PROUD HERITAGE AT RISK

Legacy of nurturing young athletes in Miami's historically Black Coconut Grove is under threat

- ALANIS THAMES

A sign advertises a vacant lot for sale in the Miami neighbourhood of West Coconut Grove.

MIAMI Amari Cooper’s football jersey hangs in the Coconut Grove Sports Hall of Fame. So does Frank Gore’s, alongside tributes to Negro League baseball player Jim Colzie and football coach Traz Powell, whose name adorns perhaps the most revered high school football stadium in talent-rich South Florida.

They represent West Coconut Grove when it was a vital majorityBlack neighbourhood hidden among some of the most affluent areas in Miami that boomed with family businesses, local hangouts and sporting events. Some call it West Grove, Black Grove or Little Bahamas in a nod to its roots.

Most just call it The Grove — a place steeped in cultural history transformed by the decades.

“When you talk about what is The Grove, you’re talking about true history of South Florida,” said Charles Gibson, grandson of one of the first Black members of the Miami City Commission, Theodore Gibson.

Sports was its heartbeat. It nurtured the early careers of Olympic gold medallists and football stars like Cooper, national champions and future football Hall of Famers like Gore, all of whom trace their first sports memories to this closeknit community.

Today, few remnants of that proud Black heritage exist.

Years of economic neglect followed by recent gentrification have wiped out much of the neighborhood’s cultural backbone. Robust youth leagues and sports programs have dwindled. Now, the community that once created an environment for young athletes to succeed —a trusted neighbour watching out for a young football player on his walk to practice, a respected coach instilling discipline and persistence in a future track star — is at risk of extinction.