Local History
4th Grade Florida History
Overtown: Yesterday and Today
Essential QuestionsHow did Miami’s Overtown earn the name “Little Broadway?”
What efforts are currently being made to revitalize Overtown’s vibrant cultural tradition?
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Overtown: Yesterday and TodayFlorida literacy Standards Alignment:
LAFS.4.RI.2.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
LAFS.4.W.2.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
LAFS.4.RI.1.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
NGSSS -Social Science Standards Alignment:
SS.4.A.6.3 Describe the contributions of significant individuals to Florida.
SS.4.E.1.1 Identify entrepreneurs from various social and ethnic backgrounds who have influenced Florida and local economy.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Please note: The reading(s) associated with this lesson is for both teacher content knowledge and student content knowledge development. Teachers are encouraged to use the readings in their entirety and/or select portions of the reading to best fit the needs and reading levels of their particular students. It is highly suggested that teachers review the reading(s) thoroughly and adapt the reading(s) and plan instruction using appropriate instructional strategies in order to maximize student understanding according to their particular students’ abilities.
Local History
Topic: Overtown -Yesterday and TodayEssential Questions
How did Miami’s Overtown earn the name “Little Broadway?”What efforts are currently being made to revitalize Overtown’s vibrant cultural tradition?
Learning Goals
Students will understand how Miami’s Overtown became a cultural hub of the south during segregation and how there are current efforts to revitalize arts, culture and the physical presence of the area today.
Overview
After reading “Miami’s Overtown: A Celebrated Past,” the students will complete a web activity listing the different ways Overtown developed into a center of rich cultural activity.
Background information
Founded in the early 20th Century, Miami’s Overtown community was the Blacks-only section of the City of Miami, just north of Downtown. Overtown rapidly became a center of thriving Black business and a mecca for arts and culture. The economic development of the area took a drastic turn after the building of I-95 through the area, forcing many businesses and much of the Black middle class to leave the area. Today, there are efforts to restore Overtown to its once thriving economic status as well as strong presence in the area of arts and culture.
Materials Images of Little Haiti Web Graphic Organizer
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Activity SequenceIntroduction (4 minutes)
1. Talk to the students about how Miami’s Overtown community first became developed as a result of increasing economic activity in the area (i.e. the building of railroads), and while Blacks were forced to live segregated, they were able to develop a strong economic and cultural base in their community. (1 minutes)
2. Briefly show pictures to demonstrate how Overtown once looked and how it looks today. Have the students describe what they see. (3 minutes)
Activity (8 minutes)
1. Read the article “Miami’s Overtown: A Celebrated Past.” (5 minutes)2. Complete a web activity with the students, identifying the different ways Overtown developed into a center of rich
cultural activity. (3 minutes)
Closure (3 minutes)
1. How did Miami’s Overtown first become founded?2. What was Overtown first known as?3. What type of businesses developed in Overtown?4. How did Overtown earn the name “Little Broadway?”5. How are leaders in the community trying to restore Overtown?
Optional Extension
Have the students interview an Overtown (or former Overtown) resident about how life was like during segregation.
References for links
http://learningfrommiami.org/?p=1708
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Miami’s Overtown: A Celebrated PastSource: http://learningfrommiami.org/
Miami’s Overtown neighborhood survives as a significant reminder of early Black settlement in South Florida. When the City of Miami was incorporated in 1896 the Black settlers and immigrants, from Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and other countries, were segregated in a Black’s-only community. This area, now northwest of downtown Miami, was located across Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad tracks and became known as “Colored Town.”
Black workers of the bustling hotel and railroad industries in the new city lived in the ramshackle homes of Colored Town. Despite these conditions, as early as 1904 Colored Town (later known as Overtown) welcomed businesses to the area including convenience stores, a medical doctor, and other community facilities. It was a vibrant community that attracted whites, Blacks, and tourists from all over. It became the center of Black entertainment. After Black entertainers performed on Miami Beach, they headed to Overtown for late night shows and stayed at one of iconic hotels. The legendary Mary Elizabeth Hotel and its neighbor the Sir John Hotel were popular venues for rhythm and blues and jazz performances. Sammy Davis Jr., Cab Calloway, Redd Foxx, Nat “King” Cole, Josephine Baker, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald were some of the key entertainers that performed on the long-gone “Little Broadway” strip on Second Avenue. The only surviving building from that district is the historic Lyric Theater—an elaborate 400-seat theater built in 1913 in the style of masonry vernacular like many of the residential and public buildings in Overtown. The theater, built, owned and operated by Geder Walker, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Overtown also attracted intellectual icons such as United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and authors W. E. B. Du Bois and Zora Neale Hurston. Civil Rights era local leaders, such as Ophthalmologist Dr. J.O. Brown, hosted forums at one of the many public meeting places.
But Overtown’s riveting scene would forever change as construction of the Interstate 95 expressway in the early 1960s cut through the heart of the community. The expressway demolished many residential homes and businesses and forced thousands of residents to relocate. Since then, the community has experienced failed attempts at urban renewal, a high crime rate, and an abundance of rundown buildings. In recent years efforts have been made to preserve and restore Overtown’s surviving historic sites, including the Carver Hotel at NW 9th Street and NW 3rd Avenue and the 1925 Ward Rooming House at 249 NW 9th Street. Other historic structures include Mt. Zion Baptist Church, built between 1928 and 1941 and located on NW 9th Street and NW 3rd Avenue, and the Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church built between 1927 and 1943 and located at 245 NW 8th Street. The Ward building and both churches are examples of Mediterranean Revival architecture.
The focal point for this rebirth of Overtown has been the renovation of the historic Lyric Theater and the efforts by historian Dr. Dorothy Fields, who is founder of The Black Archives, History & Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc., located at the Lyric Theater. Dr. Fields and The Black Archives launched a campaign to revitalize Overtown’s art and cultural scene with the development of the Historic Overtown Folklife Village. This two-block area is a retail, cultural, and entertainment district that aims to save the community’s legacy in South Florida.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Former homes at Goodbread and 17th and 18th Streets. Photo Courtesy: HistoryMiami
Source: http://learningfrommiami.org/?p=1708
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Overtown in the early 1900s
Source: www.housingissues.org
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Overtown: “The Harlem of the South”Source: www.standardculture.com
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
The building of I-95 through Miami’s Overtown in the late 1960s
Source: www.cnu.org
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Miami’s Overtown Today
Source: wikipedia.org
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
The Historic Lyric Theatre Today
Source: wikipedia.org
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
Graphic Organizers:
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
