08/28/2026
Historic Virginia Key Beach Park was born out of segregation and resistance. In 1945, after Black activists staged a peaceful “wade-in” at the whites-only Haulover Beach demanding access to Miami’s shoreline, Dade County opened Virginia Key Beach as its designated “Colored Only” beach on August 1, 1945. For generations, it became a treasured gathering place where Black families swam, celebrated, worshipped, held weddings and baptisms, and built memories in a city that denied them access elsewhere. The park closed in 1982, and for 26 years the historic site sat closed while even facing the possibility of private development. Community members fought to preserve it, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and after years of restoration, Historic Virginia Key Beach Park reopened to the public in 2008. This isn’t just a beach. It is a living piece of Black Miami history.
See you The Poetry Potluck this Sunday Historic Virginia Key Beach Park