Johnnie M. Parris Colonial Drive
10755 SW 160th Street Miami, Florida
In May 2023, Miami-Dade County Public Schools renamed Colonial Drive Elementary the Johnnie M. Parris Colonial Drive Elementary, in honor of the civil rights pioneer and Richmond Heights community organizer who played a significant role in the school’s construction in 1967.
Official School Renaming Ceremony
Presented by The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida and the Superintendent of Schools
History of Colonial Drive Elementary School
Johnnie M. Parris Colonial Drive is a historic elementary school and the fight to build it is part of Florida’s history, the history of the fight for educational equality. It represents several firsts. It was the first integrated school in Dade County constructed from the ground up. It represents the struggle and efforts of a community to bring a segregated educational system and student population together in a distinctive pod designed facility.
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In 1965, Parris established, ran, and guided the community coalition that resulted in the construction of Colonial Drive Elementary school.
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As the chief spokesperson for the Richmond Heights Citizens Committee, she organized and led the coalition that halted the construction of a de-facto segregated elementary school.
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In 1965 she presented a petition with 1,400 signatures from the residents of Richmond Heights and Colonial Drive to the Dade School Board.
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They demanded Colonial Drive be built instead of building Richmond Heights Elementary another segregated school.
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When the Dade School Board refused to meet their demands, she led the protest that halted the construction of Richmond Heights Elementary.
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She and 200 others picketed the construction site and even went as far as circling bulldozers until they were forced to stop working
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After continued protests, negotiations, and demands for an integrated elementary school for the children of Richmond Heights, Dade School Board dropped its plans to build Richmond Heights Elementary.
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In 1966 Colonial Drive Elementary School was built instead.
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It was the first integrated school built from the ground up in South Dade County
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Parris' children were among the first attendees and the first Black safety patrols at Colonial Drive Elementary.
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