The Miami-Dade Transit award-winning Black History Tour program marked its 10th anniversary in February 2004, while the increasingly popular Herencia Hispana (Hispanic Heritage) tours debuted in October 2001.

Enthusiastic groups now gather each Saturday in February and October near the Stephen P. Clark Center in downtown Miami to board air-conditioned buses for an approximately 3-hour tour. The respective tours cover much of the history of Hispanics and Blacks in Miami-Dade County.

Hispanics and Blacks make up a large segment of Miami-Dade Transit customers. The tours reach out to these communities to celebrate their respective contributions to local history.

Herencia Hispana guides conduct tours in Spanish and English. Crowds are entertained with tales of Hispanic history in South Florida, which dates as far back as the 1500s when Spaniards governed. Today, Miami-Dade Hispanics hail from the Caribbean and most countries in Central and South America.

The Black Heritage Tours, enthusiastically narrated by Metrobus operators, highlight several popular sites: Overtown's Lyric Theatre built in 1915; Georgette's Tea Room in Brownsville, a favorite hideaway for Billie Holiday and many Black entertainers of that day; and Charles Avenue in Coconut Grove, where descendants of the early Bahamian settlers still reside.

To schedule a black history tour, call 786-469-5028, weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning in mid-January each year. For Hispanic heritage tour reservations in October, call 786-469-5558, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check the individual pages on this website, or call 786-469-5558, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for general information on both tours.