Photo courtesy of dunnhistory.com

The Black community and residents of Key Biscayne will gather this month to celebrate the 81st birthday of Virginia Key Beach, Miami’s only colored beach during segregation.

The annual Wade in Our Waters is set for Sunday, August 30, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 4020 Virginia Beach Drive, the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust announced.

Thousands of participants will celebrate the milestone by throwing one of the biggest birthday bashes at the historic landmark.

The event, in coordination with the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, features live performances, active learning spaces and delicious food and drinks.

Virginia Key Beach was founded in 1945 during segregation following a peaceful protest by Black community leaders including Athalie Range, the first Black woman to serve on the Miami City Commission.

Blacks were prohibited from swimming at white beaches during the Jim Crow area and pressed long and hard for their own beach.

Beyond being a cherished site for family gatherings, baptisms, and music festivals, Virginia Key Beach also served as a training and recreation base for Black servicemen stationed in South Florida during World War II.

At a time when Black soldiers were risking their lives abroad but denied basic rights at home, Virginia Key offered a rare refuge, a place of dignity, rest, and resistance.

The beach played a vital role in community organizing and civil rights activism, hosting rallies and building collective power in South Florida’s Black communities.

Today, it remains sacred ground, where waves still carry the memory of joy, struggle, and a people’s refusal to be erased, making it an ideal historic space to gather.

For ticket information, visit RSVP@ThePoetryPotluck, or call 305-960-4600.