Historic Virginia Key Beach Park’s 80th birthday party brings intergenerational joy

Morgan C. Mullings, Miami Times Contributor

Source: https://www.miamitimesonline.com/lifestyles/historic-virginia-key-beach-parks-80th-birthday-party-brings-intergenerational-joy/article_f976c979-a330-43d1-b2ec-0f152a53ccce.html

At Historic Virginia Key Beach Park’s 80th birthday party on Aug. 1, seniors who went to the beach as children celebrated alongside kids visiting for the first time.

The historic site, once a “colored beach” for Black residents during segregation, has a special place in the hearts of locals and leadership at the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust. To celebrate its legacy and the upcoming museum groundbreaking, they held a classic beach birthday party featuring a cake cutting and a presentation of the landmark’s history.

The party’s dance floor was reminiscent of the beach’s opening, back when there wasn’t even a causeway to connect the mainland to Virginia Key. Where beachgoers once did the twist, today’s visitors are doing the cupid shuffle. Hosted by the Trust’s marketing director, Kechi Okpala, the party included food, dancing, Black history teachings and a poetry performance. 

Okpala introduced Historic Virginia Key Beach Park Trust Executive Director Athalie Edwards, who underscored the importance of the celebration.

“It’s important for people to know that back then in 1945, there was nowhere for Black people to recreate,” she said.

A source of pride

In sharing the ecological and historical aspects of her work, Edwards was overflowing with pride in how far the park has come.

“Does everyone know what’s going on today? They don’t want you to talk about Black history,” she continued. “They don’t want us to talk about the things that happened to us, that happened to our ancestors, how we were suppressed and we were not treated equally.”

Plessy V. Ferguson, which established what we know as the “separate but equal” segregation experience, wasn’t enough, she said, because the “equal” part didn’t exist. Virginia Key was established as a colored beach only after a group of activists led a “wade-in” protest at Haulover Beach in 1945. Prior to that, Black Miamians had had no shoreline access.

Yet, “We got the worst part of the beach,” Edwards said. “But you look at it today, and people want to make it into a beautiful part.”

Miami’s historically Black neighborhoods, like Brownsville and Allapattah, naturally have special ties with the park, Edwards said. “Those different areas that were socially disadvantaged … we made sure that you guys had a place to come. And we’re going to continue through the Trust and the mission.”

The currently flourishing state of the beach is due to several restoration projects completed over the years, a result of the formation and work of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust. Through regular testing, they have found that they have “the cleanest water on Virginia Key,” according to Edwards.

The next step is to open a museum at the historical site, which will begin construction this year. Edwards said a groundbreaking ceremony originally planned for the 80th anniversary party has since been postponed by a couple of months.

Bridging past and future

Before attendees made it to the dance floor, they gathered in the main office building for a history presentation with old photos and information on what the Trust has planned for its future. Most of the attendees were Charles Hadley Park Senior Program members who have attended many of the park’s events in the past.

“I learned a lot of stuff that I didn’t know,” said member Lorna Smith. “They told us a lot of stuff that we may not have known about Virginia Key Beach. I remember coming here as a child, because it was time for our families to come together.” 

Some of that history includes the park’s closure in 1982 due to the City of Miami’s inability to maintain it, and the establishment of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust in 2000. The park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the shoreline revived. Now, these seniors are excited to experience the park again for years to come.

Smith enjoyed going when she was younger because “we had our families come from all different parts of the United States, and we could have a picnic here on the beach.”

While many other beaches remain popular in Miami, Friday’s partygoers say that people are missing out on Virginia Key.

“It’s something that they need to know, part of their roots, and even if they’re not of Black heritage, it’s history, and it’s an experience that you have to come experience yourself,” said Smith.

She pointed out the many children there visiting from their summer camps, enjoying the music and icy treats, and sees a new generation enjoying the beach in the future.

Barbara Brown comes every year with the Charles Hadley seniors to any meetings the Trust makes available to the public.

“Everybody comes and puts their input into it, and then we put new things in the beach,” she said.

The presentation showed her things people may have forgotten or missed out on.

“One of our seniors lived here as a child. His father managed the beach,” Brown shared.

Childhood memories were a common theme, especially those of birthday parties celebrated in the exact spot where the 80th anniversary event was held, on that concrete dance floor.

Children from City of Miami summer camps brought joy to the seniors’ faces with impromptu dance performances to their favorite songs. While the kids were there to have fun, it’s also important to the Trust that this be a learning experience.

Education and volunteer coordinator Maya Forbes shared more on educational programs for the youth.

“We offer a variety of different field trips. Those field trips include onsite field trips where the students can physically come here,” she said, adding that they also go to the schools to deliver programming or educate virtually.

Most school textbooks cover the country’s national civil rights story, while Virginia Key’s programming offers a local angle.

“For example, we’re going to talk about D.A. Dorsey and how he became Miami’s first Black millionaire, and he used his wealth to purchase our [land] and use it as the unofficial beach for the Black community,” Forbes said.

Forbes says the birthday party turned out just how they wanted.

“Our goal for our 80th was definitely to bridge that intergenerational gap,” she said. “They are the next stewards of this land and the legacy of this park.”

Source: https://www.miamitimesonline.com/lifestyles/historic-virginia-key-beach-parks-80th-birthday-party-brings-intergenerational-joy/article_f976c979-a330-43d1-b2ec-0f152a53ccce.html