HARLEM OF THE SOUTH

Although Popular with blacks and whites for entertainment, the spotlight high above the “Jim Crow” white establishments on South Beach glared on Overtown. Segregation, along with an era of oppression in South Florida, created a severe level of poverty, disease, crime, and mistrust between Afro-Americans and corrupt politicians.

 

Heavy was the crown worn by Black-owned businesses; nevertheless, hundreds of black- businesses thrived.  Contained to a 7 X 14 block area of the city, Black people felt safe walking from 5th to 20th street without fearing for their life.

 

With over 40,000 residents, the economy was strong and resilient. We owned barbershops, tailors, grocery stores, boutiques, banks, music stores, had a Black police precinct and courthouse, seven black newspapers, and over a dozen community organizations, including the Eastern Star Lodge, the Masons, the Elks, the Odd Fellows, and Longshoreman. Overtown was the “Harlem of the South,” "Little Broadway," and my new home.
 

Walking the vibrant streets of Overtown was like seeing history unfold before my eyes. The Sir John Hotel, The Hampton House, Rockland Palace, Harlem Square, Birdland Fiesta, Red Tap, Mary Elizabeth Hotel, Lyric Theatre, the Carvel, and the Café Society were all within walking distance. Second Avenue resembled Broadway, with neon lights flickering from one end of the street to the other.

 

Overtown was an epic center for Afro-American mainstream entertainers such as Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., and Nat King Cole, who could play or sing at white establishments on the beach, but were not allowed to sleep at the Fontainebleau, Eden Roc, South Beach Hotels. 
 

Since the ’50s, prominent African American luminaries such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jackie Robinson lodged and entertained in this neighborhood. Stars like Cab Calloway sat in the window waiting to get a haircut; Judge John Davis Johnson continued a healthy debate with Thurgood Marshall (The first African American Justice of the United States Supreme Court), boxer Joe Lewis and singer Lena Horn enjoyed a juicy T-bone steak.  

 

Even with its star-studded and glitzy sparkle, innocent teenagers flirted over the jukebox at restaurants while children played hopscotch on the sidewalk. Black people may not have been welcome in South Beach at night,  but plenty of white clubbers, musicians, and KKK members couldn't resist the entertainment in Overtown.

 

There were few places in the south where you could find a social, cultural, and artistic explosion amongst people who lived by different rules.

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With the first click of the “on-air” button at WFAB “Fabulosa,” I, too, became a part of history. The electromagnetic 5,000-watt signal in the middle of the dial made me the first radio announcer black or white to have a jazz show in South Florida. As promised, I started the show with the daily "Message of Hope."  From BeBop, Big Band,  Boogie-woogie Ballroom, Dixieland to  \Classic, Avant Gaurd, African to Afro Cuban, we played jazz. 

 

My dream had come true.  All of my hard work, dedication, and perseverance had given me an opportunity in a city that attracted the best names in music. Coinciding with my start, Richard Eaton launched another signal inside the same building that catered to the Latin market. In doing so, WFAB became the first station to operate a Cuban-oriented radio broadcast in Miami.