[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 VIRGINIA KEY BEACH RESOURCE STUDY BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2001

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, Virginia Key Beach in Miami, 
Florida is a historically important and environmentally significant 
place that should be restored and preserved. This is why I have 
introduced a bill to study the possible inclusion of Virginia Key as 
part of the National Park Service, and I ask my colleagues to support 
it.
  H.R. 2109 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study of Virginia Key Beach, Florida, for inclusion in 
the National Park System.
  Virginia Key is a 1,000-acre barrier island, characterized by a 
unique and sensitive natural environment, situated just off the 
mainland of the City of Miami, between Key Biscayne to the south and 
Fisher Island to the north.
  Although there has been some limited development, the island is non-
residential and includes ponds and waterways, a tropical hardwood 
hammock, and a large wildlife conservation area.
  Beyond its natural attributes, Virginia Key is also worthy of 
inclusion in the National Park System because it illustrates our 
nation's progress toward achieving racial justice. When integrated, as 
they should be, beaches can be democratizing spaces, which naturally 
perform a communal function of bringing people together. But this was 
not the case in South Florida where, for decades, beaches were strictly 
segregated by race.
  As the only beach in Miami that permitted blacks from the 1940s to 
the 1960s, Virginia Key provided the only escape and source of 
recreation for countless African American families in South Florida. 
Virginia Key was the site for baptism and religious services, 
courtships and honeymoons, organizational gatherings, visiting 
celebrities and family recreation.
  Today, Virginia Key is being restored by the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, but its value to the nation and to Florida is based not just 
on its natural beauty, but also as a symbol of the ongoing struggle of 
African Americans for equal rights and social justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.

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