Calida Rawls’ ‘Away with the Tides’ Unearths Miami’s Black History at PAMM

In the summer of 2024, Calida Rawls (b. 1976) launched her exhibition 'Away with the Tides' at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), aimed at engaging African American communities. The initiative, which started in late 2022, involved Rawls exploring Black life in Miami and revealing a broader narrative linked to Overtown. Once home to 50,000 residents, Overtown suffered greatly when Interstate 95 was constructed in the 1960s, resulting in the displacement of over 12,000 individuals—a stark instance of systemic racism masked as urban renewal. Rawls’ artwork includes portraits of Overtown locals, ranging from infants to seniors, taken at Virginia Key Beach and Theodore Gibson Park. The exhibition, which also addresses Florida's 2023 AP Black History ban by Governor Ron DeSantis, will end its national tour at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, where Rawls is an alumna, running until September 5, 2026.