Dozens of residents, community leaders and elected officials gathered recently at Jefferson Reaves Sr. Park to unveil the Historic Brownsville Legacy Murals, a vivid tribute honoring the people and places that shaped one of Miami’s most storied Black neighborhoods.
Painting legacy
The project, led by the Brownsville Civic Neighborhood Association (BCNA) in collaboration with HOPE Murals and supported by the Carrie Meek Foundation and the Miami-Dade Office of Neighborhood Safety, celebrates 11 influential figures including Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry, Neal Adams Sr., Jefferson Reaves Sr., George W. Kilpatrick Sr., Bishop J.D. Williams, Dr. Enid C. Pinkney, Everett Stewart Sr., and William Brown. Of the 11 honorees, two are still living: Rep. Rev. Dr. James Bush III and Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields.
Landmarks like the Hampton House, Georgette’s Tea Room and Overtown’s Historic Lyric Theatre are also featured.
“We stand with you in making sure that our history and story are told,” said Lucia Davis-Raiford, the Carrie Meek Foundation’s executive director. “We learn to appreciate ourselves and teach our children the strong legacy they’re part of.”
For BCNA President Kenneth Kilpatrick, the unveiling was both a celebration and a reflection.
“This is a very important and historic milestone,” he told The Miami Times. “It's an opportunity to tell our youth and the young adults, ‘This is where we came from, this is excellence, and these are the pioneers that paved the way.’”
The murals were created over two months through community engagement and intergenerational storytelling. HOPE Murals, a nonprofit that uses art to empower youth, especially in underserved areas and the juvenile justice system, brought artistry and education to the initiative.
“We try to use art as a visual storytelling opportunity to honor [our ancestors’] leadership and sacrifices,” said German DuBois III, founder and executive director of HOPE Murals. “You hear stories about the challenges many Black and brown people faced throughout history, and to have a small part in being able to honor and thank those individuals is a big deal.”
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More than 20 names were considered, but 11 icons were ultimately selected through research with local elders and historians.
’Brown sub’
Dr. Jenkins Fields, a public historian, certified archivist and founder of the Black Archives, provided historical context for Brownsville.
“In the 1920s, Brownsville was a farming development platted by William Brown,” she said. “As I-95 started and (brought with it) the destruction of Overtown, more families moved here, and more businesses started.”
Brownsville emerged as one of Miami-Dade’s earliest Black suburbs. Originally called Brown Subdivision, or “Brown Sub,” it attracted Black residents in the 1940s. The area, which extends from Northwest 62nd Street to 41st Street and from Northwest 37th Avenue to 19th Avenue, became predominantly Black by the 1960s.
“From 1948 until 2021, Brownsville was my home; it was suburban,” Jenkins Fields recalled. “It was, and still is, a quiet neighborhood.”
She noted that the community was home to prominent elected officials, such as Cherry, Bush III, and Adams Sr.
One of the neighborhood’s most famous landmarks is the Historic Hampton House. This mid-century hotel catered to Black travelers during the Green Book era and hosted famous guests such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Muhammad Ali. The neighborhood is also home to the historic Lincoln Memorial, Evergreen cemeteries and Georgette’s Tea Room, a prominent gathering spot for social events.
Preserving history, inspiring change
Kilpatrick said Brownsville’s cultural contributions have often been overlooked.
“When people talk about Brownsville, it’s not a lot of positivity, but they don't know the origins,” he said. “Sometimes when you understand where you came from, it gives you that pride, that sense of community, that sense of identity.”
The mural project is personal for Kilpatrick, whose grandfather, George W. Kilpatrick, is among those honored.
“My grandfather would have been over 100 years old,” he reflected. “He died when I was 17, but I remember the respect that people had for him. When I became an adult and I looked back on the community, I felt a sense of duty to pay it forward. So that’s what we’re doing.”
George W. Kilpatrick was a civil-rights activist and owner of Spic ’n Span, a grocery store that doubled as a meeting place for community leaders.
Bush, a longtime civic leader and first vice president of the BCNA, served for 14 years in the Florida Legislature. He said he was humbled by the recognition.
"I'm not used to being recognized because I know that's just temporary,” he said. “You just do what you have to do because that's what God has commissioned you to do, and you keep on to the next assignment.”
He added, “I had the opportunity to work with almost all of the individuals being recognized. I hope the generation coming behind us will take the baton and move to the next level.”
Bush reflected on his efforts in Brownsville, including saving Brownsville Park, supporting the Brownsville Renaissance Mall, organizing cemetery cleanups, and securing state funds for the renovation of Georgette’s Tea Room.
Elected officials, such as County Commissioners Marleine Bastien and Keon Hardemon, who represents Brownsville, joined the tribute.
“Today, we remember Joseph Lang Kershaw, who broke barriers as the first African-American elected in the Florida House since Reconstruction,” Bastien said. “We remember Rep. Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry, a fearless advocate and the first African American in the Florida Legislature.”
She also praised Adams Sr., a civil rights leader and former county commissioner who organized Brownsville residents to become a powerful voting bloc; Reaves Sr., a former state representative and founding president of the BCNA; and Dr. Pinkney, whose efforts led to the preservation of the Historic Hampton House.
Hardemon reminded attendees that honoring the past is essential to shaping the future.
“No one can forget about Brownsville,” Hardemon said. “If you forget about Brownsville, then you forgot about all the people that made Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade County.”
Brandi Pressley, Kilpatrick’s cousin, reflected on how the murals shape youth identity.
“When I grew up, I had a safe space,” Pressley said. “Your school and your community are supposed to be safe spaces. The beauty in this is that these kids can now come to a park, and the park that they come to, as opposed to having graffiti all over the place, they can have beautiful murals of pioneers that used to be in their community.”
Looking ahead
As the BCNA looks to the future, Kilpatrick said the association is still exploring a coalition with neighboring homeowners’ groups to engage the Municipal Advisory Committee, possibly leading to the incorporation of a new city.
For now, he hopes each child who walks past the murals feels seen.
“We want to make sure our youth are paying attention,” Kilpatrick said. “That they’ll see those faces and say, ‘You know what? I’m gonna put a suit on like these gentlemen.’ For young girls, ‘I want to put on a nice dress like these pioneering women.’”
DuBois echoed the sentiment: “The work begins now. How do we use this as a platform to engage young people in learning about their history, their past, their community? We stay teaching. We stay educating.”
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
