Neighborhood Change
As mentioned elsewhere, the first Black residents of Coconut Grove were Bahamians who began migrating to the area in the 1800s. In the years that followed, the Black community grew with the migration of not only Bahamians but also African Americans from places such as Georgia and the Carolinas1. As the population increased, so did the neighborhood’s social infrastructure. While Charles Avenue was once the hub of community life2, Grand Avenue eventually became the main commercial artery and came to boast social spaces like a pool hall, bars with live musical performances and a movie theater where children happily wiled away their Saturdays3. The area’s hand-built homes had front porches where residents would sit outside, enforcing social norms that ensured children behaved while their parents were away at work. They also facilitated sociality, as custom dictated greeting one’s neighbors as a part of morning routines4.
A home with a covered front porch that was once characteristic of houses in the neighborhood, Coconut Grove, Florida, 2022. Photo by Aarti Mehta-Kroll.
The neighborhood school, G.W. Carver was the center of social life of the Black community of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. Community members celebrated the triumphs of its athletes, enjoyed the performances of its marching band and took pride in the achievements of its graduates. It was a place where teachers nurtured the talents and academic abilities of their pupils. Many graduates went on to pursue esteemed careers as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and nurses, with some returning to teach at their beloved alma mater.
2012 Film: “G.W. Carver: A Community School” produced by the University of Miami Center for Ethnics and Public Service Oral History Film Project
In addition to the school, churches were an important part of the community’s social fabric. Residents fondly recall that the clustering of these religious institutions along Charles Avenue led to it being referred to as Evangelist Street. Leaders such as Father Theodore Gibson mobilized these institutions to not only meet the spiritual needs of his flock but also improve the living conditions in his community5.
Evangelist Street Charles Avenue Historic Marker, Coconut Grove, Florida. 2022. Photo by Nicole Combeau. FIU Libraries dPanther Repository
2011 Film: “History of Churches in the West Grove: Past, Present and Future” produced by the University of Miami Center for Ethnics and Public Service Oral History Film Project
As the barriers of segregation fell, this social infrastructure gradually fell apart. The first blow came when the neighborhood’s children started being bused to new schools. As G.W. Carver ceased to be a community school, a hub of communal activity was lost. Community leader Clarice Cooper6 described this change as follows: “I think we lost out with, especially when the schools became integrated. We were more of a community. You have fewer teachers, principals, Boy and Girl Scout leaders were involved in the community. They were friends with your parents”. The last senior high school class graduated in 1966 with subsequent cohorts being bused or forced to walk to newly integrated high schools outside the comfort of their neighborhood.
2013 Film: “Someday We’ll All Be Free: The Desegregation of Miami” produced by the University of Miami Center for Ethnics and Public Service Oral History Film Project
Urban renewal and road widening projects starting in the 1970s led not only to the loss of homes but also businesses7. Throughout the 80s, drug dealing in Miami made public spaces feel unsafe, and Coconut Grove was no exception. One story in the Miami Herald described how two elderly residents chained their chairs to their front porches to prevent them from being stolen8. The rise in criminality and violence led to some families with the means to do so to leave and move elsewhere. However, amongst those who remained, these changes in the neighborhood were not left unchallenged. Homeowners’ associations in the Black majority areas of Coral Gables and Coconut Grove mobilized to form neighborhood crime watch groups9. They engaged in community beautification projects10, joined with other organizations to oppose unwanted development11, negotiated community benefits with developers12 and acted against housing displacement through measures such as upgrading existing homes in the neighborhood 13. Lacking their own meeting places, the Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association (HOATA) representing Coconut Grove used the Frankie S. Rolle Center, a human services center managed by Miami Dade County. For their meetings, the Lola B. Walker Homeowner’s Association of Coral Gables met at the library of G.W. Carver Middle School14 until 2017 when they opened their own community center.
The Lola B. Walker Homeowners Association building, 218 Florida Ave, Coral Gables, Florida 2024. Photo by Aarti Mehta-Kroll.
Yvonne McDonald was a community leader and the former president of Coconut Grove Village West Homeowners & Tenants Association, Coconut Grove, Florida 2024. Photo by Aarti Mehta-Kroll.
In 1984 a group of private citizens, led by Mrs. Thelma Gibson, formed an organization called GUTS (Groveites United to Survive), that began buying up property along Grand Avenue. In her biography, Mrs. Gibson recalls:
David15 said to me, “You know there are people in this community that have money and would not mind investing it. You ought to talk to them about doing something in this community.” He then told us about a building he had seen available. Again, I went to Leroy Scott, Walter Green, and Henry Givens and said to them, “I understand you young men have some money you’d like to invest in the community. If that is the case, this building, the Tiki is available, and we can put our money together and buy the building.” I then suggested that they put up twenty-five thousand dollars a piece and get a fourth person, then having one hundred thousand dollars, and we could leverage one hundred thousand dollars. Well, they decided they didn’t have that kind of money to invest. I said, “O.K. We’ll get ten people and have ten people give ten thousand dollars a piece and we will have the hundred thousand dollars.”
This effort ultimately led to the involvement of twenty individuals, including Mrs. Gibson, who contributed $5000 each to buy the Tiki Club property. After years of delays, in 2024 the Tiki Club was demolished and will be transformed into an apartment building.
