\u201cI am so happy that you were able to be there to help fund this new office that we want to make on Grand Avenue address and have a permanent office for the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative,\u201d Gibson shared with attendees in a recorded message.<\/p>\n
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Thelma Gibson seen here in a recorded message presented on her 99th birthday luncheon on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.<\/p>\n
(Instagram@damianpardomiami)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that God let me live this long is all that I\u2019m really thankful for, and the fact that I\u2019ve been able to do whatever I could to help make change take place,\u201d she told The Miami Herald<\/a> earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n A trailblazer<\/p>\n Born Dec. 17, 1926, on Charles Street, formerly known as Evangelist Street, Gibson grew up in Coconut Grove\u2019s segregated \u201cColored Town\u201d in a home without electricity or running water. She graduated from George Washington Carver High School<\/a> in February 1944, coming of age during a time when Jim Crow laws influenced nearly every aspect of daily life. She later became one of the first Black nurses hired at Jackson Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n Thelma Gibson in the early years of her nursing career. \/ Forbearance: Thelma Vernell Anderson Gibson: the life story of a Coconut Grove native.<\/p>\n Gibson attended nursing school through the federal Cadet Nurse Corps, a World War II\u2013era program created to address nationwide shortages. After graduating from St. Agnes Hospital Nursing School in 1947, she was hired at Jackson. Upon arrival, segregation barred her from working in the operating room, but she continuedadvancing her education<\/a> while mentoring young people.<\/p>\n Gibson pursued advanced nursing studies at Catholic University, Florida A&M, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Miami, later earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Returning to Miami, she became the first African American assistant supervisor at the Miami-Dade County Department of Health.<\/p>\n (L\/R) Katrinka Cox, TGHI’s Board Member; Merline Barton, TGHI’s president; and Eric Knowles, TGHI’s Board of Directors Chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThelma overcame hardship and discrimination as a young, ambitious woman,\u201d said Merline Barton, president and founder of TGHI. \u201cShe took that adversity and turned it into a lifelong commitment to fighting for herself and others in Coconut Grove. She paved the path for so many of us now building companies, organizations, and brands in Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1967, Gibson married the Rev. Theodore Gibson, a pioneering Episcopal priest and civil rights leader who later served on the Miami City Commission. Together, they advocated for desegregation and basic infrastructure improvements in historically Black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cHer birthday celebration is a celebration of her life, but also of the work she and her husband did for many years building our community. Coconut Grove is Thelma Gibson.\u201d -G. Eric Knowles, TGHI’s Board Chair<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n \u201cFather Gibson was the force behind having running water and toilets in homes back in the day, and she continued that legacy,\u201d said G. Eric Knowles, president of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and chair of TGHI\u2019s board of trustees.<\/p>\n Though Gibson officially retired from nursing in 1980, her civic work expanded. In 1983, she established the Theodore Gibson Memorial Fund,<\/a> which helped create the Gibson Plaza Community and Educational Center and supported youth STEM initiatives. She later helped form the Miami-Dade Women\u2019s Chamber of Commerce and worked through the Coconut Grove Local Development Corporation to expand affordable housing<\/a>, eliminate blight, and create youth programs.<\/p>\n \u201cHer birthday celebration is a celebration of her life,\u201d Knowles said, \u201cbut also of the work she and her husband did for many years building our community. Coconut Grove is Thelma Gibson.\u201d<\/p>\n A resolution from Miami-Dade County presented to Theodore and Thelma Gibson, c. 1981.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n (Courtesy of Episcopal Archives)<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for TGHI<\/p>\n Founded in 2000 by Barton and Cherry Smart and named in Gibson\u2019s honor, TGHI has spent 25 years addressing HIV\/AIDS, mental health, illiteracy, substance use, housing instability, youth violence, and poverty across Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n TGHI has spent 25 years addressing HIV\/AIDS, mental health, illiteracy, substance use, housing instability, youth violence, and poverty across Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n Although Gibson often reminds people that she did not found the organization, she did serve as a founding sponsor and remains its moral compass.<\/p>\n \u201cHer life’s philosophy is that everyone deserves the opportunity to better their lives. Everyone deserves quality healthcare,\u201d Barton said.<\/p>\n TGHI recently purchased a property at 3753 Washington Ave., which the organization plans to convert into its permanent headquarters. While the property\u2019s legal address is Washington Avenue, leaders are working with City of Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo to change the frontage to Grand Avenue, a symbolic move in a rapidly gentrifying corridor.<\/p>\n Thelma Gibson at TGHI on her 98th birthday in 2024.<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, you won’t see too many faces like mine or like ours owning property on Grand Avenue with the development that’s taken place,\u201d said Barton. \u201cThis was very important for Mrs. Gibson, that we, Black and brown Americans, own property on Grand Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan Thomas, TGHI\u2019s director of strategic initiatives, said the birthday luncheon marked a turning point in securing funds for the project.