One Wednesday morning church service in the Village West community typically caters to about 70 people who show up each week to nourish their souls as well as their bodies. At 11 a.m., they are seated on the crimson-carpeted wooden benches at Greater St. Paul AME Church, 3680 Thomas Ave., where they listen to the…
The historic roots of West Coconut Grove lie along Douglas Road between Charles and Franklin avenues. Here, at the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery, is what some say is the heart of Miami’s oldest black community, today called the West Grove or, more recently, Village West. The area was founded before the city itself and…
For a while, Michael Olusczak had been mulling the idea of opening a karate school in the Village West community. As a karate instructor at a nearby center, Olusczak was familiar with the area. But when one of his students was mugged a year ago, two blocks away from Grand Avenue, Olusczak knew for certain…
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