South Florida Yearbook Collection
Item
Collections Identifier
MS_00267
Date Started
July 09, 2026
Collection Title
South Florida Yearbook Collection
Date Span
1950-1991
Inclusive Subjects
Education Collection, Miami Black History Oral History Collection, The Black Archives records, Organization collection, Dorothy Jenkins Fields Collection.
Number of Boxes
2
Finding Aid Author(s)
Processed by:
Brianna D. Senter, MLS
Archive Manager
Archive Interns:
Reginald D. Anderson II.
Kendra Cooper
Javares Mikell
Jennaya Toussaint
Brianna D. Senter, MLS
Archive Manager
Archive Interns:
Reginald D. Anderson II.
Kendra Cooper
Javares Mikell
Jennaya Toussaint
Scope and Content
The schools represented in the Yearbook Collection reflect the diverse educational history of South Florida and the broader development of public education in the United States throughout the twentieth century. West Virginia State College, founded in 1891 and now known as West Virginia State University, is a historically Black land grant institution that provided higher education opportunities for African Americans during segregation.
The Miami-Dade County public schools represented in this collection include Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Dorsey Junior High School, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Coral Gables Senior High School, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, and American Senior High School. These schools educated generations of students from a variety of cultural, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Their yearbooks reflect the changing landscape of public education as Miami-Dade County moved through segregation, integration, and the continued growth of its diverse communities.
More than collections of graduating classes and student portraits, these yearbooks capture school traditions, athletics, extracurricular activities, student organizations, faculty, and everyday campus life. Together, they provide valuable historical context for understanding the evolution of education, youth culture, and community life in South Florida from the mid twentieth century through the early 1990s
The Miami-Dade County public schools represented in this collection include Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Dorsey Junior High School, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Coral Gables Senior High School, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, and American Senior High School. These schools educated generations of students from a variety of cultural, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Their yearbooks reflect the changing landscape of public education as Miami-Dade County moved through segregation, integration, and the continued growth of its diverse communities.
More than collections of graduating classes and student portraits, these yearbooks capture school traditions, athletics, extracurricular activities, student organizations, faculty, and everyday campus life. Together, they provide valuable historical context for understanding the evolution of education, youth culture, and community life in South Florida from the mid twentieth century through the early 1990s
Abstract
The Yearbook Collection documents student life, academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and institutional history across several secondary schools and one historically Black college from 1950 through 1991. The collection consists primarily of yearbooks representing public schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida, including Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Dorsey Junior High School, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Coral Gables Senior High School, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, and American Senior High School, as well as the 1950 yearbook from West Virginia State College. Together, these materials capture student experiences, school traditions, faculty, athletics, clubs, graduating classes, and campus culture spanning more than four decades.
The collection provides a unique perspective on the evolution of public education during periods of segregation, school desegregation, and demographic change in South Florida. In addition to documenting the educational experiences of students, the yearbooks preserve photographs, personal messages, organizational activities, and historical records that reflect the social and cultural life of their respective schools. As a whole, the collection serves as a valuable resource for researchers studying educational history, African American history, local community development, genealogy, and the changing landscape of public education in Miami-Dade County during the second half of the twentieth century.
The collection provides a unique perspective on the evolution of public education during periods of segregation, school desegregation, and demographic change in South Florida. In addition to documenting the educational experiences of students, the yearbooks preserve photographs, personal messages, organizational activities, and historical records that reflect the social and cultural life of their respective schools. As a whole, the collection serves as a valuable resource for researchers studying educational history, African American history, local community development, genealogy, and the changing landscape of public education in Miami-Dade County during the second half of the twentieth century.
Online Publisher
Brianna D. Senter
Publication Date
7/10/2026