Overtown: Miami's 'Harlem of the South'

Overtown's story runs alongside Miami's from the very first day. The Black laborers who cleared the land, built the railroad and hotel and helped vote the city into existence were confined by segregation to a district northwest of downtown, first called Colored Town.

A city within a city

Shut out of white Miami, Black residents built their own institutions: churches, schools, newspapers, businesses, doctors' offices and social clubs. Entrepreneur Dana A. Dorsey, the son of formerly enslaved parents, became a major property owner and is often called Miami's first Black millionaire.

The Harlem of the South

From the 1920s through the 1950s, Overtown's Second Avenue was lined with nightclubs and theaters. Because Black entertainers performing on Miami Beach were not allowed to stay there overnight, many stayed and performed in Overtown after their shows. Stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Cab Calloway were associated with its clubs. The Lyric Theater, built in the early 1910s, still stands.

Highways through the heart

In the 1950s and 1960s, urban renewal and the construction of Interstate 95 and the related expressway interchange cut through Overtown. Thousands of residents were displaced, and businesses that depended on them closed. The neighborhood's population fell dramatically.

Remembering and rebuilding

Today the restored Lyric Theater and the Black Archives History and Research Foundation work to preserve Overtown's history, and the neighborhood is at the center of new redevelopment debates. Its story is an essential part of understanding how Miami grew from swamp to city, and who did the building.

Business and civic leaders

Overtown was home to doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers and entrepreneurs who built institutions serving Black Miami. Churches such as Greater Bethel AME and Mount Zion Baptist anchored community life. Black-owned hotels, such as the Mary Elizabeth Hotel, welcomed traveling entertainers and visitors barred from segregated hotels.

Booker T. Washington High School

Booker T. Washington High School, founded in the 1920s, was for many years the first public high school serving Black students in South Florida. Its graduates became leaders in education, government, business and the arts.

Civil rights in Miami

Overtown and other Black neighborhoods were centers of civil rights activism in Miami. Residents organized against segregated beaches, buses, lunch counters and schools, and fought for fair housing and political representation.

Visiting Overtown

Visitors can see the restored Lyric Theater, historic churches and murals celebrating the neighborhood's heritage. Learning Overtown's story is essential for understanding how Miami grew, who built it and what was lost along the way.