Public servant extraordinaire, Dewey Knight was a pioneer of unparalleled achievement in the ranks of Dade County administrators and managers. Following his death on June 21, 1995, the outpouring of condolences published in the local media paid eloquent testimony to a man whose compassion, sense of purpose, and civic pride touched the lives of citizens of every race and ethnicity throughout Dade County. Wrote one correspondent: “The passing of Dewey Knight, Jr., marks the end of a era. He was a competent, ethical, and humane public servant who made time for small kindnesses and paid attention to details while always remaining on top of the larger agenda.”

Knight as a Daytona Beach native who earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Bethune-Cookman College in 1951. After a four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force, he returned to school and earned a Masters Degree in social work from Atlanta University in 1957. Later in his career, in 1970, he completed the Urban Executive Program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Knight moved to Miami, birthplace of his wife, Clara Louise Brown, in 1959. His first job was at the Kendall Children’s Home. A dynamic employee who was deeply concerned with children and families, he quickly rose from his first position as a caseworker to become the first black social worker for that agency. Among his activities during this time, he advocated for the integration of the juvenile youth home, despite threats from of jail from local courts. In 1967, he became the first black department director in Dade County history, serving as director of the Welfare Department. During his tenure, instituted intensive counseling for individuals and families on welfare, opened the first Neighborhood Youth Cooperation Program for out-of-school youth, and helped establish a residence home and a halfway house for troubled youngsters.

His professional expertise led him to an interim stint as head of the Division of Youth Services in 1969. Here, he played a pivotal role in the recently enacted War on Poverty and the Neighborhood Development Program. The first state contract to use Title XX funds for child care, the start of an addiction treatment clinic and the construction and operation of the Caleb Community Center – along with many other facilities and programs – all took form as a result of Knight’s work.

For a time in 1970, Knight took on additional responsibility when he stepped in as Acting Director of Housing and Urban Development. Also that year, he was appointed Assistant County Manager, the first black person to command the post. Among his accomplishments in this position, he created and organized the Department of Human Resources and helped lay the foundation for the Elderly Service Program.

In 1985, Knight was promoted to become the first deputy county manager, thus providing direct assistance to the County Manager in serving the more than 1.8 million Dade citizens. He was the only person to hold this position in county history. In 1976, 1987 and 1988 he also served as acting county manager. Although he was offered the post several times, he never chose to accept Dade County’s top position, citing his family as first priority. Knight retired from county service in 1988, and became a partner in management consulting group.

Knight served his community in ways far beyond his professional positions. As a clinical professor at Barry University’s Graduate School of Social Work, he instructed and mentored a new generation of aspiring administrators and managers. It is also believed he served on every major social service committee in the county. The trustee boards of Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity are among the many other civic organizations with which he worked.

On February 23, 1996, his memory was honored with the dedication of the Dewey W. Knight, Jr. Family Medical Center, a walk-in, minor emergency care center operated by North Shore Hospital, where Knight once served the board of trustees. State Road 112, a major east-west corridor connecting I-95 with LeJeune Road and Miami International Airport, has also been renamed the “Dewey Knight, Jr. Memorial Highway” in his honor.

Sources:    “Dewey Knight, inspiration too many,” by Silvia M. Unzuera, Letter to the Editor. The Miami Herald, n.d.; Obituary, June 27, 1995; Biography, n.d.; “The Many Forms of Dedication,” Shoreline: A North Shore Hospital Publication, Spring 1996, pp. 5-8.