DIANA W. PURNELL (1946 - Present)

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST, INVENTOR, ENTREPRENEUR, 
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, AND CULTURAL 
PRESERVATIONIST

Article by Dr. Clara Smalls

Diana Warren Purnell
(1946 - )

Diana Warren was born in Salemburg, North Carolina in March of 1946 to Jonah and Inez Warren.  She graduated from E. Perry High School in Roseboro, North Carolina in 1964 and matriculated at North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University, in Durham, North Carolina for two years.  She attended college at Baltimore Community College for a couple of years and also took several courses at Wor-Wic Community College in the early 1980s. 

While working in the Purchasing Department at John Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, she met Gabriel (Gabe) Purnell, and the couple married in 1970.  In 1971, Diana and Gabe moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and soon were confronted by racist and discriminatory housing practices. They applied for housing in the Moss Hill Townhouses complex in Salisbury, Maryland and were told that the owners of the complex rented only to locals.  The couple filed a complaint against the complex with the Human Relations Commission.  They also sought housing in Ocean City, which traditionally did not rent to African Americans.  Diana and Gabe eventually obtained rental housing in Ocean City, but during the winter months their housing cost $300 per month, but during the summer their rent was $1,800 per month, for the same unit. They also filed a complaint against the housing complex in Ocean City, which began the breaking of the racial barrier in housing in Ocean City. 

Housing was a definite problem for African Americans on the Shore.  However, housing was not the only barrier for Diana and Gabe, as obtaining gainful employment was also a factor. In 1971, Diana and Gabe began Purnell’s Special Cleaning Services, Inc.  They also worked several jobs to survive. Some of those jobs included raising chickens with Perdue, Inc., the cleaning of condos, and various businesses in Ocean City.  Diana worked at the Sheraton Hotel, first as a maid and then as a secretary in the office and in catering with Gabe’s mother at the Ocean City Convention Center. Their goal was to own their own business, but in the process of trying to reach their goal, they were harassed, had their telephones tapped, were followed by local law enforcement officers, and had to deal with racist practices.  In numerous instances, they also had to contend with people who would not pay them for the services they had provided.  

Ocean City Convention Center at 40th Street around the time it opened in April, 1970
Orlando Wootten Photograph Collection (1995.005)
Edward H. Nabb Research Center 
C. 1970

​Living and surviving under difficult circumstances encouraged Diana and Gabe to become involved in the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  They worked with the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), due to the many challenges they faced.  One of the first challenges involved the March on Ocean City for Jobs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gainful employment was a very real factor because Ocean City had a long history of not hiring African Americans in jobs other than in menial positions.  Those policies also prevailed for African American college students who sought summer employment. The students could only find summer employment as maids, cooks, and janitors, whereas, white college students were hired as clerks, waitresses, and in semi-professional or supervisory positions.  African Americans could work in the hotels, but they could not stay in them, nor were they allowed on the Boardwalk.  They could only stay in the Henry Hotel, the only African American hotel in Ocean City.  For a very long time, African Americans could visit Ocean City only after the end of the summer season.  Then and only then were there specific days for African Americans to visit the area.  There was one day for black Virginia residents, one day for black Maryland residents and one day for black Delaware residents to visit Ocean City.   In an effort to change matters, Diana and Gabe, the NAACP and the ACLU set up a job placement office to partner with the local community, even though there was never a guarantee that African Americans would obtain the jobs despite their qualifications for the positions.  However, it did not stop them from trying to improve the conditions in which they were forced to endure.  

NAACP President Enolia P. McMillan and the Rev. John Wright begin their journey to Ocean City's Boardwalk
The Baltimore Sun
1996​

​A second challenge they encountered occurred in 1983 when Diana and Gabe challenged the Worcester County Commissioners when they found that the water in their community was contaminated, during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and their community was also the site of a landfill.  Diana and Gabe and members of the community challenged the Board of Commissioners over the landfill issue.  A Briddelltown Improvement Association (BIA) was formed, with Gabe as its first president, and began the protest to close the landfill, which was located in the midst of their community.  The BIA was aware of the toxic materials or toxins and demanded the immediate closure of the landfill.  Instead, the Board of Commissioners proposed to close the landfill in five years, where upon a lawsuit was begun against the Board of Commissioners.  In the interim, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the lawsuit and the landfill was closed, and a new landfill was chosen.
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A third challenge to the political structure of Worcester County occurred in 1992, when Diana and Gabe, the NAACP and the ACLU questioned the legality of Worcester County’s at-large voting system. As it existed, the at-large voting system under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did not allow the possibility of an African American to be elected to office. When the case went to court, it was listed as Honiss W. Cane, Jr., v. Worcester County, Maryland and Members of Worcester County Board of Commissioners.  On February 24, 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the at-large system of government that had existed since 1742 effectively denied to African Americans the right to have a person of their choice as an elected official.  As a result of that decision, the at-large system was outlawed, new district lines were drawn, elections were held, and Mr. James Purnell was elected to the new district position as a Worcester County Commissioner.  In 1995, Mr. Purnell took office as the first African American County Commissioner elected in Worcester County’s 253-year history.  The election of James Purnell was a victory for the African American community, but numerous other issues remained unresolved between the black community and the Board of Commissioners.  

