Miami’s Haitian History on PBS

The PBS series Great Migrations: A People on the Move, created by acclaimed historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., traces the global movements that shaped Black life in the United States. The fourth episode, “Coming to America,” centers Miami as a critical site in this history and features Nadege Green, founder of Black Miami-Dade, speaking to the city’s Haitian migration history.

The episode highlights Miami as a gateway of Black diasporic movement, with Green reflecting on Haitian migration and its lasting impact on the city. Visuals from the Black Miami-Dade collection appear throughout the episode, including photographs and archival documents that trace how Haitian families crossed borders, built community, and contributed to Miami’s cultural landscape.

Building on this national spotlight, an in-person program in Miami extended the conversation at a hyperlocal level. Held at the Historic Lyric Theater, the event featured a screening of Dr. Gates’ work alongside South Florida PBS’s original digital series Miami’s Great Migration Stories.

The evening concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Green, featuring Dorothy Jenkins Fields, founder of The Black Archives at the Historic Lyric Theater; Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, Executive Director of the Black Police Precinct Museum; and Tanya Desdunes, Executive Director of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator.