The Civil Rights Movement and the Black experience in Miami reverberates with both strife and triumph. In Miami, as with other cities across the United States, cultural clashes between ethnicities contributed significantly to civil unrest and racial tension. Champions of equality whose lives and hearts were committed to making Miami a place of peace and understanding between races evolved out of a deeply segregated, yet shared environment.

This presentation is the online companion of the Special Collections exhibit located on the 2nd floor of the Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami (February 18 - May 1, 2009). The selected images tell a story of struggle, community challenges, and hope for Black Miami in the 20th century. Through a combination of personal papers, books, professional photography, fliers and reports of civil rights activities this exhibition on Black Miami presents a sobering glimpse at what was and illustrates a path of civic involvement and pride.