#overtown

[queenpalms]

[blackfolksintime]

Color Town: a southern black community

Photos show African Americans in Color Town, (now Overtown a section of Miami, Florida). Photographs mostly depict street scenes such as people socializing, walking, playing guitars, playing chess and cards, and doing laundry. Also shown are exteriors of homes, businesses and churches, and portraits of men, women, and children.

Waldman, Max, photographer

Created / Published

[1947]

[rinm-art]

19 weeks at The Jewel Box Miami

19 Weeks at the jewel box

Chest binding tape, red leather thread, bus stop

19 weeks at the jewel box is a 3 hour performance work set in 512 Northeast Fifteenth Street Miami, Florida. The work occupies a bus stop that was once miamis foremost female impersonator restaurant in the 1940s. I sat at this location from five in the afternoon until eight at night sewing 18 pieces of binding tape onto my previous 20. The process uses different shades of tape. Over the course of the performance white tape overtakes other shades reflecting on the gentrification of miami that has led to a space like the jewel box becoming an anonymous area of transportation in miami. The work aims to position the abstraction of the queer immigrant body in spaces that it’s been shunned and pushed out of.

[fvmods]

Sunshine Dream 1.7 QoL Update 1 (May 2025)

[ricardolugo1036]

Here's an image I made in Garry's Mod of my two original characters Paragon and Grizz. I made the image to promote a story I just posted here on Tumblr. It's called "The Glow" and it's about A non-binary shapeshifter and a pansexual man who are both born with superpowers. Fall deeply in love in an alternate 1950's Miami. I wrote this story as a response to my disappointment in X-Men 97 for not making "morpherine" happen. The story can by found here below.

The Glow: https://www.tumblr.com/ricardolugo1036/761544029155508224/the-glow-part-1?source=share

I hope you all enjoy the story and the image.

[tomatoart]

me if drawing inconsistently was a job 💸💰

[aideshou]

Things that can be found at the beach 1.0

[getonthebside]

#BSIDEALERT - Keke Wyatt, Raheem Devaughn, & Melton Mustafa

The Historic Lyric Theater Is Celebrating 110 Years Of Cultural Curation In Overtown. On November 18th They Celebrate This Epic Milestone With A Night Of R&B, SOUL & JAZZ. This Night Will B One Of Many To Come Showcasing The Amazing Talent We Have In our Community & Beyond. You Should Get Your Tickets TODAY & B In Attendance. See You There Register on Eventbrite

[juegodelpalo]

[timmysmasterxxx]

I’m back… hopefully you guys can find me again! 🖤 miss you all 🫡

[lboogie1906]

Dana Albert “D. A.” Dorsey (c. 1872 – April 29, 1940) was a businessman, banker, and philanthropist who became one of the first African–American millionaires in Florida and the South.

He was born in Quitman, Georgia. He was the son of a former enslaved and the first child in his family who was not born enslaved. He received only a fourth-grade formal education, teaching himself after that.

He came to the Miami area of South Florida around 1896. He worked as a carpenter for the Henry Flagler Florida East Coast Railroad. He recognized the need to provide housing for African American workers. He purchased one parcel of land in Overtown at a time, on which he designed and constructed one rental house per parcel, reinvesting the rental income to build and rent more, expanding as far north as Fort Lauderdale.

In 1917, he and his wife Rebecca sold land to the City of Miami for a park for African–Americans, Dorsey Park. In 1919, he sold Fisher Island to the automotive pioneer Carl G. Fisher, who was developing Miami Beach.

He was a trustee at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Overtown.

The first African American-owned hotel in Miami was his Dorsey Hotel, and he was the owner of the Negro Savings Bank. He was a firm believer in education and he donated a large quantity of land for African American schools.

When he died, flags were lowered to half-staff all over Miami. He was buried in Lincoln Memorial Park, Miami’s African American cemetery during segregation.

He donated to Dade County Public Schools the property at NW 71st Street and 17th Avenue on which Dorsey High School (today known as the D. A. Dorsey Educational Center) was built. The D. A. Dorsey Educational Center has a rich and positive tradition in the Liberty City area of Miami as a fully operational adult education center. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[offender42085]

Post 1351

Before and After......

Tristan B Sarut, Florida inmate F30755, born 2000, incarceration intake (this time) April 2024 at age 23; previously October 2020 at age 20 for 5 months, and December 2021 at age 21 for 21 months, scheduled for release February 2029

Grand Theft Motor Vehicle, Burglary of an Unoccupied Building, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Credit Card Fraud

In November 2023, a Florida man, released from prison on Sept. 16 after serving a little less than two years on charges including human trafficking and child abuse, was back in jail after Miami-Dade police said he and another man went on a crime spree.

