Enid C. Pinkney, an educator who played a prominent role in preserving and restoring historic sites linked to the heritage of Miami’s Black population, passed away on July 18 at the age of 92.
Born in Miami on Oct. 15, 1931, Pinkney graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1949 and earned a B.A. from Talladega College and an M.S. from Barry University. Pinkney worked as a social worker from 1953 to 1955 before joining Florida’s Dade County Public School System as a teacher. She retired in 1991 as assistant principal at South Miami Middle School in 1991.
In the mid-190s, she joined the Dade Heritage Trust historic preservation organization, and was elected as its first Black president in 1998. Within the Trust, Pinkney founded the African American Committee to preserve historic sites tied to the local Black community. Pinkney led the creation of the Historic Hampton House Community Trust that preserved and restored a motel that was among the few Miami-area lodging establishments available to Blacks during the segregation era.
Pinkney was also the organizer and former chairwoman of Lemon City Cemetery Community Corporation, which coordinated the preservation of a long-lost Black Cemetery that was uncovered at an affordable housing construction site in Miami. She shared her passion for historic preservation by producing videos, appearing in history documentaries, and writing magazine articles. In honor of her work, she received honorary doctorates from St. Thomas University and Talladega College.
However, Pinkney warned that future generations run the risk of being aware of history.
“We need to do a better job of passing on our heritage to younger generations,” she once observed. “We have a great history and have accomplished much. Our younger generation needs intense education of our past, so that they will understand upon whose shoulders they stand, as they set goals of achievement for themselves. This will help them to build self -confidence and realize that they too have a contribution to formulate to their community, state, and country. This land is our land, and we should try to make it a better place.”
Photo: Library of Congress
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It is such a pleasure that these words were written on behalf of Enid C. Pinkney. I enjoyed reading about her life and accomplishments, which were many. All of us would do well to emulate her apparent forward momentum and continue moving to do good works for the benefit of our lives and others. Ms. Pinkney did well for herself, that we can all do, as we move through our lives using our talents and energy.