Black Miami in the Twentieth Century
Florida History and Culture Series
by Marvin Dunn (Author)

The first book devoted to the history of African Americans in south Florida and their pivotal role in the growth and development of Miami, Black Miami in the Twentieth Century traces their triumphs, drudgery, horrors, and courage during the first 100 years of the city's history. Firsthand accounts and over 130 photographs, many of them never published before, bring to life the proud heritage of Miami's black community.
Beginning with the legendary presence of black pirates on Biscayne Bay, Marvin Dunn sketches the streams of migration by which blacks came to account for nearly half the city’s voters at the turn of the century. From the birth of a new neighborhood known as "Colored Town," Dunn traces the blossoming of black businesses, churches, civic groups, and fraternal societies that made up the black community. He recounts the heyday of "Little Broadway" along Second Avenue, with photos and individual recollections that capture the richness and vitality of black Miami's golden age between the wars.
A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the Miami civil rights movement, and Dunn traces the evolution of Colored Town to Overtown and the subsequent growth of Liberty City. He profiles voting rights, housing and school desegregation, and civil disturbances like the McDuffie and Lozano incidents, and analyzes the issues and leadership that molded an increasingly diverse community through decades of strife and violence. In concluding chapters, he assesses the current position of the community--its socioeconomic status, education issues, residential patterns, and business development--and considers the effect of recent waves of immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dunn combines exhaustive research in regional media and archives with personal interviews of pioneer citizens and longtime residents in a work that documents as never before the life of one of the most important black communities in the United States.

The Florida Times-Union, 09/19/2004
Engaging new excursion into Florida's Indian past.

KNLS Bookwatch, February 2005
The pairing of a painter with an archaeologist produces a wonderful blend of scholarship and visual color displays.

"Elizabeth Rothra's excellent biography of Charles Torrey Simpson restates his philosophies about the intrinsic value of natural ecosystems like the Everglades.  No one knew better than he the history of the plants and animals of South Florida or conveyed it with more humor and enthusiasm."--Marjory Stoneman Douglas

"Absorbing, informative, and useful. . . . Simpson is the primary source of information for all scholars wishing to learn about ecological conditions in south Florida at the turn of the century."--Larry D. Harris, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida

"A needed, timely contribution to scholarship in the form of a very enjoyable, readable volume. . . .  Much of the natural wealth enjoyed by our citizens today is due to the early efforts of pioneer naturalists such as Charles Torrey Simpson, working in a 'labor of love' nearly a century ago."--David H. Stansbery, Curator of Bivalve Mollusks, Museum of Zoology, Ohio State University

H-Net, May 2004
"A thought-provoking look at an unfolding chapter in the history of a state and country." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

E-Streams, August 2004
"Does not whitewash over the reasons the company is controversial today, and yet it does not read as a diatribe." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Tallahassee Democrat, June 6, 2004
"A persuasive call to citizens and government to insist upon a greater public interest." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Choice, October 2004 Vol. 42, No. 2
Highly recommended. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The Polish American Journal, January 2005
Anyone concerned with land use and growth management, Florida’s fragile wildlife and natural resources will learn a great deal... --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

"Michael Gannon, a towering figure in Florida history, richly deserves his reputation as the 'dean of Florida studies.'"--Gary Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams

"One of the state's foremost historians."--Miami Herald

"Mike Gannon [is] one of Florida's gifted historians and authors."--Gulf Coast Historical Review

"Gannon is a lifelong student of the history of his state, an acclaimed teacher, a masterful and tireless raconteur, and a superb stylist."--Paul S. George, Florida Historical Quarterly

The subjects that would fire Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s enthusiasm for the rest of her life first appeared in her short fiction published in the 1920s. Florida’s most celebrated environmentalist, the author of The Everglades: River of Grass, wrote even then about protecting South Florida’s fragile ecosystem and the state’s endangered species, about the dangers of short-sighted land development, and about Florida history.
The nine stories in this first collection take place in a scattering of South Florida settings--Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, the Tamiami Trail, the Keys, the Everglades—and reveal the drama of hurricanes and plane crashes, of kidnappers, escaped convicts, and smugglers.
Editor Kevin McCarthy relates each story to Douglas’s life and points out the autobiographical touches which surface frequently in her stories.

The Journal of Southern History
...situate[s] Florida's environmental problems as central topics...in state and regional history [and] in the broader environmental history of the nation.

h Florida at St. Petersburg Lib. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information

“A fascinating, valuable addition to the (suddenly) burgeoning literature encompassing the

American Southeast’s environment. Nelson’s work, excellent in itself, represents a flowering in

the regional field, I think, that will soon rival the larger and older tradition of western environ-

mental history.”—Jack Temple Kirby, author of Poquosin