Today marks the City of Miami‘s 124th birthday.
Let’s take a look at who made incorporation possible: Image: The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc.
1/3 of the votes for Miami’s incorporation were Black men – without their votes incorporation would likely have failed. Shortly after their vote to incorporate these same Black men were disenfranchised under Jim Crow laws.
Julia Tuttle is known as the Mother of Miami. Miami is the only major city in the US that was founded by a woman. However, Julia Tuttle & Mary Brickell were legally not allowed to vote for incorporation. Votes for women would come after passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