James Purnell (1937 - 2021)
Maryland State Archives

In the late 1980s, Diana and Gabe remained in the cleaning business, but in order to meet the needs of the community they opened the Purnell Moving and Hauling Company and Purnell’s Used Furniture Warehouse.  Their cleaning business was known as the Environmental Care Center.  They also operated a pest control business which was based on non-toxic methods to control insects and other pests.  They also distributed a natural line of pet grooming aids, Natra Pet.  In 1988-1989, they marketed and patented the Do-It-Yourself Flea Control Kit.  They changed the name of their business to the Environmental Care Center, Inc., so that it reflected their environmental awareness and new product lines that met the needs of pet and homeowners to safely control odors. 

Diana and Gabe developed an odor-controlling device, the De-Odor Rod, a rechargeable, environmentally safe odor eliminator that was designed for use in pet areas, litter boxes, terrariums and other enclosed spaces.  They received a patent for the device on July 6, 1993, and it was placed in litter boxes, pet cages and dog beds, and was listed among the best in the industry in 1996.  Their products were also placed under urinals in public men’s restrooms, in police locker rooms, in local hospitals in diaper pails in their employee’s day-care centers, and in local funeral homes which reduced the irritation morticians often felt in their eyes and nasal passages when they embalmed bodies.  Poultry producers also used the rods in their refrigerated trucks to absorb odors from chicken blood and juices, as well as to absorb smoke in automobiles and mildew in homes.  Diana and Gabe also developed other products and exhibited their products at pet shows nationally, as well as in Japan. 
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Diana and Gabe persevered against many odds.  After a number of years, they phased out their Environmental Care Center and built the warehouse that became the Purnell Moving and Hauling Company and Purnell’s Used Furniture Warehouse.  The moving and hauling business became a full-time enterprise. 

Purnell Moving and Hauling/ Purnell's Used Furniture's warehouse today

U.S. Patent for a litter box deodorizer
Inventors: Gabriel L. Purnell & Diana W. Purnell
Patent Number: 5,224,975 
July 6, 1993

U.S. Patent for an insect elimination kit and methods for its use
Inventor: Gabriel L. Purnell
Patent Number: 4,882,873
November 28, 1989

Diana and Gabe were also very much involved in community affairs.  As early as the 1970s, they began the African American Festival and were instrumental in making the public aware of the Liberian Connection to the Berlin, Snow Hill, and Cambridge areas and local heroes, such as Reverend Charles Albert Tindley, Judy Johnson, Isaiah Fassett, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, and numerous others.  Diana was also very active in the creation of historic figurines which she developed, painted and sold at their warehouse and on weekends at the Flea Market in Laurel, Delaware.  Diana and Gabe also collected books, articles, African American memorabilia, and forms of documentation that related to the African American experience over the years in order to inform the public about African American history and culture and encouraged others to do the same. 

For nearly twenty-five years, Diana has been involved with Berlin Reclaim Attitude and Value Enhancement, better known as B.R.A.V.E. Diana did not form the organization alone, but Gabe and she, along with the Worcester County Health Department and other agencies formed the organization to address the needs of the youth of the county.  For over 16 years, Diana served as the Executive Director of B.R.A.V.E., and helped to develop several enrichment programs for children and teens, including summer camps, after school programs and fall programs. For those programs, the organization known as B.R.A.V. E. received awards from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the Worcester County Board of Education, and the State of Maryland Excellence for Minority Achievement Award.  

Diana has been actively involved with numerous agencies, including: the Worcester County Tourism Board, the Worcester County Ethics Board, the Worcester County VOLT Gambling Revenue Initiative Board, a member of the Worcester County Board of the NAACP, served as President of the Worcester County Commission for Women, a member of the Board of Directors of the Germantown School Heritage Center, member of the Wicomico County Airport Commission (2017-   ), member of the Local [Video Lottery], Development Council, member of the Social Services Board, the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council (2015-    ), Worcester County Board of Health (2014-    ), Board of Directors of Atlantic General Hospital Foundation,  former Representative of the Public Sector of the Board of Directors of Shore Up!, Inc., member of the Recognition Advisory Committee, Commission on Indian Affairs, (2016-Present), and she represents the County Commission as a voting member of the Tri-County Council (TCC) for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland (2014-Present). 
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Politically active in the community, on November 4, 2014, Diana was elected a Worcester County Commissioner and replaced long-time serving Commissioner James Purnell.  She was sworn into office on December 2, 2014 and became the first African American woman to ever hold the post and only the second African American to do so.  For years, she was the only African American on the Commission and represented District 2.  In December of 2017, Diana was elected the first African American female President of the Worcester County Commission, after having served as Vice President.  She served as President of the Commission from December 5, 2017 to December 3, 2019. 

Diana W. Purnell
December 2, 2014

Diana W. Purnell
County Commissioner

Diana W. Purnell has been the recipient of numerous awards.  On January 20, 2015, she received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award during the 30th Annual Birthday Celebration and Commemoration, which was sponsored by the Tri-County Coalition in Salisbury, Maryland.  On March 16, 2016, she was named the Woman of the Year by the Worcester County Commission of Women. 
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Diana W. Purnell is a multifaceted person.  She is an inventor who holds two patents, an entrepreneur, co-owner and operator of a successful business for nearly forty years, is an elected representative for the Worcester County Commissioners, and is a community volunteer who works diligently to improve the services and facilities in the town of Berlin and Worcester County. She is a true servant of the people.  She also works to preserve African American history and culture, and she shows no signs of slowing down.