Aside from these groups, a set of institutions that have remained open and accessible as nodes for social engagement and collective organizing are the community’s churches. The Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry was started at Christ Episcopal Church in 1984 to help the neighborhood’s homeless community but has since expanded to provide food to 225 local household16. Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church offers a free K-12 summer camp program that includes field trips, music and swimming lesson.17 The Believers of the Authority Ministry, established in 1996, organizes an annual youth forum where children are provided with school supplies.18 These are but a few examples of the multitude of ways in which the Churches of Coconut Grove serve their community.
In 200819, under the leadership of Professor Anthony Alfieri the University of Miami School of Law began working with Greater St. Paul AME, and soon after the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance which consists of over a dozen neighborhood Churches20. This collaboration formed the foundation of what became the Historic Black Churches Program (HBCP) which has produced many of the documentaries featured on this page. In 2019, the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance, the University of Miami and HOATA organized under the umbrella organization Grove Rights and Community Equity (G.R.A.C.E.). G.R.A.C.E is leading the fight against gentrification induced displacement, seeking justice for those who face the health consequences because of exposure to toxins from Old Smokey and has successfully challenged racial gerrymandering. To learn more, visit the “Fight for Rights” page.
1 Green, S. (2018) “Tracing black racial and spatial politics in south Florida via memory.” Journal of Urban History, 44.6: 1176-1196. https://miamimigrationstories.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/journal-of-urban-history.pdf
2 Novaes, M. (2012). Evangelist Street Charles Avenue Designation Report. Historic and Environmental Preservation Board City of Miami http://www.historicpreservationmiami.com/pdfs/Evangelist%20Street%20-Charles%20Avenue.pdf 16 December 2024.
3Nielsen, K. (1999) Grand Illusions. Miami New Times, 22 July
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/grand-illusions-6358206 27 June 2024.
4 Gibson, T. V.A. and F. Brown. (2022) “Commons for Justice Project” Interview by M. Brown, N. Guevara and A. Mehta-Kroll. 2022. 30 May http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpanther/items/itemdetail?bibid=FI24022201&vid=00001
5 Vonk, C. S. (1997). Theodore R. Gibson: priest, prophet and politician: positive, practical, pragmatic.
6 Cooper, Clarice. and Reynold. Martin. (2022).“Commons for Justice Project.”Interview by M.Brown, A. Ramos, Y. Norther & J. McGee. 31 May http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI24022202/00001
7 Willson, E. (1980) Grand Avenue’s changing face. The Miami Herald, 20 July, Pp. 22-23.
8 McGarrahan, E. (1988) Neighborhood of Neglect. The Miami Herald, 5 May, Pp. 29.
9 Balido, Y. (1998) Police Respond to Calls for Greater Presence. The Miami Herald, 28 June, Pp.3.; Savage, C. (1999) Crime Watch gives award to homeowners’ president. The Miami Herald. 11 November.
10 Staff, Herald. (2004) Dolphins Players Help in Grove Clean-Up. The Miami Herald, 14 March, pp. 6E.; Santana, S. (2004) Grove volunteers spruce up cemetery where settlers rest. The Miami Herald, 8 February, pp. 18BH.
110 Pesantes, E. (2014) 18 Groups form unit. The Miami Herald, June 13, pp. 3E.
12 Staff, Herald. (2005) Residents present demands to developers. The Miami Herald. 25 September, pp. 6GR.
13 Smiley, D. (2007). COCONUT GROVE: Volunteers give homes some needed touch-ups – Volunteers from Rebuilding Together Miami worked all day Saturday repairing a dozen local homes belonging to the elderly and disabled. The Miami Herald, 3 May, pp. GS3.; Smiley, D. (2008). COCONUT GROVE: Blacks fight for housing in Grove renewal – Leaders in Coconut Grove’s historically black community are fighting to ensure residents won’t be pushed out as Miami City Commissioners consider developing Grand Avenue. The Miami Herald, 26 June, pp. A1.
14 Herald Staff. (2006) Best decorated homes will be awarded cash. The Miami Herald, 22 January, pp. 4GR.
15 David here refers to David Alexander, the then Director of the Coconut Grove Local Development Corporation.
16 Da Silva, A. O. (2014). The Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry Marks a Milestone. Coconut Grove Spotlight, 24 April. https://coconutgrovespotlight.com/2024/04/29/crisis-food-pantry/
17 Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church Website https://www.macedoniambcmiami.com/
18 Believers of the Authority Ministry Website. https://www.boaministries.org/about 10 August 2024.
19 The law school had begun working in the neighborhood in the early 2000s as a part of a program called “Community Economic Development and Design” (CEDAD). CEDAD included faculty and students in the Department of Architecture and law school who focused on lifting the fortune of West Grove through economic development (Alfieri, A.V. (2005) In Samina Qureshi (ed.) Reimagining West Grove, Spacemaker Press. Alfieri, A.V. (2009) Against Practice. Michigan Law Review 107.1073, 1073-1092).
20 Guy, M. (2009) Law school helps Grove-area churchgoers. The Miami Hurricane, 16 February https://themiamihurricane.com/2009/02/16/law-school-helps-grove-area-churchgoers/