MIAMI – On the very last day of Black History Month, an influential nonprofit that’s been serving Miami’s low-income youth wanted to show the kids in their program how important it is to give back, especially with their time and talent.
The young students were taken to one of the most historically significant shorelines in Miami-Dade, the sands off Virginia Key Beach, but this was so much more than just a day at the beach, but instead a field trip with deep roots and an up-close lesson in history.
“This beach was the first beach for the Black community during segregation,” said Maya Forbes, volunteer and education coordinator for the Virginia Key Beach Park.
Virginia Key Beach was established on Aug. 1, 1945 as the first beach in Miami-Dade County exclusively for people of color.
“Only Black people could go to this beach,” first-grader Massiah Smith, 6, said. “They couldn’t go to no other beach.”
Young Massiah was one of the students visiting the park from Meyga Learning Center, a community nonprofit that for the past 20-plus years has served the multi-ethnic youth of Liberty City, offering after-school care, free meals, tutoring and mentorship.
“Our mission is to get them on a road of independence, stability, taking care of themselves, being a part of the workforce,” said Samantha Quarterman, the executive director of the Meyga Learning Center.
But the lesson on this day was more than connecting them with their history, it was also a call to action to protect their future.
“Today, you guys are going to be participating in a beach cleanup so that we are able to maintain this historic and environmental site,” said Forbes.
For some, it was their first time at a beach. So off they went, geared up with gloves, canvas bags and determination.
In total, 25 young people, aged 5 to 18, performed this impactful act of service, paying homage to their ancestors and stepping up to protect Mother Nature, picking up not just the obvious litter, but also the teeny tiniest pieces that often do the most damage.
“Any small pieces of plastic that does not belong in our environment,” said Forbes. “So if we have fish and shrimp eating plastics, and then we eat the fish and shrimp, then is the plastic going to get inside of us? Yeah.”
Said 18-year-old volunteer Larry Bates: “It shows me that people who come here doesn’t really think about the things that they do. Not only are we damaging the fish, like she said, we are damaging ourselves.”
For these young impressionable minds, it was an eye-opening experience to see firsthand the damage we’re doing to our planet and how all of us can and must make things better.
“It’s super important,” said 12-year-old volunteer Maria Blandon. “I think every (person) should do that, even if they don’t come with their school or family. I think that’s very important.”
Added Quarterman: “They need to know their history, their foundation, and where they come from, and then the difference that they do make in this community, and they do matter.”
Like many nonprofits, Meyga is facing challenges right now with funding limited from traditional sources.
Now more than ever, they need the support of the South Florida community to keep serving the youth of Liberty City.
For more information on how you can help the Meyga Learning Center, click here.
To learn more about the historic Virginia Key Beach and how to help it, click here.