Dr. Enid Pinkney, historian, preservationist, civil rights icon, church leader and more. PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACKENTERPRISE.COM

Miami – Dr. Enid Pinkney, a South Florida historian who stood before bulldozers to prevent the destruction of the historic Hampton House in Brownsville, has died.

She was 92 years-old.

Pinkney died at a South Florida Hospital on July 18, according to reports.

Pinkney refused to back down from the bulldozers and led the effort to preserve the Hampton House as a historic landmark in 2002.

During the 1960s, the Hampton House was a hotel for Black celebrities when they visited Miami including Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who were banned from guest places in Miami Beach due to segregation.

Also, music artists like Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr., were among the guests at the Hampton House.

Thanks to Dr. Pinkney’s efforts, the Hampton House was restored as a history museum highlighting the Civil Rights struggle during the 1950s and 1960s, and lounge for concerts and social gatherings.

Pinkney was born in Miami on October 15, 1931.

She was a first-generation Miamian as her family was from The Bahamas and grew in Overtown.

Pinkney graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and went on to Talladega College. She received a master’s degree from Barry University and an honorary doctorate from Florida International University.

Pinkney worked as a social worker from 1953 to 1955, after which she worked in the Dade County Public School System until she retired as assistant principal at South Miami Middle School in 1991.

Pinkney also left her mark on African American history and the heritage of Miami.

She was the first Black to serve on the Dade Heritage Trust and later became the group’s president.

Pinkney often shared her anecdote on how devastated she was when Overtown, the Black community’s Main Street during the 1950s and 1960s, was taken over by white developers and the construction of Interstate 95.

She said Overtown was filled with homes, businesses, restaurants and nightclubs, and the historic Lyric Theatre which turned 111 years old this year.

But she said Blacks were duped into selling their homes to white developers who promised them urban renewal, and then others were forced from their homes to make way for the superhighway.

Pinkney feared Brownsville would’ve shared the same fate when the City of Hialeah was mulling annexing a portion of the historic community last year.

Pinkney spoke in opposition during a Hialeah City Commission meeting when the issue was discussed which drew a large turnout from the Black community at city hall.

She said Hialeah’s annexation proposal would impact the historic community which could lose its cultural value and identity.

“In Overtown, they promised us urban renewal but we got nothing but Black removal,” she said. “If history repeats itself, the same will happen to Brownsville. Black people always get the short end of the stick.”

Hialeah eventually dropped its annexation bid.

Pinkney said after the Overtown takeover by white developers, her mother was reluctant to move to Brownsville which was then called Brownsub, a farming community that was beginning to transform into an urban neighborhood with parks, schools and small shops.

Over the years, she said she watched Brownsville grow to a community with a series of urban renewal projects such as new homes, small businesses including restaurants, a bustling industrial area, and the Brownsville Renaissance Center, a shopping plaza anchored by Bank of America.

Pinkney also witnessed another history firsthand, spearheading the charge to erect brand new markers and commemorating three historically Black communities in Lemon City, now known as Little Haiti.

“It is the people from Lemon City who with a machete and the strength of their backs cleared the land to make Miami what it is today. And we don’t know that history,” she said. “I hope that this begins and serves as an example of our becoming interested in how we got to where we are.”

Pinkney underscored the importance of teaching local Black history to younger generations.

She has written a book and produced several videos on its history.

“This is a new generation, and they are thinking for themselves and if we have something to show them and to teach them that will help them to understand who we are and the contributions we have made to this community,” she told reporters.

U.S. Rep. Fredrica Wilson said Dr. Pinkney’s passing is a loss for the entire South Florida community.

“Dr. Pinkney was a trailblazer for Black people and Bahamians in Miami and her legacy will forever be remembered in our community,” Wilson said on social media.

Wilson, who is also of Bahamian descent, said she will be presenting the Congresswoman Frederica Wilson Leadership Award posthumously to Pinkney at the 51st Bahamian Independence Day gala this month in Miami.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Pinkney inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to cherish their community.

“Her dedication to preserving Miami’s Black history reminded us that it’s everyone’s history,” she said. “My thoughts are all touched by her spirit.