L.E. Thomas Building
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“Lawson Edward (L.E.) Thomas, a civil rights activist and the first black judge in Miami-Dade County, used this site as his office for over 30 years, from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. Thomas was involved in a number of groundbreaking civil rights campaigns and lawsuits, including organizing a protest against the customary exclusion of blacks from Miami’s beaches and a lawsuit that succeeded in restricting Miami-Dade County from formally zoning along racial lines. Following his numerous legal achievements, Thomas was appointed judge of Miami’s Black Municipal Court in 1950, becoming the first black judge in the post-Civil War South. Built in 1936, the Masonry Vernacular style building has a stucco exterior and features a simple rectilinear plan.”
Excerpt from the Miami Affordability Project Historic Properties Dataset, prepared by UM Office of Civic and Community Engagement.
This is stop number 15 on the Historic Overtown Legacy Trek! Download the map here, or click here to see the next stop: Little Broadway.
