When someone says “Broadway,” immediately it may begin to construct a scene in one’s mind of an old cinematic cliché that goes, “Lights, Camera, Action.” The terms bright lights, big city, makes one begin to sing “start spreading the news… New York, New York.” This image has an overwhelming effect on the mind that tends to migrate to New York, the city that never sleeps. But what if you lived in the 1920s, and due to the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision you were limited to certain areas in every city in the United States that you could live, shop, or visit all because you were black? What if you were a talented black artist and people respected your mucianship however, they did not respect the color of your skin? Maybe you were good enough to play at the Copa or the Ritz Carlton, yet you could not sleep in a hotel room at these popular locations because of the “Jim Crow” laws that plagued the United States history. You would probably do what most black artists did during that era, you would go where you would be accepted and jam the night away.

During the periods ranging from the 1920s to the 1960s, in most major cities across America, pocket settlements of black people existed. They established societies that supported the economic make up of that black population. Whether you are in Washington, DC on U street learning about their “Black Broadway,” or in Miami, FL, you can find that historically, black populations laughed int eh face of America’s segregationist society and established self sustaining enclaves of commerce that grew enormously with the influx of a musical nightlife that could not be compared to any other. In Paul K. Williams’s book, “America: Greater U Street,” he identifies and introduces what was known as “Black Broadway,” located in a northwest suburb of Washington, DC. Williams discusses the after hours venues and the gathering of musicians, jazz performers, and the black cultural elite at the many clubs and theaters located along the U street corridor in that city. The Booker T., the Lincoln, and the Howard Theater were among the many venues that the likes of Pearl Baily, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Cab Calloway headlines. Williams stated that the area was not limited to only entertainers, he noted that prominent Howard University Professor Alain Leroy Locke held Saturday socials at the home of Georgia Douglas Johnson who lived a few blocks away on S street, Joe Luis and Bessie Smith also left their mark on the area.

Simultaneously, you will find the same presumably constraining social situation in Miami. After the incorporation of the City of Miami in 1896, the outcome of the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision began to affect the most southern state as well. In Miami, blacks were designated to live where they were allowed to live by the justification of the “Jim Crow” laws. At the dawn of the City of Miami’s history, blacks were assigned to live on the west side of Henry Flagler’s FEC railroad. This area became known as “Colored Town,” as depicted in the City of Miami’s 1904 City Directory.

Until recent studies in African American history, one may have been led to believe that blacks were to be confined to shanties, mediocre living facilities, and inadequate lifestyles, however, “colored Town” evolved to be much greater. Black workers would build hotels and business establishments on the Anglo side of the railroad tracks by day, and in the evening and night hours build their homes and establish businesses on the west side of the tracks.

As the interest and thrill of Miami as a tropical destination grew, the influx of white tourist as well as black tourist drove the economic make up of the city. Many clubs headlined notable black talent who performed for all white crowds during the evening hours, yet the black performers were not allowed to seek hotel accommodations there because of the color of their skin. After their band played its last set, they had to journey back across the tracks to seek hotel accommodations on the “Colored” side of the city.

It was because of this social barrier that the early “Colored Town” began to etch its signature into the “Black Broadway” experience; an experience that found itself to be near and dear to the memories of not only Miami’s pioneer residents, but to residents located in the many similar black enclaves across America. It is this reason that “Colored Town” in Miami harnessed itself and developed a strip that would become known to many local and national artists as “Miami’s Little Broadway.” “Little Broadway” in Miami was centered on Second Avenue in what is known today geographically as Overtown. Initially, Second Avenue was designated as Avenue G, and although hit was located one thousand and sixty-five miles from “Black Broadway” in Washington, it boasted the same attributes, characteristics, and history as U Street.

“Miami’s Little Broadway” had a night life like no other, not to be confused with what many knew then as the “Chitt’len Circuit,” Miami’s Little Broadway was the big time prior to a few years after the Civil Rights Act of 1965 which allowed black entertainers to stay in many of the upscale hotels on the eastside of the city that they performed in. Avenue G (2^nd Ave) was home to the 535 Club, the Fiesta, the Rockland Palace, the Harlem Square, the Flamingo Room, the Zebra Room, the Knight Beat, and so much more. These venues would be packed to capacity as the patrons awaited the arrival of artists to return from performing on the beach, only to jam into the early morning hours.

It was not just eh tropical climate of Miami that attracted many to this area, but the combination of the climate with the musical night life that made it gain by leaps and bounds over many other cities. The streets were lined with hotels like the Sir John, Mary Elizabeth, the Carver, Dunn, Marsha Ann, Dorsey, The Berrien, Florida, Foster, and more. Theaters were also an important part of the establishment of the “Broadway” feel, centered around the Lyric Theater which was built in 1915, the Ritz, Modern, Capitol, and the Harlem Theater were constant destinations of artists and patrons.

When residents of Overtown would walk the streets of the area, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence to pass right by Nat King Cole, Bojangles, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Residents would often see Mary MCloud Bethune visiting her son who ran the Pharmacy store located in the Mary Elizabeth. The likes of Langston Hughes read poetry in the Lyric Theater ad made appearances at Mr. Zion Baptist Church, W.E.B. Dubois would always seek hotel accommodations in “Miami’s Little Broadway” between trips in and out of the country.

Because of the extensive night life, permanent residents of color in Miami established businesses which were sustained economically by the Broadway feel. The Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. revisits this era of time, and invites you t relive the glory, lights, and the music of Miami’s Little Broadway opening this spring at the Historic Lyric Theater.