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Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Sam Gil
Camillus House
305-374-1065 ext. 328 (office)
samgil@camillus.org • www.camillus.org
CAMILLUS HOUSE AND THE GREEN FAMILY FOUNDATION PRESENT “A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF BLACK MIAMI”
MIAMI (February 7, 2007) --- On Thursday, February 15th Camillus House and the Green Family Foundation will present a permanent exhibit featuring a collection of superbly reproduced photographs and images reflecting the history of black people in Miami.
The exhibit is located at the Brownsville Christian Housing Center - Camillus’ newest permanent housing program, which provides 74 men and women who were once homeless in Miami with a place to live. This historic property has a rich past, as it was the former Christian Hospital, Miami’s first hospital serving the African-American community.
The exhibit, which is underwritten by the Green Family Foundation, will include photographs and images dating from the infamous pirate Black Caesar’s arrival on Biscayne Bay in the late 1600s. It will also feature images of the original Christian Hospital, the alliance between blacks and Seminole Indians as well as photographs from the civil rights era in Miami.
Dr. Marvin Dunn, a historian, author and professor at Florida International University has brought together this incredible exhibit, which unfolds a visual account of the black experience in our community. Many of the images in the exhibit appeared in Dr. Dunn’s book, “Black Miami in the Twentieth Century” which traces the triumphs, drudgery, horrors and courage of African Americans during the first hundred years of Miami’s history.
According to Camillus House President & CEO, Dr. Paul R. Ahr, "this exhibit highlights the important role Christian Hospital has played in the greater Miami community, and its special significance for African Americans in South Florida. It displays in one place this fabulous collection, painstakingly assembled by Dr. Marvin Dunn, the acknowledged expert on the history of Black Miami."
"This exhibit provides an opportunity for people of all ages, and especially school-aged children, to come in to contact with individuals who were at one time homeless in Miami, and now lead their lives in a dignified setting," explained Dr. Ahr. "Such person-to-person contact will go a long way to eliminate the stigma and associated discrimination attached to homelessness."
The Green Family Foundation has generously provided a grant to fund the exhibit, which will eventually feature two hundred photographs and images. Ms. Kimberly Green, President of the foundation, supports grass roots community empowerment programs as well as youth, education, and HIV/AIDS prevention programs through collaborative funding and innovative community partnerships.
Camillus House wishes to acknowledge and thank Isabelle Sharpe Blue, Dana Dorsey, the Florida State Archives, Thelma Gibson, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida and the Miami Memorabilia Collection of Myrna and Seth Bramson for their assistance and support in granting permission to display many of the images and photographs in this exhibit.
The press is invited to attend the preview and presentation of the exhibit:
“A History of Black Miami” - Event Date/Time/Location:
- Thursday, February 15, 2007
- Preview 2 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
- Program Presentation & Tour 2:30 P.M. – 4 P.M.
- Brownsville Christian Housing Center located at 4700 NW 32nd Avenue, Miami
For more information, please contact Sam Gil at 305.374.1065, ext. 328.
Camillus House has provided humanitarian services to the poor and homeless populations of Miami-Dade County, Florida for more than 45 years. Established by the Brothers of the Good Shepherd in 1960, Camillus House has grown steadily over the years from a small soup kitchen into a full service center offering a comprehensive “continuum of care” for poor and homeless persons.
