Black Miami

One year after opening its doors, Roots Bookstore & Market in Liberty City has become more than just a place to buy books. WLRN's Sofia Zarran spoke with co-owner Philip Agnew about the store's mission, the impact it's had on the community, and what's next for Roots.

Divers with a global nonprofit network of Black ocean scientists and marine enthusiasts, joined a University of Miami's program to plant nursery-grown corals along the Florida Reef Tract as it experiences a prolonged heat wave. But the work is also about Black representation in marine science.

Liberty City was never just a neighborhood. It was a declaration. Platted in 1922 during the Florida Land Boom, the 80-acre community emerged when Black workers were building the city but had nowhere to live. Stretching between Northwest 62nd and 71st streets, it centered around Northwest 18th Avenue — then called Broadway.

For generations, West Coconut Grove was home to a network of neighborhood mom-and-pop stores that doubled as community hubs. Today, it is down to a single grocery: Ike’s Food Center, whose story traces the rise, resilience and gradual erosion of a community shaped by deep neighborhood ties.

For the WWII veteran and one of the last surviving officers of Miami’s historic “Negro-Only” Precinct, the centennial celebration this month, was more than a birthday. It was a community’s tribute to a man whose life has traced nearly the entire arc of Black Miami’s struggle for dignity, justice, and belonging.

Across South Florida, congregations are confronting a hard numbers problem: rising costs, shifting demographics, aging facilities, and, in some cases, fewer people in the pews. A wave of foreclosures, property sales and mergers has put the issue in sharp relief. At the same time, pastors and church leaders say new tactics — from housing development and nonprofit partnerships to online giving — are helping churches remain anchors of community life.

Founded by Bahamian settlers in 1895, the historic congregation continues to uplift Miami’s Black community through education, worship, and resilience.

In Florida, Black women experience disproportionately high rates of maternal and infant mortality — a fact two local Black-led nonprofits are working to change.

Faith, fellowship and family collide at the Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church, a tightly knit congregation tucked just off the roads of Gladeview. For decades, the pulpit at this historic Black church had only been occupied by men — that is, until last Sunday, when the church installed its very first female pastor, Tonia Menzies.

Interstate is a powerful new documentary by Miami-based filmmakers Oscar Corral and Haleem Muhsin. Miami's Overtown is among several communities featured in the film.

Two out of five Miai city commission seats will be up for grabs. First is the District 3 seat in Little Havana and parts of Brickell. Also in the mix is the District 5 seat representing Overtown, Little Haiti and Belle Meade.

A $39 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant is funding the redevelopment of Overtown’s public housing and infrastructure. Residents and advocates fear displacement, cultural erosion and gentrification.