Tristan Brandon Sarut, 23, of Overtown, faced 11 felony charges after a series of vehicle break-ins and an SUV theft in west Miami-Dade’s Fontainebleau area, police said.

According to an arrest report, Sarut and the unidentified suspect targeted cars in the 9000 block of Grand Canal Drive during the early morning hours of Oct. 22.

Police said they recognized Sarut, with his distinctive neck tattoos, on CCTV footage as one of the suspects breaking into vehicles while toting a gun. They said he also stole a Chevrolet Suburban.

The next day, Hialeah police pulled the Suburban over in the 2100 block of West Eighth Avenue, according to the report. Police said Sarut was behind the wheel.

He received a new sentence of 5 years for his most recent actions.

4v

[blackfolksintime]

Overtown, Miami, Fla. One Year after the Riots (December 28, 1983)

[justforbooks]

Sam Moore

American singer and half of the duo Sam & Dave best known for their 1967 hit Soul Man

In their 20-year career, the duo of Sam Moore, who has died aged 89, and Dave Prater recorded several of the most memorable records in the history of soul and R&B music. Sam & Dave’s biggest hit was Soul Man (1967), which topped the US R&B chart and reached No 2 on the pop chart. Its funky, driving beat, powerful horns and vocal interplay between Moore’s high tenor voice and Prater’s gritty baritone made it a soul and gospel classic.

Its writers, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, had drawn inspiration from the US civil rights movement, seeing the song as “a story about one man’s struggle to rise above his present conditions”.

The song won a Grammy in 1968, and in 1999 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It achieved further immortality in 1978 when the version by the Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, reached the charts. Moore reflected on how the song “turned out to be an anthem, sort of like Blowin’ in the Wind or one of those”.

Also unforgettable were Sam & Dave’s fiery Hold On, I’m Comin’ (1965), the Top 10 pop hit I Thank You (1968), which was covered by a list of artists including ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Bon Jovi and Tom Jones, and the exquisite soul ballad When Something Is Wrong With My Baby (1967). In 1980, Elvis Costello had a No 4 hit in Britain with his version of Sam & Dave’s I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down.

In 2022, Bruce Springsteen recalled how “Sam & Dave were gigantic in my musical development,” and described Moore as “a great guy and probably our greatest living soul singer”. He recruited Moore to sing on his album Human Touch (1992) and his album of soul cover versions, Only the Strong Survive (2022).

Sam was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Louise Robinson, a teacher, and John Richard Hicks. He described his father as a “street hustler”, and he was mostly raised by his mother in the city’s Overtown district. When his mother married, Sam took the surname of his stepfather, Charlie Moore.

He attended Phillis Wheatley and Paul Laurence Dunbar elementary schools, and was also a pupil for a time at Dillard high school in Fort Lauderdale, where he lived with an aunt. While there, he took saxophone lessons with Cannonball Adderley, the band director at Dillard. In 1955 he graduated from Overtown’s Booker T Washington senior high. In later years, Moore and his wife, Joyce, founded music education programmes at the Wheatley and Dunbar schools.

Moore fathered his first child when he was 16. He later estimated that he had as many as 20 children, most of whom he had never met. While he was still at school, he was shot in the leg by the enraged husband of one of his partners. He also earned money as a pimp. “Women like you? Let them pay you,” he said. “That’s how things were done on my side of the street.”

Meanwhile he also sang gospel music in church, something he had in common with Prater. They first met in the early 1960s at an amateur night at a Miami nightclub, the King of Hearts, when Moore helped out a very nervous Prater who could not remember the lyrics to a Jackie Wilson song. Their impromptu call-and-response performance thrilled the audience, and became the template for the fledgling Sam & Dave stage act.

After unsuccessful signings to the Marlin and Roulette Records labels, they were spotted by the Atlantic Records crew of Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler. The duo struck a deal whereby they would record for the Memphis-based Stax label and have their records distributed by Atlantic. In Memphis, they were taken under the wing of the production and songwriting team of Hayes and Porter, and nobody could ever have wished for a finer in-house band than Booker T & the MGs, along with the horn section, the Mar-Keys.

The combination made for a tough and muscular sound, distinct from the smoother, more pop-orientated records coming out of Motown in Detroit. Acccording to the Miami Herald pop critic Leonard Pitts Jr: “It was the rawest, roughest stuff on the radio for a while in the late 60s and early 70s and Sam was the avatar of that.”

However, the Sam & Dave story proved to be a rocky ride. Moore had battled addictions to heroin and cocaine since he moved to New York in the mid-60s. In 1968, the pair’s relationship was badly damaged after Prater shot his wife during an argument, prompting Moore to say that, while he would still sing with Prater, “I’ll never talk to you again, ever.”

