Coconut Grove plans MLK event to raise money for Mariah Brown House

Coconut Grove’s 18th annual Martin Luther King Celebration will kick off 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, with proceeds to benefit the Mariah Brown House.

The Coconut Grove Ecumenical Network and the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance will sponsor the celebration at the Greater St. Paul AME Church, 3680 Thomas Ave.

The planning committee consists of representatives from various churches including Shady Grove, St. Mary, Macedonia, Greater St. Paul, St. Stephens, Plymouth Congregational, United Church of Christ and Lord of Life Ministries.

Organizations are also helping out, including St. Albans, Coconut Grove Negro Women’s Club, The Barnyard, Coconut Grove Cares, Helen B. Bentley Family Health, the Sankofa Society and the Village West Home Owners and Tenants association (HOATA).

The host pastor is the Rev. Clayton Hodge, Sr. The message at the MLK memorial will be delivered by the Rev. Alphonso Jackson II from Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights.

The program is dedicated to the renovation of the Mariah Brown House. All funds will be donated to the project.

The Mariah Brown house dates back more than 120 years. The original house, 3298 Charles Ave., was built in 1889. Built by Brown, it was the first house built by Black Bahamian settlers in Coconut Grove. Brown’s house was also used as the first meeting place for what later became Greater St. Paul AME Church that was established in 1896.

The Coconut Grove Cemetery Association eventually bought the home, which was in severe disrepair. The group razed it in 1999 and built a replica in 2000, but renovations stalled. Now more repairs and completion of the renovations are needed.

To help raise funds to complete the renovations, the Miami Bahamas Cultural Preservation Fund created The Friends and Family of Mariah Brown’s House and Museum. The goal is to raise $200,000. There already have been a couple of fundraisers held, including a musical and selling chocolate bars at Grove businesses.

For more information about the MLK celebration, call 305-342-6121.