HistoryMiami Museum has completed the first phase of Stories of Resistance from Black Miami, a multi-year oral history initiative highlighting the lived experiences and contributions of Black Miamians.
The museum announced that eight new videos are now available online and on view in its galleries, expanding a growing collection that documents resistance, resilience and leadership across generations.
To extend the reach of the project beyond its downtown campus, HistoryMiami is launching a citywide storytelling campaign throughout Black History Month. Videos and excerpts from the series will appear on public signage across Miami and will be shared through local media partners, including WLRN, PBS and The Miami Times, as well as through the museum’s newsletters, social media platforms and collaborations with local influencers.
“Stories of Resistance from Black Miami reflects our commitment to ensuring that Black Miamians are not only represented in history, but centered in it,” Natalia Crujeiras, president and CEO of HistoryMiami Museum, said in a statement. “These stories remind us that resistance can take many forms and that Miami’s history is inseparable from the Black communities who have shaped it.”
The newest participants in the series include:
- Commissioner Marlene Bastien, who was born and raised in Haiti under the Duvalier dictatorship and reflects on decades of activism, social work and advocacy for immigrants’ rights.
- Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, who discusses her family’s journey from Haiti to Coral Springs and her work advancing environmental and social policy initiatives.
- Senator Dwight Bullard, who recounts growing up in Richmond Heights and reflects on the activism and political legacy of his mother, former state Sen. Larcenia J. Bullard, as well as his own time in public office.
- T. Willard Fair, who reflects on six decades of leadership with the Urban League of Greater Miami and strategies used in the fight for civil rights.
- Ricardo Gonzalez, author of Black Pedro Pan, who shares his journey to Miami through Operation Pedro Pan and experiences confronting racism and housing discrimination.
- Dr. Adora Obi Nweze, who discusses her work with the NAACP, the BOYCOTT MIAMI campaign and organizing efforts following Hurricane Andrew in Homestead.
- Dr. Anna Price, the first Black mayor of South Miami, who recalls her leadership at the University of Miami and involvement in prison ministry initiatives.
- Dr. George Simpson, Florida’s first Black board-certified surgeon, who reflects on his medical career and civil rights contributions alongside his wife, Dazelle Simpson.
Other community leaders whose oral histories were collected as part of the project include Leona Cooper Baker, Yvonne and Stanley Caleb, Romania Dukes, Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields, Mileyka Burgos-Flores, Commissioner Betty Ferguson, Thelma Gibson, Barbara Jimeno, Lonnie Lawrence, H.T. Smith and Dr. Walter T. Richardson.
As part of Black History Month programming, HistoryMiami is also launching a new educator resource tool designed for Miami-Dade County Public Schools teachers to incorporate the stories into classroom lessons.
For more than a decade, HistoryMiami has recorded and preserved “Miami Stories,” a collection of first-person accounts documenting life in Greater Miami. Stories of Resistance from Black Miami builds on that effort, reinforcing the museum’s role in preserving the region’s collective memory.
The newest videos from Stories of Resistance from Black Miami are available at historymiami.org/storiesofresistance and in the museum’s galleries. Community members are also encouraged to submit their own stories through the project’s website.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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