They split up in 1970, but Moore’s effort at a solo career stalled when his planned solo album was shelved after its producer, King Curtis, was fatally stabbed. This prompted him to reunite with Prater, largely because his drug habit meant he could not afford not to. As Moore observed: “For 12 years we worked together, but our lives were completely separate.” The solo album, Plenty Good Lovin’, was belatedly released in 2002.

Sam & Dave split again in 1981, though Prater recruited another singer, Sam Daniels, to create a new Sam & Dave. Prater was killed in a car accident in 1988.

In 1982 Moore married Joyce McRae, who became his manager and helped him find work with soul revue tours. Moore and Prater were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Moore sang for six US presidents over the years – Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr and George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. In 1996 he recorded a version of Soul Man renamed I’m a Dole Man, in support of the Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, but the publishing rights-holders prohibited its use.

In 2002, Moore featured in the Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker soul music documentary Only the Strong Survive, and in 2006 he released the solo album Overnight Sensational, on which he was joined by a host of guest stars including Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Sting and Steve Winwood.

He is survived by Joyce.

🔔 Sam Moore (Samuel David Hicks), singer, born 12 October 1935; died 10 January 2025

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[fvmods]

Overtown Lights update: Sunshine Dream

[ricardolugo1036]

The Glow: Part 1

Hello Everyone,

Here's an excerpt from a novel I've been writing for the past few months. It's called "Fusion Force" and this is one of the many stories in the novel. It was inspired by my disappointment in the show Xmen 97 for not putting Wolverine and Morph together. So I tried to do it in my own way. Oh, I also decided to make it happen in an alternate 1950's. This story is copywritten. I hope you all enjoy. More exerts of this story are to come.

THE GLOW ( Fusion Force: Episode 1) 

By Ricardo Lugo

Artwork by: Ricardo Lugo

1952 Outskirts of Miami 8pm 

Grizz, short for Grizzly, a massive 6-foot 5 built man, who as hairy as his name implied, sat at the edge of a massive lake just outside Miami, Florida. 

The ripples in the lake reminded Grizz that it was a body of water and not the endless black void it appeared to be.  

Sweat oozed from his furry chest in the 90-degree heat. 

But as insufferable as the heat was, he couldn't get his mind off the boy who jumped in the water all those years ago...and never came out. The boy who made his heart flutter. The boy who gave him his first kiss.  

"George. Oh George." Grizz thought, putting his heavily bearded face into his hand's tears flowing through the cracks of his fingers. 

He got so angry at himself for crying, especially since it had been at least 50 years. But his time in the great war taught him that tears were for the weak and if you were weak then you'd die. 

He started rocking back and forth crying more profusely but making sure his cries weren't audible. This continued for a few short moments until... 

SPLASH! 

Grizz looked toward the pitch black water and saw many ripples he tried to concentrate his eyesight and the rest of his enhanced senses to figure out what just entered the water and once his vision was about to change he saw what looked like a purple glow but it was moving like an animal at least until it got closer and then he saw it had the body of a person and it's arms were mid breaststroke when he saw it surface. 

Grizz was suddenly left completely breathless.  

The mysterious swimmer flicked its head back revealing a smooth bald purple head.  

The veteran could tell from how the droplets of water effortlessly fell away that this person's skin was baby smooth. 

More of the swimmer's body emerged from the water and as Grizz saw more of it, his heartbeat went faster and faster.  

The swimmer had breasts, but even though they were uncovered, they did not have nipples. 

Finally, the mystery person opened their eyes and even in the side profile made the veteran's heart skip a beat. Her eyes were solid Fuschia; there was no iris or any other detail about them. 

"My god what beautiful eyes." Thought Grizzly  

The Purple being then finally turned toward him, an expression of awe in its eyes and then shock which finally knocked Grizz out of his stupor and then the swimmer looked terrified. 

"I didn't know anyone else was here. Please don't scream. Please don't be afraid of me?" Said the Swimmer.  

Grizz looked down and answered. 

"Oh, wow I thought you'd be afraid of me...I'm so sorry to look at you like this, I don't know what came over me." 

The swimmer then tilted her head to the right in the water while looking at this huge built, hairy man, realizing that for the first time in her life that someone was looking at her true self without fear. 

"It's fine... Just let me put a little something on." 

Grizz nodded and kept looking down. 

After a minute, the swimmer told Grizz to look up and then the hairy veteran realized something about her voice. 

It was the perfect unison of masculine and feminine pitches and if he didn't see the Purple being he'd have no idea which gender they were. 

