The Miami Dolphins 2026 rookie class spent last Monday, June 15, touring Historic Overtown with members of the Booker T. Washington Senior High School football team as part of the institution’s Juneteenth celebration.
Overtown, 100 years ago the center of Miami’s black community, is described by the official website of Greater Miami and Miami Beach as a cultural expansion in the 1930s that reflected the Harlem Renaissance, which at the time served as a haven for black stars and artists visiting the city during the Jim Crow era.
In the 1960s, the construction of several major highways forcibly displaced Overtown’s majority black population by the thousands, ensuring economic decline throughout the area.
Today, the impact and significance of Historic Overtown can be experienced through museums, art creations and food – or in the case of newcomer Dolphins, a tour with local historian Dr. Marvin Dunn.
As part of Dunn’s trip, the players enjoyed lunch at Red Rooster Overtown, owned by Jason Jenkins Corporate Community Pillar Award 2024 Derek Fleming. The award was named in memory of former Dolphins vice president Jason Jenkins, who died in 2022 and was himself a pillar of the South Florida community. The newcomers were able to learn more about Overtown’s development and community influence through their meeting with Fleming.
After the tour, the participating Dolphins went to Booker T. Washington Senior High School to further visit the football team as the school celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The June 15 event was part of the club’s offseason community programming, which aims to build relationships and develop cultural understanding through experiences that inspire change for the better.
Interestingly, the tour of Overtown was experienced by Dolphins newcomers, who come from all over but now have a better feel for parts of their new home, as well as the history that comes with it.