Virginia Key Beach Park, on a barrier island, was the site of an 1838 skirmish during the Second Seminole War in which three Seminoles were killed. From the early 1900s onward, during segregation, it became a popular unofficial recreation area for Black residents, popularly known as Bears Cut. In 1945, after a protest led by Attorney Lawson E. Thomas and others demanding an officially designated beach, Virginia Key Beach opened on August 1 for the exclusive use of Negroes. At first accessible only by boat, it quickly drew more than 1,000 visitors on a typical weekend. The beach hosted baptisms, sunrise services, picnics, and social events, bringing together neighborhoods and social classes across Miami's Black community. By the early 1960s, another protest helped end segregation, and the beach park stands as a symbol of Black Miamians' perseverance in securing change for future generations.