The swimmer wore a green sparkling emerald dress with black high heels, and Grizz was in awe again. 

"How are you dry and how do you put that on so..." 

"I always dress to the nines honey and It’s an ability I’ve had since birth. I can shape my entire body into all kinds of things." 

That voice just made Grizz's heart race. 

"What's your name baby doll?" asked the purple being with a smile on her face revealing perfect white teeth. 

It took a few minutes for the hairy veteran to respond since he got lost in the swimmer's perfect pink eyes. 

He shook his head aggressively and answered. 

"Grizzly. But everyone calls me Grizz." 

"Grizzly? Really honey?" 

Grizz struggled to respond appropriately since he had only explained this to one person, his paramour George over 50 years ago. 

"That's what my unit called me during The Great War and it's kind of stuck..." 

"What's your real name honey?" The Purple being demanded lightly. 

Grizz looked down and exhaled.  

"I don't know...I haven't known for as long as I can remember. 

The Purple being put her hand on Grizz's shoulder. 

"It's okay..." 

Grizz then looked up toward the swimmers' faces, their pink eyes once again taking his breath away. 

"I'm Paragon...That's my chosen name but I don't know my real name either." 

They both looked at each other for a moment. 

Grizz lost once again in what he thought were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen and Paragon wondering how this huge hairy man wasn't afraid of her. 

"Well, what's the last thing you remember Grizz?" 

Grizzly thought about it for a little bit and his eyes were watering. 

"Sitting here with Georgie back in 02. And I have memories of fighting the Confederates with the North and battling Germans in two World Wars." 

"02? As in 1902?" Inquired Paragon. 

"Yeah, I don't age like other people. I was born a freak." Said Grizz humorously. 

Paragon's face remained steady. 

"Grizz you are not a freak...You're one hairy motherfucker! But you're not scary." 

Both burst out into hearty laughter at that statement. After a few minutes. 

"I was born like this too. Anyone that can look at this..." Paragon gestured to herself as if she was a showgirl "And not runway is certainly not a freak." 

"Fucking fools..." Grizz felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him as he said that and Paragon smiled. 

"What are you doing out here exactly?" The swimmer asked. 

"Well today...way back George my sweet Georgie passed, and this place helps me remember him." 

Paragon put her arm around his massive back and held him. Grizz felt a warmth from her that he hadn't felt in almost 30 years and her supernaturally smooth skin had such a nice feel alongside his almost furlike hair. 

"Hey Para, do you mind if I call you para...and what pronouns do you prefer?" 

Para smiled from ear to ear.  

"Yeah, baby you can call me Para... I go by she/her. But I'm non-binary." 

Grizz was a bit confused at the term but taking a look at Para he was able to figure out quite quickly that it meant she didn't identify as a man or woman.  

"You're too beautiful to be either." Thought the hairy immortal man. It shook him to his core that he had just met this person and he already felt like he'd fight armies for her. 

"Well Para what are you doing here?" Grizz asked humorously. 

She grinned and in her wonderful unique voice replied.  

"I like to come here and swim when life is just too much...Or if I'm too much for life." 

Grizz chuckled again. 

"How come I haven't seen you around Fur Ball?" 

"I don't really like people much. I don't come out often." 

Paragon looked the hairy man over again and replied 

"Yeah, I got that honey. Do you have a place to stay?" 

"I sure do, could I show you?" 

Normally warning bells would go off in Para's head but there was something about this hairy man, a sweetness she hadn't seen in a long time. She did not want to leave him just yet. 

"Show me your pad honey." 

Grizz smiled and he wanted to take her hand so bad, but he didn't and showed her the way through the woods. 

After about 10 minutes they arrived at what looked like a cave hidden by heavy foliage and wooded trees. 

They went into the cave and Para thought. 

"This dude has me walking into a cave...what is it about him?" She thought puzzled. 

He then lit a match and turned on an oil lantern which revealed a small wool blanket on a small bed of straw and a six pack of beer canned beer next to it.

"Yeah, this is my palace." Grizz said proudly. 

Para looked at him like he was crazy. 

"You're not staying here." 

Grizz looked back at her puzzled. 

"What?" 

"We're going back to my place and we're going to get you a job tomorrow." 

Grizzly was about to respond but para's stern gaze stopped him cold and she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his home of over 30 years. 

20 minutes later 

Grizz and Para arrived at a small two and half car length pink trailer with a small pink gazebo and a few fake flamingos in front. 

"Man, I've never seen so much pink." Thought Grizz. 

But then he snuck a glance at Para's mile long purple feminine legs. 

