12BB AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE MIAMI HERALD FRIDAY , FEBRUARY 23 , 2018
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Returns to South Florida for 10th Season
By Darrell Canty
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs " Member Don ' t Get Weary ."
The brilliance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is that its choreography captures the state of Black America . Not since the 1960s has our collec�ve will as a people faced a more audacious challenge to civil rights . The challenge , explicit and yet surreal , is a formidable opponent of humanity . However , Alvin Ailey American Dance
By Zach Rinkins
Some of Miami ’ s 162 Black incorporators are buried here at the Miami City Cemetery .
The City of Miami formally came into existence 33 years a�er the signing of the Emancipa�on Proclama�on . According to the Black Archives of South Florida website , Black male laborers were advised to report to a place on Avenue D ( now Miami Avenue ) instead of repor�ng to work . On July 28 , 1896 , those men made a significant contribu�on to crea�on of a world-class city .
“ The significance is knowing that we have a stake in this community . We helped to make this community . We are a
Theater always inspires through art and we are reminded through its new produc�on “ Members Don ’ t Get Weary ” – they move on .
Robert Ba�le , Alvin Ailey ar�s�c director and a son of Liberty City , expressed years ago for Legacy Magazine , “ I definitely want to do work that has to do with social jus�ce – something to do
part of this community ,” said Dr . Enid C . Pinkney , a re�red educator and historian . “ What is happening now is everybody who comes here thinks they made Miami . And we are not given credit for what we did because we are not celebra�ng it ourselves .”
Archive documents reveal Black laborers were counted with other white men un�l it was determined that two-thirds of the qualified electors needed for the city ’ s incorpora�on were present . In fact , the Black men present that day compromised more than one-third of the state-required quorum . Out of the 368 men who signed Miami ’ s charter , 162 of them were Black .
“ I started with the Dade Heritage Trust ,” said Pinkney . “ They dealt mostly with historical preserva�on of the white community . I didn ’ t see too much historic preserva�on going on in the Black community . So , I organized the African-American commi�ee of the Dade Heritage Trust . And , we started celebra�ng the African-Americans who were buried in the [ Miami ] City with holding that mirror to society ,” Ba�le said . “ Dance is one of our most primal forms of expression , so using that expression to shine a light on some of the issues of the day is something that is very important to me – and to the future of this company .”
Miami can view the grandeur of Alvin Ailey at the Arsht Center from February 22-25 . This is the only South Florida stop during a 21-city na�onal tour , which began January 30 and will run through May 13 . Ailey will also offer free performances to public middle and high school youth in South Florida .
Jamar Roberts , the company star of Alvin Ailey , makes his debut in choreography for the dance theater on a na�onal scale . His work is a treat to those who have witnessed his majesty filled with an unrivaled passion .
“ It means a lot for me now ,” Roberts said about his new work , “ because I never thought the response would be this big . That ’ s been surprising and awesome at
African-American Committee of the Dade Heritage Trust Celebrates Miami ’ s ‘ Black Incorporators ’
Cemetery .”
Pinkney credits late commi�ee member Roberta Thompson with discovering research revealing the Black incorporators buried in the cemetery .
“ We realized that there was nothing — a headstone or anything — in the cemetery that gave them credit for doing that ,” Pinkney disclosed . “ We started out 25 years ago giving them recogni�on by placing a headstone at their gravesite saying that they were African-American incorporators of the City of Miami .”
Among the Black incorporators was the late Rev . Amaziah M . Cohen . Cohen has two living children : Jacob , a son who followed him into ministry , and Mamie , his youngest daughter .
“ My father was a proud man . But , he didn ’ t like a lot of publicity ,” recalled Mamie Cohen , now 83-years old . “ He would give his last to help others . My father used to drive a jitney from Miami all the way down to Goulds . He made sure we went to church . Our clothes were clean and we never went hungry .”
When Bishop Cohen died in 1959 , the the same �me . It really makes me feel that hard work and the nature of this career has really paid off .”
Roberts said the �tle of his debut piece , “ Members Don ’ t Get Weary ,” was meant to be encouraging during America ’ s troubling �mes of today .
“ I chose to use ( John ) Coltrane because it was music from during the �me of the Civil Rights Movement ,” Roberts said . “ I thought through his music he wanted to spread joy and peace . The �mes that we ’ re in now , although different , are not too far away from the issues that we were figh�ng for .”
I chose to use ( John ) Coltrane because it was music from during the time of the Civil Rights movement , Roberts said . I thought through his music he wanted to spread joy and peace .
Church of God in Christ ( COGIC ) renamed his church A . M . Cohen COGIC in his honor . His son Jacob became pastor and recently re�red as prelate of the church ’ s Eastern Florida Ecclesias�cal Jurisdic�on .
“ We have to support the people who are trying to preserve our history . A lot of people are making money off of our history ,” Pinkney proclaimed . “ They hit a gold mine telling our story . Many of us don ’ t know what our story is .”
For the past two decades , Pinkney and the commi�ee have progressively done their part to preserve and recognize the history or the city ’ s Black incorporators . Many of their descendants serve Miami as entrepreneurs , community ac�vists , educators and ministers .
“ We have completed that job by placing one headstone a year ,” said Pinkney . “ This year , we are going to honor all of them and their families .”
The commi�ee is hos�ng a celebra�on and essay contest on February 18 at 3 p . m . at the City of Miami Cemetery , located at 1800 NE 2nd Ave . For more informa�on , call 305-638-5800 .