Carol Davis Henley Byrd had been waiting on the day she could see her cousin Dazelle Simpson’s name on a street sign in Coconut Grove.
That day finally came Friday when the sign for Dazelle and George Simpson Way was revealed along a short strip of Percival Avenue by the Simpson’s Coconut Grove home. The Simpsons were the first Black board-certified pediatrician and surgeon in the state. George was the first Black surgeon to perform surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Miami Herald reported. Dazelle was a pioneering pediatrician who made house calls all around South Florida and promoted preventative care.
“This is helping to remind people years later what some of the people in this community did for us and beyond,” Byrd told the Miami Herald.
The city of Miami and Miami-Dade County honored the couple inside the Gibson Hall located at Christ Episcopal Church for their efforts in making healthcare accessible and fighting for civil rights in South Florida…