Overtown has for decades been considered the heart of Miami’s black community. In the early 20th century, when it was known as “Colored Town,” the area housed jazz clubs and local businesses that attracted everyone from a young Muhammad Ali to legends like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday.
Today, the neighborhood is reconnecting to that past as new business and destinations for locals and tourists spring up — including the renovated Lyric Theater, which hosts performances and is home to an archive of Miami’s black history, and the Copper Door B&B, serving up breakfast specials for all the foodies out there.
This historic neighborhood has dealt with poverty, crime, and economic hardship, but longtime residents are set on building it up and making it the “Harlem of the South” once again.Check out our videos about Overtown below, and let us know what neighborhood you’d like us to spotlight next.