Whayne was a champion for social justice in Springfield, spending a lifetime pushing for respect and equality of African Americans in this city. He passed away at around the age of 77, according to public records databases.
Springfield NAACP President Kai Sutton reflected on Whayne’s far-reaching legacy.
“When you think of Black history, you think of Denny Whayne,” Sutton told KSMU. “That’s just the impact he had.”
In an official statement from the local NAACP, Sutton called Whayne a “God-fearing man” and said, “When you think of community and what it looks like, Denny is the first that comes to mind.”
Whayne’s life included many efforts and achievements. He was born in Springfield in the mid-1940s. Later, he lived and worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma for many years, advocating for civil rights. Whayne was part of the Freedom Rides of 1961, in which student activists called for the end of racial segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals.
After returning to Springfield in the early ‘70s, Whayne worked as a bank teller, then for the Springfield city finance department from 1975 to 1985. He owned a dry-cleaning business and a used-car dealership. He also served as Springfield NAACP President from 1980 to 1988, having joined the organization in 1956 at the tender age of 11.
Cheryl Clay, a longtime activist with the local NAACP, worked with Whayne in the organization. “Whatever he put his mind to, he was determined to accomplish,” she told KSMU.
In 2009, Whayne told KSMU that he was threatened at least three times over his civil-rights activism during the 1970s and 1980s, when he advocated for equality in housing, employment and public accommodations for all Springfield residents.
“I never was too scared because I’ve always felt that if you are doing the right thing, it takes all the fear out of it. People called me an agitator. I told them well, you go find a washing machine without an agitator and I’ll buy it for you. You need an agitator. It gets the dirt out of the clothes,” Whayne said.
Whayne was first elected to council 21 years ago representing Zone 1, the city’s northwest quadrant. Along with a new mayor and another newly-elected council member, Whayne helped increase the influence of northside Springfield in city government.
Whayne was the fourth Black person ever elected to Springfield Council, according to reporting by the Springfield News-Leader from 2018, 1980 and 1969. Whayne was the first Black council member since the Reconstruction era in the late 1800s, following the U.S. Civil War.
Springfield’s first Black council member, Julius Rector, was elected in 1871 and served for just a few days before white council members expelled him on the basis of his skin color, the News-Leader reported in 1980. Later in the 1870s, grocery store owner Jim Stone was elected to council at least twice. Former city coroner Alfred Adams also served on City Council before he died in 1901.
One of Whayne’s most prominent accomplishments came in 2005, a year after he suffered a massive stroke. He got a downtown bridge renamed for Martin Luther King Jr. Now that bridge is part of Springfield’s annual Martin Luther King Day march.
“He was very adamant about that bridge being renamed for Martin Luther King Jr. and he pushed forward until he succeeded in getting that,” said Clay, the NAACP advocate.
Toward the end of his service on City Council, Whayne commented on the election of Barack Obama as the first Black U.S. president.
“It just sent chills through your body,” Whayne told KSMU in November 2008. “There were tears of joy, there were shouts, there were handshakes, there were hugs.” He called Obama’s election a history-making moment, not just for Black Americans, but for the entire world.
Whayne was re-elected to a second term and served on City Council until 2009.
“My time on council was one of the best experiences of my entire life,” he told KSMU that year, not long after he left council. My mindset on council was to try to move the city of Springfield forward.”
In what was likely Whayne’s final news interview, in December 2021 he told KSMU listeners about a 20th-century center of vibrant Black life in Springfield, the Jones Alley Business District.
Small businesses like Sportman Pool Hall, Cradle Café, Deluxe Barber Shop and the nearby Graham Rib Station barbecue restaurant provided a strong sense of community, along with a nearby youth center.
“It brought about communication,” Whayne said. “Participation. You know, it brought about identification.”
Springfield Mayor Ken McClure issued a written statement Sunday night after learning of Whayne’s death, saying, “Springfield has lost an icon who worked tirelessly to bring communities of people together.”
On Monday, KSMU was able to reach Montrey Whayne, the councilman’s grandson in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“My grandpa was a true legend in his community,” the younger Whayne said. He shared personal memories of his famous Springfield relative in a message to Ozarks Public Radio.
“He had an impact on so many, even with his condition,” Montrey Whayne said. “He was legally blind, but that didn’t stop him from showing how much he cared. He was a sports fanatic […] he would listen to the sports radio and wouldn’t miss a beat, like he was actually watching it on TV. Papa Denny loved to dress, he stayed suited and booted. He stayed so clean people nicknamed him ‘Flowers.'”
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