The Miami City Commission honored two Black women from Coconut Grove on Thursday, voting unanimously to name a portion of Franklin Street in the West Grove for Thelma Gibson and her husband Theodore, and a new aquatic facility at Elizabeth Virrick Park for Verneka Sturrup Silva.
The Rev. Theodore Gibson was a civil rights leader who served on the Miami City Commission for more than nine years. Thelma Gibson, who died last month just 10 months shy of her 100th birthday, was a pioneering surgical nurse and a leading advocate for public health care in the community.
The City Commission recognized Silva, a former president of Coconut Grove Cares, as a trailblazer in education for her leadership at Coral Gables Senior High, her efforts to desegregate Miami-Dade County public schools, and her appointment as the first Black female assistant principal at a predominantly white school. The new swimming pool on Plaza Street in the West Grove is expected to open later this month.
