Little Known Black Communities

Thursday, March 19/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Community members discuss the history of early and “lesser-known” Black communities of Miami such as McFarlane Homestead, Railroad Shop and South Miami/East Little Havana. Learn about the emergence of these areas, their pioneer families and their relationship to better known Black communities such as Overtown and Coconut Grove.

Panelists
Georgia Ayers, Community Historian, Railroad Shop Colored Addition;
Leona Cooper Baker, Community Historian, McFarlane Homestead;
Elaine Black, President/CEO, Liberty City Community Revitalization Trust;
Edna J. Williams, Community Historian, East Little Havana.

New Scholarship on Black Miami

Thursday, April 16/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Scholars share new research on Black history in Miami. Topics include how the unified efforts of Black and white interest groups contributed to the success of key desegregation battles in Miami and how the presence of Caribbean workers in Jim Crow era Miami impacted the labor experience for Blacks.

Panelists
Nathan Connolly Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University;
Raymond A. Mohl, Ph.D., Professor, Department of History, University of
Alabama at Birmingham;
Chanelle Rose, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History, Rowan University.

African Diaspora Authors: Edwidge Danticat and Tananarive Due

Thursday, May 21/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Miami is home to Black authors of diverse backgrounds. In this program, renowned novelists Tananarive Due, who grew up in Miami, and Edwidge Danticat, who lives here today, read from their best-selling works and discuss how living in South Florida has influenced their writing.

The Year of the Bull

Thursday, June 18/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Watch the documentary film The Year of the Bull, which covers an entire football season with the Miami Northwestern Bulls and Taurean Charles, their All-American captain. Learn about the elements that make the world of high school football unique to Black communities such as Liberty City.

African Diaspora Culinary Delights

Thursday, July 16/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Come and taste dishes from different parts of the African Diaspora including the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and the American South. Listen as cooks, chefs and food critics discuss their culinary heritage and how living in Miami has influenced their cooking.

Presenters
Liliane Nérette Louis, Haitian traditional foods;
Dinkinish O’Connor, Jamaican traditional foods;
Brenda L. Jackson, American soul food.

Discounted parking at Cultural Plaza garage, 50 NW 2nd Avenue.

Saving Our History: The Preservation of Black Historic Sites

Thursday, September 17/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Over the past two decades, the number of Black historic sites in Miami undergoing preservation battles and successes has increased significantly. Come hear the leaders of these projects share the unique history of sites such as Virginia Key Beach, the Hampton House and the Black Precinct and their herculean efforts to save these spaces from city bulldozers, neglect and commercial development.

Panelists
Clarence Dickson, former Chief of the Miami Police Department, Black Precinct Museum;
Helen Gage, Preservationist, Bethel House African Bahamian and Museum;
Enid Pinkney Ph.D., Chairwoman, Historic Hampton House Preservation Board;
Dinizulu Gene Tinnie, Vice-Chairman, Virginia Key Beach Park Trust;
Dorothy Jenkins Fields, Ph.D., Historian and Founder, The Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc.

Integrating Miami’s Schools

Thursday, October 15/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

The desegregation of schools was a slow process in South Florida, but by the late 1950s and early 1960s Miami’s schools were increasingly becoming integrated. Hear personal accounts from some of the first African American, Haitian and Jamaican students to enter predominantly white schools such as Killian High School, Miami Edison High School and Arvida Middle School.

Panelists
Elizabeth Charlton, Curriculum Support Specialist, Miami-Dade Public Schools;
Gala Brown Munnings, Director of Field Education, School of Social Work, Barry University;
Claudine Sada, Translator, Government Information Center, Miami-Dade County.

From the Wolfson Archives: Historic Footage of the Civil Rights Movement in Miami

Thursday, November 19/6:30 pm

For information, call 305.375.1492

Watch historic footage from the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives about Miami’s struggle for equality, including lunch counter sit-ins and protest marches. Hear what important community leaders thought about segregation and the African American battle for equal rights. Share your
reactions to this fascinating period in South Florida history