Cynthia Lawrence worked in the housekeeping department at the Miami-Dade County School Board for 16 years before she and her husband opened a dry cleaning business. Fifty-four years later, Henry’s Dry Cleaners and Laundry Service, on Hibiscus Street in West Perrine, is one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in the area, and has helped shape the small, predominantly Black South Dade community over the years.
Lawrence, 89, was among six women honored Saturday for their contributions to the Perrine community. They were recognized at the historic Bethel African Bahamian Museum at the inaugural Perrine Pioneer Women luncheon.
“She was instrumental in helping build this community,” Lawrence’s son, Curtis, told the Miami Herald. “We have the oldest owned and operated black business here in this community. And you know that she played a part in building this community.”
Helen Gage, the museum’s founder and operator, said she wanted to honor the women as a way to preserve Perrine’s history. Each of the women, Gage said, are important to preserving West Perrine’s history at a time when the community is experiencing rapid gentrification and homeowners are moving away from the area of about 10,000 people…