Dana A. Dorsey, often recognized as Miami’s first Black millionaire, played a transformative role in the city’s early development through his business success, philanthropy, and dedication to the Black community.
In 1917, Dorsey and his wife, Rebecca, sold land to the City of Miami that would become Dorsey Park in Overtown, the city’s first public park for Black residents during segregation.
Throughout the Jim Crow era, Dorsey Park became a vital gathering place and an important site for Negro League baseball, hosting legendary teams such as the Homestead Grays, Kansas City Monarchs, and Miami Giants.
The Environmental Justice Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, working alongside Catalyst Miami, Keith Ivory, community advocates, and Overtown residents, pursued historic designation for the park in recognition of its extraordinary cultural and civil rights significance.
Their work reflects a shared commitment to honoring the generations who built and sustained Overtown while ensuring that preservation and progress never come at the cost of erasure, memory, or community identity.