Soon after incorporation the city that would be established by northern snowbirds became a segregated southern city.
Women’s Month… Men’s Month… Secretary’s Month… Etc.
Sometimes it seems that virtually every month of the year is dedicated to something, noticed only by the politically correct or by those aiming to plan a series of
events or greeting cards or what have you.
Black History Month (which starts later this week) is different. It has an actual history, stretching back as far as 1926. Started by scholar Charter Woodson, the son
of former slaves who earned a Ph.D. from Harvard, the month began as a week. Woodson found that “mainstream” history books hardly mentioned black America or the contributions of black
Americans. To correct that, he published the Journal of Negro History in 1915. Eleven years later he started “Negro History Week” in order to bring “national attention to the
contributions of black people throughout American history,” according to an article by Elissa Haney.
Deserving of special notice, though, is Miami black history. For example, according to Miami Now!, 162 out of the 368 people who voted to incorporate Miami as a
city in 1896 were black (many of whom were Bahamian migrant laborers). Soon afterward the city that would be established by northern snowbirds became a segregated southern city. Blacks
would not be allowed to congregate in many public parks and beaches. This harsh policy was especially true in Miami Beach, where even star performers such as Nat King Cole, Lena Horne and
Billie Holiday had to leave Miami Beach after performing here.
Still, once upon a time, Overtown and Brownsville were thriving areas. Cole, Horne and Holiday would play all night long, and hang out and party at places such as the
Georgette’s Tea Room. When I-95 sliced through these areas the renaissance ended.
Throughout the month of February the Miami-Dade Transit Authority, working with the Black Archives History and Research Foundation, will be offering free Black History
Month Tours. And while there will be plenty of other Black History Month events on national authors or honoring certain personalities, a tour of extremely local history is something that
shouldn’t be missed. Give Miami-Dade Transit a call at 305-654-6545 or the Black Archives at 305-636-2390 and learn a little something about history.
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