<\/p>\n \u201cThis event was a pivotal action for us to hopefully have enough funds to get the vision that we want, for this to be a permanent home for Thelma Gibson Health Initiative,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe\u2019re always serving the community that\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n (L\/R) Jordan Thomas, TGHI\u2019s director of strategic initiatives, and Merline Barton, TGHI\u2019s president and founder.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n More than $70,000 was raised through a silent auction of donated luxury goods and services from local businesses and ongoing fundraising efforts. The two-story house will be converted into office space and later integrated into a broader affordable housing strategy. TGHI plans to collaborate with the Collaborative Development Corporation (CDC), which will build approximately 70 housing units adjacent to the site.<\/p>\n \u201cAffordable housing is the biggest need,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe\u2019ll help make sure people have jobs, their credit is right, and they\u2019re supported, and then provide them a home.\u201d<\/p>\n The new office is expected to be operational by the end of next year.<\/p>\n Memories of a matriarch<\/p>\n Beyond her public legacy, Gibson is deeply devoted to family. Her nieces, Vanessa Anderson Murray and Kaye Woodard, described an aunt who balanced trailblazing work with unwavering personal attention.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has 21 nieces and nephews, and even more grand-nieces and nephews, and she calls every single one of us on our birthdays,\u201d Woodard said. \u201cShe sings \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 every time. Even at 99.\u201d<\/p>\n Both said they only fully grasped the scope of Gibson\u2019s impact as they grew older.<\/p>\n Thelma Vernell Anderson Gibson is considered the matriarch of Coconut Grove.<\/p>\n (Courtesy of TGHI)<\/p>\n \u201cI knew she was born and raised in Coconut Grove and that this is the community that she loves and supports,\u201d Anderson Murray said. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t until high school that I realized all the obstacles she had overcome as a young woman.\u201d<\/p>\n Family traditions anchored their memories: Christmas Eve church services, celebrations at Gibson\u2019s home, and her presence at every graduation, no matter the distance.<\/p>\n Thomas, who was once held by Gibson as a baby and later returned to serve TGHI after college, described her as the organization\u2019s guiding force.<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Gibson is a matriarch to The Grove,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cShe\u2019s a role model for anyone who feels like opportunities aren\u2019t available. Some people advocate for you, and you can make the impossible possible just as she has done. She is that living example that you can do it too.\u201d<\/p>\n Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who presented a proclamation naming Dec. 19 Thelma Gibson Day in Coconut Grove, recalled Gibson\u2019s service as an interim Miami city commissioner in 1997.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we asked Thelma to do something, she said yes,\u201d Regalado said. \u201cShe was always there.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking forward<\/p>\n \u200b\u200bCelebrating Gibson\u2019s 99th birthday with a fundraiser, Barton said, symbolizes more than longevity; it represents continuity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt symbolizes a legacy that Ms. Gibson has left behind for people who have felt underrepresented in Miami-Dade County, to always be a beacon of light,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For Gibson\u2019s nieces, the moment is about what comes next.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy for you,\u201d Anderson Murray said. \u201cWhen you turn 100, we\u2019re going to celebrate big. All 21 nieces and nephews will be here to honor her legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Woodard said Gibson\u2019s influence spans generations.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has inspired not just the next generation, but the generation after that. Her legacy is that we will all continue to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Coconut Grove community gathered last week to celebrate civil rights advocate Thelma Vernell Anderson Gibson,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[50462,50473,50456,50468,50452,50474,50461,50454,50465,50464,50457,50459,225,227,226,50476,50455,50469,50467,50472,50479,50466,50475,50460,50478,50470,50463,50480,50471,50453,50451,50458,50477],"class_list":{"0":"post-94580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-affordable-housing-miami-dade-county","9":"tag-black-nurses-history-florida","10":"tag-cadet-nurse-corps-world-war-ii-program","11":"tag-cherry-smart-tghi-co-founder","12":"tag-coconut-grove-civil-rights-leader","13":"tag-coconut-grove-community-development","14":"tag-coconut-grove-local-development-corporation","15":"tag-coconut-grove-womans-club-fundraiser","16":"tag-collaborative-development-corporation-cdc-housing-units","17":"tag-damian-pardo-miami-commissioner-grand-avenue-project","18":"tag-george-washington-carver-high-school-miami","19":"tag-gibson-plaza-community-and-educational-center","20":"tag-hialeah","21":"tag-hialeah-headlines","22":"tag-hialeah-news","23":"tag-hiv-aids-mental-health-programs-tghi","24":"tag-jackson-memorial-hospital-first-black-nurse","25":"tag-jordan-thomas-tghi-director-of-strategic-initiatives","26":"tag-merline-barton-tghi-founder","27":"tag-miami-civil-rights-history","28":"tag-miami-gentrification-grand-avenue","29":"tag-miami-dade-chamber-of-commerce-g-eric-knowles","30":"tag-miami-dade-county-health-equity","31":"tag-miami-dade-womens-chamber-of-commerce","32":"tag-poverty-reduction-initiatives-miami","33":"tag-raquel-regalado-miami-dade-commissioner-proclamation","34":"tag-tghi-permanent-headquarters-grand-avenue","35":"tag-thelma-gibson-99th-birthday-celebration","36":"tag-thelma-gibson-day-coconut-grove","37":"tag-thelma-gibson-health-initiative-tghi","38":"tag-thelma-vernell-anderson-gibson","39":"tag-theodore-gibson-episcopal-priest-miami-city-commission","40":"tag-youth-violence-prevention-miami-dade"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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