DR. DOROTHY JENKINS FIELDS, FOUNDER OF THE BLACK ARCHIVES
https://www.bahlt.org
Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, Inc. is pleased to announce its 2023 Woman of the Year, Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields.
“There is no place you can go in (Miami) Dade-County and speak of the history of African Americans without referring to The Black Archives or its founder, Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields. She began her quest to gather the history of African American in Dade County in 1974. Today the Black Archives, the non-profit 501(c)(3)manuscript and photographic repository, serves as a symbol of pride in the South Florida community. As a legacy for future generations is Dr. Fields’ founding of Miami’s Black Archives, the designation and restoration of the Lyric Theater and other historic sites, the establishment of the Historic Overtown Folklife Village, and the twentieth anniversary of Archives’ incorporation.” Presented by Congresswoman Carrie Meek and recorded in the United States Congressional Record, November 12, 1997.
In 1903, her maternal grandparents immigrated from the Bahamas to Key West before relocating to Miami’s Colored Town now called Overtown. Her grandmother, a homemaker and washer woman and grandfather, a sponger in the Bahamas, an pioneer laborer at Vizcaya, a handyman and later insurance agent were the parents of seven children. All seven of the children earned professional degrees before the end of World War II:
Inspired by the example set by her mother, uncles and aunts, Fields earned a BA at Spelman College. While at Spelman she was an exchange student at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Later she completed courses for School Library Certification at C. W. Post Long Island University and the University of Miami, and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Northern Colorado (Miami campus).
In 1974, while employed by the school system as a librarian and reading teacher at an all white school in Miami-Dade County she began preparing for the US BiCentennial, the nation’s 200th birthday. She called the county library and requested 15-20 books written by Black people.
She was told that the county library only had a folder with obituaries about local Black people. When asked why, the answer given motivated Fields to eventually create a community archive. She remained a school employee and was assigned to the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (History Miami)to give tours and write a book. Along with her assignment she began collecting photographs, school and church programs, correspondences, etc. in order for the black community to tell its story.
To ensure that african-american history will be preserved, Dr. Dorothy Fields created The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South FL, Inc. in 1977. At age 50 Fields returned to graduate school and earned a Ph.D. in Public History and Twentieth Century African American History from The Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, Ohio. Locally, in recognition of her accomplishments she was awarded honorary degrees from Florida International University, the University of Miami, and Barry University.
In 2017 Fields created Society Socials and Reunions, LLC helping family and class reunions create a legacy of their past, . She designs virtual and in-person events connecting generations near and far. Fields specializes in helping families downsize, relocate or age in place and a consultant to the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine’s John Hussman Institute of Human Genomics Alzheimer’s Project.
Fields says,” our community’s history is not complete until everyone’s story is included.” She encourages everyone to give themselves permission to write their own story and preserve their history, now. You can begin by sharing your meaningful experiences and thoughts with youth and others. Give yourself permission. Do the work and pass the word!