuously incorporated municipality in the United States established by African Americans. It is the childhood home of author Zora Neale Hurston, the celebrated Harlem Renaissance writer, and a living monument to Black self-determination. But today, with a population of just under 2,300 residents, a median household income of $27,000, and no supermarket, pharmacy, or gas station within its one-square-mile borders, the town is fighting for its economic survival.
While the town is sandwiched in between Orlando, Maitland, and Winter Park, it is worlds apart from the theme parks and rapid development that define the region. “You can feel the pressure from Orlando,” Critton said, referring to the booming city just 15 minutes south whose sprawl has enveloped older communities. “But Eatonville isn’t just another suburb. It’s a sanctuary. It is our story.”
Critton, a fifth generation native of Eatonville, who traces her roots back to the town's founder Joseph Clark, studied philosophy and criminal justice at the university said “FAMU teaches you to lead with conviction and to remember where you come from. It instilled in me the belief that we have a responsibility to serve, to protect our history, and to build with intention.”
That ethos will be central to her administration. .
Ms. Critton’s campaign focused unflinchingly on balancing the tensions between preservation and progress, history and hardship. She pledged to combat predatory land buying, support generational homeownership, and leverage the town’s unique historical status to attract sustainable investment.
“Ruthi represents the best of what an HBCU education prepares you for: to lead with purpose, not just ambition,” said April McCray, a assistant professor of history at FAMU . “She understands that true development honors a community’s soul.”
As she prepares to take office, Critton says her priorities are clear: securing grants for infrastructure, establishing a land trust to protect homeowners from speculators, and creating a “preservation economy” centered on heritage tourism.
Standing near the site where Clark and other founders first gathered, she looked out toward the old oak trees and modest homes. “This is hallowed ground,” she said. “It’s our turn to be the guardians.”