When Gala Brown Munnings enrolled in Miami Edison Junior High in the 1960s, she was one of only three African American children in the school; Dade County schools had only been desegregated in 1956.

But, in addition to her memories of struggles and the fight for change, Munnings, who currently serves as director of field education for Barry University’s School of Social Work, also remembers her father, local civil rights activist, Dr. John O. Brown, Sr.

She details her pride for her father’s fight for change, memories and life experiences in an article published by the Miami Herald May 3, 2009 as part of the paper’s series “South Florida History – Miami Stories.”

Munnings was a young child when her family moved to Liberty City in 1955 for her father to begin his ophthalmology practice. Miami-Dade County was segregated at the time, and her father was part of the lawsuit that ended segregation in the public schools. He became a leader in the civil rights movement, fighting for desegregation of stores, restaurants and movie theaters.

Miami Stories is part of “Make Miami History Now,” a project of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Miami Herald and several other South Florida organizations.

To continue this project, Munnings will be a panelist at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida presenting on “Integrating Miami’s Schools.” The program, part of the “Black Crossroads – The African Diaspora in Miami,” will be held Oct. 15, 2009.