This year’s tour includes an excursion to Virginia Key Beach, which once served as Miami’s blacks-only beach in the days of segregation. Other stops include Overtown’s historic Lyric Theatre and the Dorsey House, home to Miami's first black millionaire; the E.W. F. Stirrup house and Charlotte Jane Cemetery in Coconut Grove; and Georgette's Tea Room in Brownsville, a respite for black celebrities in the 40s and 50s and where Billie Holiday kept a permanent residence.

The free tours, launched in 1994 as MDT’s contribution to Miami-Dade County's annual celebration of Black History Month, remain a popular outing as well as an educational tool for the community.  Trained MDT bus operators narrate the approximately 3 1/2-hour tour aboard air-conditioned Miami-Dade Transit buses.

Reservations are required. To schedule a tour, call 786-469-5028, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, click the Tours link at http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/blackhis.asp.