MIAMI (WSVN) - A group of students and their mentors went on a field trip to learn about Miami’s black history.
The group, part of Miami Heat School-to-Work Program, visited the oldest performing arts venue, Lyric Theater, in Overtown to get the ultimate learning experience.
“It is very important to know the history of Miami, especially the black community, because we take for granted what we have right now,” said Shiloh Reyes, student. “We can’t have a historical building and not be over here learning about it every single day.”
The students got a tour of black archives at the theater.
Throughout the field trip, students will learn about the history from 1896 to present day.
“Miami would not be what it is today, historically and throughout time, without the contribution of black people,” said Executive Director of the Black Archives Kamila Pritchett.
It’s all part of the Miami Heat school mentoring program. 25 students, along with their mentors who are all Heat staffers, got a tour of Black Archives.
“This program is very unique because we’ve been in these kids’ lives since elementary school,” said Erick Torres with the Miami Heat. “A lot of these kids, as you can imagine, are from under utilized resources, or rather, communities so many of them might be first generation college students in their families and we’ve had some really great, amazing students in this program’s history go on to do big and great things.”
The archives showcase black works of art and a documentary about early life in Miami.
“Their stories made a contribution into the fabric of Miami, from those people who were educators like your fourth-grade teacher, all the way to Miami’s first black millionaire Dana A. Dorsey who was the original owner of Fischer Island,” said Pritchett.
The group is also treated to a Q&A discussion with some VIP’s, including heat legend Alonzo Mourning.
“Once I learned the history, I fell in love with it once I learned the history of this community, knowing that this place was the only place people of color were allowed to come,” said Mourning.
Those with the program hope this taste of Miami’s history will entice to students to learn more.
“What we hope is that we have sparked something in these young people so that they will want to come back and continue to engage with what we have here at the Black Archives year round,” said Pritchett.
At the end of this program, when these students are seniors in high school, each is up for one of 15 Florida Pre-paid scholarships to attend college.
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