MIAMI – Miami pioneer Dr. Enid Pinkney has passed away at the age of 92, Local 10 learned Thursday.
A South Florida native, Pinkney dedicated her life to acknowledging and preserving African American history in Miami-Dade County.
Pinkney was born in Miami-Dade in 1931 and graduated from the then-all-Black Booker T. Washington High School.
She went on to work in the Miami-Dade Public School system.
Eventually, Pinkney became a well-known activist in South Florida. Her goal --- to preserve Miami’s Black history.
“People were going to forget the struggle as to how we have come to where we are today,” Pinkney previously told Local 10. “We don’t appreciate that history. All we’re concerned about is what’s happening now.”
Pinkney witnessed that 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 also led the charge to restore the historic Hampton House in Overtown -- the only motel still standing from the days of segregation in Miami.
During the 60s, it was the place to see and be seen in Miami’s Black community, with famous visitors like Muhammed Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Local 10 anchor Calvin Hughes previously sat down with Pinkney as she recalled seeing King as a child.
“He went to Virginia Key Beach. He loved the beach,” she said. “I heard him speak at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He spoke there, and people would go to hear him. He could always draw a crowd.”
Pinkney was a South Florida historian who will be remembered for her passion and pride while working tirelessly to preserve African American heritage.