"But she could paint me pink anytime..." Grizz was not sure if he said that or just thought it and once again his cheeks flushed crimson, but Para reached into her green purse and continued to fumble for her keys.  

Grizzly exhaled and his embarrassment slowly flowed out of him. 

The purple being unlocked the door. And stepped inside. 

Grizz started walking up the steps and after turning the lights on Para grabbed his hand. 

GASP!  

Grizz couldn't help himself just her touching his hand sent a pleasurable jolt of lighting though his entire body.  

Para glared at the hairy man with a puzzled expression.  

"I'm sorry it's just been a while since anyone's held my hand." 

The Purple being cocked an eye. 

"It's okay honey, just breath." 

Para guided him inside and it was just pinker. It was like someone just sprayed the walls with Pink.  

The television, walls, tables, couch, doors, countertops, everything was light pink. 

Grizz was about to sit on the couch before. 

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" Roared Paragon. 

Grizzly jumped slightly and turned his gaze toward the purple being. 

"TAKE A SHOWER NOW!"  

Paragon grabbed Grizz's right arm and pushed him into the trailer's small shower circular stall and switched the water on. 

"Aghhhhh!!" Screamed Grizz as the Ice-cold shower water slapped and pelted all over his body. 

ONE HOUR LATER  

Para sat on her pink couch wearing an emerald, green kimono. Watching her favorite film "The Wizard of Oz" It was at the part where Dorothy's house was flying though the tornado. 

"She's so lucky." Though Para was already excited about Dorothy entering the land of Oz even after seeing the film dozens of times. 

"Oz oh Oz!" She thought. 

Then she heard a few heavy footsteps on her cheaply carpeted floor.  

She looked toward the source of the sound and saw Grizz in her extra-large pink bathrobe. Even with that size it barely covered his toned massive physique. He held the robe together with both hands and had a shocked expression. 

"How do you feel?" Asked Para 

"All nice and clean..." Para said in a baby-like tone. 

Grizz locked eyes with her, his expression still shocked and his lips trembled. 

"I... I feel...violated!" Grizz barely uttered. 

His shock caused Paragon to giggle slightly and that strangely calmed him down. 

"Come on, sit down fur ball." Para said with a grin and Grizz smiled which made her heart warm. 

He did so very slowly and sat down on the opposite side of the couch and even with his caution Para still felt the sofa shift under his massive weight. He still clutched his robe together, but he found his gaze switching from Paragon to the TV and he forced his gaze onto the television set to the strange film playing. 

Para's eyes widened. 

"You've never seen "The Wizard of Oz"? 

Grizz's eyes went up and down desperately, not wanting to disappoint his host, he responded. 

"Ye...Yes?" 

Para cocked an eye and responded. 

"It's about a teenage girl who gets mysteriously transported into a strange land with mysterious creatures. And tries to avoid an evil witch trying to kill her. She also makes good friends who help her along the way." 

"Oh Okay." Grizz responded 

He relaxed on the couch and began to watch the film as it turned to color. In the film Dorothy was standing in front of the munchkins. 

The image left both Grizz and Para breathless. 

"Those are the munchkins, the inhabitants of the land of Oz." 

"Why aren't they scared?" Inquired Grizz. 

Para had never thought about that before until her furry guest uttered it. 

"Because everyone in the land of Oz is different, they are just used to it. I wish I could go there." Answered the purple being. 

"How come?"  

"So, I could be myself and not be afraid." 

Those words hit Grizz really hard. He felt rage in combination with his sadness. He found his hand creeping toward Para's but forced it back. 

"You should never have to hide this..." Embarrassment engulfed Grizzly like a tidal wave realizing he said those words aloud and how tenderly they sounded. 

Paragon met his remark with a sly grin and spoke.  

"You know you're the first person ever to see me like this and not run away..." 

"What really?" Grizzly practically screamed. 

Para just nodded and looked back at the movie.  

Grizz did the same as well, the film just getting stranger and stranger. He asked his host question after question about the film and Para gladly explained in great detail about the backstories of the characters and how they were originally from a book. She also explained how the film was made, the struggles Judy Garland had filming on the film's set.  

The hairy man goddled every word. Not necessarily because he liked the movie but Para’s voice was just so enchanting to him. After a while Para decided to snuggle on his chest and fell asleep while images of Dorothy and her friends trying to escape the witch’s castle blared from the small but thick screen.

Grizzly was too excited to fall asleep and the warmth of his host made his heart soar. 

"Let's go to Oz fur ball..." She said in a slumber filled whisper. 

"I'd do anything for that to happen." Thought Grizz before he fell into sleep’s sweet embrace with the rumble of the television as his white noise. 

TO BE CONTINUED