Irma Lewis Perry Interview at Virginia Key Beach Park Trust

Material Information

Subjects / Keywords:: Virginia Key Beach Park (Miami, Fla.)
Oral history
Segregation
Coordinates:: 25.735959 x -80.155953

General Note:: This interview with Erma Lewis Perry is part of a series of interviews that took place during the Sunset Toast celebration at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. Perry noted that as a native Miamian, Virginia Key Beach was her entertainment every weekend. Her most memorable event was being baptized at Virginia Key Beach during segregation. She noted that very few Miami churches had baptismal pools and so the local churches used Virginia Key Beach to baptize their parishioners. Perry's typical day at Virginia Key Beach involved bringing food to the beach, or buying a corndog. She remembers the beach being very festive and that she felt a part of a larger identity. Perry noted that she never felt in any danger at the beach. She recalls an incident where jellyfish circled her son. She remembers that she was able to get him out of the water before they stung him. She stopped coming to the beach when she moved from Miami. When she returned to the city, there were "other things" that the city offered young African American professionals. She loves the restoration project.