A Guide To Black-Owned Miami

This hotel was a popular destination for African-American celebrities and Black families during the segregation era. In the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the Hampton House existed as a jazz club, restaurant, and lodge catering exclusively to African American patrons. Jim Crow laws at the time meant Miami Beach was a volatile and unwelcoming place for Black Americans, so many filled their nights out in nearby Brownsville. Whether Victor Green’s Green Book led them there or a word-of-mouth recommendation from a friend, The Hampton House was the social hub in the area, attracting tourists, celebrities like Sam Cookie, athletes like Muhammad Ali, and civil rights leaders like Malcolm X.

Today, the building has been restored and serves as a cultural center and museum—you may recognize its cameo in the film One Night in Miami. The Regina King-directed project is inspired by the night Cooke, Ali, Malcolm X, and Jim Brown met at the hotel following one of Ali’s boxing matches. The Historic Hampton House offers visitors an opportunity to step back in time both figuratively and metaphorically: new on-site VR experience places users inside the shoes of people of color navigating hostile travel environments during the Green Book era. 

While this may seem like a wildcard addition, this beach has been a place for Black families to relax and enjoy the water for generations. During segregation, Virginia Key Beach was the only beach in Miami where African Americans were allowed to visit. Today, the beach is a historic landmark featuring a park with picnic tables and grills, nature trails, a vintage carousel ride, children’s playground, picnic area, pastel-color beach-side cabins and event space. To see a list of some of upcoming events, visit this website.  

Virginia Key Beach will also be the grounds of Miami’s brand new African-American History Museum, although debate remains on just when the building for this gallery will be built—voters first approved a measure for the museum over two decades ago. 

Located in the historic Overtown neighborhood, The Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum showcases the history of Black police officers in Miami. Operational between 1950 and 1963, the museum building originally housed the city’s first Black police station, jail and criminal courtroom. 

The precinct’s first five Black officers were challenged with protecting and serving approximately 43,000 residents, spread across multiple neighborhoods, in what was known at the time as “Colored Town.” One item that will stand out to visitors on the tour is a replica of a police bike that officers used to patrol this area between 1944 and 1950—the bike’s handlebars were the seating for suspects being transported to the station. The museum exhibits include hundreds of photographs, displays of vintage firearms, police uniforms, badges, old documents, and a jail and courtroom tour. 

Organized tours get a bad wrap for being, well, so organized. Still, one of the more efficient ways to understand a city, its history and the people that live there is by taking a tour. One such experience in southern Florida is the Melanin Miami Black History Tour. Spearheaded by the charismatic Keymia Sharpe, a former advertising professional turned hospitality entrepreneur, this tour aims to illuminate the overlooked role of Miami in the Civil Rights movement.

Sharpe’s approximately three hour driving tour leads visitors through the historic Overton community, one of the first predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city. There are stops at the Lyric Theater: a venue built in 1913 known for hosting performers such as Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin; the Dorsey House, the home of the city’s first Black millionaire; and Hampton Art Lovers, an African-American art gallery and collective. 

The Melanin Miami’s tour conclude with a delectable soul food meal at the highly reviewed Lil Greenhouse Grill. Samplings vary from tour to tour, but don’t miss out on the Smoked BBQ Ribs although Tripadvisor community member Troy W has an additional suggestion: “For appetizers you MUST try the Dream Fire Shrimp. Spicy, tangy and slightly hot sauce is slathered onto the grilled shrimp. Very tasty.”

Located in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, the Haitian Heritage Museum is the only museum in the United States dedicated solely to the promotion and preservation of Haitian art, history, and culture. 

In 18+ years, the space has hosted over 32 exhibitions with a number of Haitian artists. A recent exhibit, Nostalgia Primitive D’Haiti (running through November 2023) is a vibrant collection of oil paintings honor the “sentimental era of Haiti” with depictions of the “country, everyday life, market women and landscapes.”