Historic Black Police Precinct Courthouse and Museum — Attraction in Miami

We had a large group of 20 from our church. We came in from Central Florida and made multiple arrangements in advance to assure the museum could accommodate us. When we arrived, we were treated like we were a burden by EVERYONE there, except for Larry. The other male staff there were all downright rude! No one seemed to know anything about our arrival. I spoke with MULTIPLE individuals, even making a call the day before to confirm.

Larry was our tour guide. He was kind, patient, and VERY knowledgeable. The museum is small, but full of history, providing confirmation of how black people have been treated (and mistreated) over the years, which is why I am giving them 5 stars. Larry went above and beyond!

Unfortunately, however, I will not be recommending this museum to anyone due to the very rude employees. Sadly, the public is not interested in black history for the most part and would like to erase it all together if that were possible. That being said, one would think that the attitudes of the employees would be one of gratitude that there are some of us who are interested! Word of mouth is huge. It can make or break a business. Larry, thank you for making the tour as great as it was! You underestimate your ability to hold a crowd…we LOVED you! The museum is lucky to have you.

As for the other rude gentlemen…shame on you all! It’s time for you ď to retire. You all are going to cause this business to lose a lot in the end.

Also, I contemplated writing this for a while simply because it is a black museum and negative publicity is not good publicity and I don’t want to bring that to this museum, but I felt that the truth is needed. Please do better!!!!!

Kudos to you, Larry!!! You’re great!!

The ladies from...

I really had the time of my life here!! I was given a brief, extremely educational interesting tour by one of their superiorly awesome employees here named Larry. He explained to me alot of the basics about African American history in Miami starting in the 1940s.

Everything was so beautifully set and designed at this place. The building was an actual police station with its own courthouse upstairs, similar to the main jail in the Civic Center at the Miami courthouse at the Richard E. Gerstein building.

I thought the richness of the history in this place was just absolutely phenomenal! When you first enter the building thru their front door, you are entering their booking and holding cell areas of this "mini prison". Absolutely just fascinating!

Much has changed in the building obviously after so many centuries including their newly installed elevator on the first floor for the handicapped, but so much still remains the same, including exactly how the building on the inside was painted back then, still the same.

What was the most fascinating about the property was just the peacefulness you tend to feel, even by just standing in the parking lot. Seemed almost as though there were peaceful souls amongst the property, as I was told that there were HUNDREDS of prisoners that walked thru the building in those ancient Miami times.

This mini museum was just absolutely fascinating to me, and I will be back soon to see the other side of the first floor which I didn't get a chance to see due to people doing construction inside of the property this time around when I came on my...

I recommend signing up for a tour in advance. I had a wonderful tour by Retired Lieutenant Cecil Goring. Before going to the museum, I knew policing the US had its origins in slave patrols. What I didn't know was how slave patrols transformed into the diverse, multiracial police force we have today. This museum tells that story. It is a story that is particularly interesting because it is messy and complicated. Segregation--as I always understood it--was a great evil and a traumatic event for the Black community. That is true, but the establishment of a separate, segregated Black police force was actually a triumph for the Black community in a way that I didn't appreciate. It is too simple to understand this Black police force and courthouse as being 'pro-segregation'--they served an important role in the community, helping prevent the community from experiencing the very real violence of white officers. It is an artifact of the Jim Crow era that prefigures some of the features of the Civil Rights Movement to come. Very...