Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields recalls the moment in 1974 that changed her life forever.
As a librarian for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, she wanted to diversify her school’s book collection in preparation for the 1976 United States Bicentennial. She contacted the downtown public library for books on Black history but only found a small folder of obituaries. When she questioned the librarian, the response left her speechless.
“‘I guess these people haven’t thought enough of themselves to write their own history,’” Fields, now 82, recalled the reply.
This encounter sparked a profound shift in Fields’ life.
“It wasn’t that people didn’t care about themselves,” she said. “It was because they didn’t know how to get those stories and books published and in the library.”
Motivated to share her people’s history, Fields aimed to teach all students in Miami-Dade —regardless of their race — about the struggles and achievements of Black people in Miami from the moment the city was incorporated in 1896.
Black Archives
Indeed, Black Miami’s history and Fields herself are entwined; you cannot mention one without the other.
Her mother’s family immigrated from Harbour Island in the Bahamas to Miami in 1903. Growing up surrounded by familial stories about Henry Flagler’s railroad and the struggles and triumphs of Black Miami, Fields’ passion for preserving Black history was ignited.
While working as a librarian with M-DCPS, Fields was tasked with writing a book and creating a curriculum focused on Black history. She began interviewing older Black residents and conducting archival research, soon realizing the need for a broader platform to preserve their stories, rather than just one publication.
“I just collected everything,” Fields says. “Anything anyone wanted to give me — obituaries, family albums, pictures. There wasn’t that much oral history at the time, but I also collected public records.”
The collection Fields started, which includes photographs, documents and oral histories, represents people who experienced the Jim Crow era and beyond.
“Now, when writing books, documentaries, songs or podcasts, they usually contact the Black Archives first because the content is there. Whatever platform they’re using, the content for what they’re looking for is at the archives.”
Historic Landmarks
One of Fields’ most significant contributions to Black Miami is the role she played in preserving the Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown. After discovering the theater’s deteriorating condition following a period of civil unrest in the 1980s, her uncle encouraged her to save it.
“The people with me said it should be torn down, but my uncle told me, ‘You can’t tear that down. Mr. Gedar Walker, a Black businessman, built that theater for the community. You have to save it.’”
Uncertain at first, Fields was eventually inspired to pursue historic preservation, returning to school at age 50 to earn a Ph.D in 20th-century African-American history, historic preservation, and public history.
“I went back because this was something I wanted to do for the community, and I’m so happy I was able to do it.”
The rest is, well, history. Last Monday, the community celebrated the unveiling of the historical marker for the 112-year-old Lyric Theater, home to the Black Archives.
“This is my response to the librarian,” Fields said, referencing the 1974 call.
Passing the torch: Nadege Green
Fields has inspired students to explore the African diaspora throughout her career, especially in South Florida.
“It’s rewarding to see students become interested in Black history and use that interest to explore their family’s story,” Fields says.
One of Fields’ students she is most proud of is Nadege Green, whose archival work is deeply rooted within her own personal history.
READ MORE: Miami's 125th Birthday And Remembering The City's History
Born and raised in Little Haiti, Green was surrounded by a brilliant community of Black residents who valued storytelling, activism and education. Her parents were active in Miami's Haitian immigrant rights movement, and her father was a jitney driver. She’d hear from her elders during Sunday dinners.
“I grew up with people who poured into us as young folks and would share their stories and triumphs,” Green said.
The traditions Green witnessed during her youth — from stories passed down over dinner tables to dance movements that held bits of culture — had a lasting impact. As a quiet, observant child, she absorbed the diverse narratives of Miami, shaped by Bahamian roots, African American history, and the experiences of newly arrived Haitians.
Black Miami Dade
As a journalist, Green worked for The Miami Herald and WLRN. However, her deep connection to history and community inspired her to create Black Miami Dade in 2020, a platform dedicated to preserving and celebrating Miami’s Black history.
Black Miami Dade Publications is Green's newest effort to deliver tangible publications about the untold stories of Miami’s Black community.
“I wanted a digital space to interact with this history,” Green explained. “It’s not just a digital project; it’s also about creating moments for gathering and community education."
“We didn’t learn much about hyperlocal history in class,” she added.
Green credits Dr. Fields as having introduced her to “real” Black history during an after-school program at the Black Archives when she was in middle school.
“I have three certificates for my participation in the after-school program, where they actually took us to Overtown and taught us how to do oral histories,” Green said.
As a writer and historian, Green highlights often-overlooked aspects of Miami’s Black community, including its LGBTQ+ presence. In 2023, she curated “Give Them Their Flowers,” Miami’s first exhibit showcasing the city’s Black LGBTQ+ history.
“There were epic drag shows that used to happen in Overtown in the 1960s and ‘70s. Through oral histories, I was able to fill in the stories of Miami’s LGBTQ+ history that does not erase Black people.”
She has also highlighted tales of desegregation, as well as the young activists that went to high schools like Miami Edison and South Dade.
“When you know the stories of the place that you're in, you connect deeper to the place,” she said. “Miami is not just fun, sun and beaches. There is deep-rooted history here that must be honored.”
Green is now working on “Black Miami Dade Publications,” continuing her focus on telling the untold stories of Miami’s Black community. The first publication featured tales of Josephine Baker’s time in Miami in 1951.
These tangible publications are distributed at community gatherings, making vital histories accessible to everyday people.
Continuing a Legacy
Green draws deep inspiration from Miami’s Black women leaders, both past and present, whose legacies continue to shape the city. She admires figures like Dr. Naomi Cobb, a cultural anthropologist and Black lesbian elder from Liberty City.
She also pointed to Doris Ison, a fierce activist for public health.
“She was able to organize people in South Dade and get key changes around health care and housing other farmworkers and the Black community,” Green said.
She also highlights the vast role that domestic workers have played in shaping their community and powering generations throughout Miami's history. Green reflected on her mother, who worked as a housekeeper at the Marriott.
“Many of us come from grandparents, great-grandparents, or even parents who were domestic workers... It is through their labor, their very skilled labor, that’s also back-powered entire families.”
Likewise, Fields recognized the work of the washerwomen who washed and ironed clothes for city visitors and were central to Miami’s early tourism industry.
“Without the washerwomen, there would be no tourism,” she asserts. “They washed clothes in tin tubs and made sure tourists had clean, pressed clothes. They are the unsung heroes of Miami’s early tourism industry.”
Fields also mentioned Annie Coleman, who organized the Overtown Women's Club, and Congresswoman Carrie Meek, the first African American woman in the Florida State Senate.
Other trailblazing women synonymous with Miami’s history include Dr. Enid Pinkney, a teacher and first Black president of the Dade Heritage Trust; Nancy Dawkins, an educator and activist; and Thelma Gibson, the first Black assistant supervisor of nursing at the Dade County Health Department and a longtime advocate for affordable housing and public health.
“Black women have the road map,” said Green. “I am empowered by the Black women in Miami's past who use their voice and power in beautiful ways rooted in community love and care.”
This Women’s History Month, The Miami Times honors the efforts of these two women who have dedicated their lives to preserving our community’s history — Fields as a pioneer and Green in carrying the torch forward for future generations.
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.
