Marvin Dunn

Marvin Dunn
Born	(1940-06-27) June 27, 1940 (age 85) DeLand, Florida, U.S.
Education	Morehouse College (BA), Roosevelt University (MA), University of Tennessee–Knoxville (PhD)
Occupation(s)	Historian, psychologist, professor emeritus, author, newspaper columnist, filmmaker, activist

Marvin Dunn (born June 27, 1940) is an American historian, psychologist, professor emeritus, author, and filmmaker. He has written about the history of African Americans in South Florida. He lives in Miami.

Life and career

Marvin Dunn was born in June 27, 1940, in DeLand, Florida. ^{[1] [2]} His parents were Corinne Elizabeth Williams and James C. Dunn Sr., his father worked as a farm and orchard picker. ^[1] Dunn attended Euclid High School in DeLand. ^[1]

Dunn graduated in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta; received a master's degree in education administration from Roosevelt University; and doctorate in psychology in 1972, from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville (now University of Tennessee) in Knoxville, Tennessee. ^[1]

He served as a United States naval officer aboard aircraft carriers from 1961 until 1967. ^[1]

Dunn is a professor emeritus at Florida International University (FIU), where he worked from 1972 until 2006. ^{[1] [3]} He chaired FIU's psychology department from 2000 until 2006. ^[1]

Dunn helped found the Miami Center for Racial Justice. He gives Black history tours in Miami. ^{[4] [5] [6]} In July 2024, the Miami Center for Racial Justice received a Mellon Foundation grant to extend their Black history tour work to Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. ^[1]

In 2023 he was interviewed by WLRN about his life experiences and outlook. ^[7] NBC-6 Miami made a documentary about Dunn in 2024. ^[8]

In 2025, Dunn opposed the ceding of land in Miami by the state of Florida for a Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. ^{[9] [10]} CBS News interviewed him in 2025 about Donald Trump's push to reform history exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution museums. ^[11]

A proposed affordable housing building is to be named for him in 2025. ^[12] Morehouse College honored him with the Bennie Service Award in 2025. ^[13]

Publications

• Porter, Bruce D.; Dunn, Marvin (1984). The Miami Riot of 1980: Crossing the Bounds. Lexington Books. ISBN   978-0-669-07663-9. ^[14]
• Dunn, Marvin (1997). Black Miami in the Twentieth Century. University Press of Florida. ISBN   9780813059570. ^[15]
• Dunn, Marvin (2013). The Beast in Florida: A History of Anti-Black Violence. University Press of Florida. ISBN   9780813041636. ^{[16] [17]}
• Dunn, Marvin (2016). A History of Florida: Through Black Eyes. CreateSpace. ISBN   9781519372673.
• Dunn, Marvin (2022). The Kingsleys. (self published). ISBN   979-8818699585. ^[18]

Filmography

• Black Seminoles in the Bahamas: The Red Bays Story (2007), 26 minutes, by filmmaker Isaac Brown; about the departure of enslaved people from Florida to the Bahamas in the 1800s
• Murder on the Suwanee: The Willie James Howard Story (2009), by filmmaker Isaac Brown; about the lynching of a 15 year-old in Live Oak, Florida in 1944
• Rosewood Uncovered (2010), 29 minutes, by filmmaker Isaac Brown; about the Rosewood Massacre in 1923 ^[19]
• The Black Miami (2012), 140 minutes by filmmakers Michael Williams, Carlton Smith and Marvin Dunn; adapted from his book, Black Miami in the Twentieth Century (1997)

References

1. "Marvin Dunn '61, Psychologist, Historian, Author and Activist, Bennie Award in Service" (PDF). morehouse.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2025.
2. "Dunn, Marvin, 1940–". LC Name Authority File (LCNAF).
3. Florida International University-Digital Communications. "Marvin Dunn". case.fiu.edu.
4. Hines, Bea L. (January 27, 2023). "Dr. Marvin Dunn's 'Teach the Truth' tours are what Florida needs to hear about Black history". Miami Herald.
5. Smalls II, C. Isaiah (June 29, 2024). "Florida historian receives $1.5 million grant to expand his Black history tours". Miami Herald .
6. "Black Miami in the Twentieth Century Coach Tour with Dr. Marvin Dunn". History Miami Museum. 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
7. Frías, Carlos; Atkinson, Leslie Ovalle; Baena, Elisa; Acevedo, Helen (June 6, 2023). "Why a Black Florida scholar is optimistic in his fight against book bans". WLRN-TV .
8. "Winner Story: The Life of Black Scholar Dr. Marvin Dunn by NBC-6". The Communicator Awards. February 11, 2025.
9. Boulandier, Kevin (September 29, 2025). "Civil rights activist Dr. Marvin Dunn, others denounce plan to build Trump library in Miami". WSVN .
10. Cruz, Anthony (October 1, 2025). "South Florida community leader calls for investigation of land transfer for future Trump library". WLRN-TV .
11. DeFede, Jim (August 24, 2025). "South Florida historian discusses Trump's comments about slavery and Smithsonian exhibits". CBS Miami (written and video).
12. "Dr. Marvin Dunn affordable housing complex proposed". South Florida Times. October 2, 2025.
13. "Marvin Dunn, Ph.D. '61: 2025 Bennie Service Award Honoree". Morehouse Newsroom. Morehouse College. February 10, 2025.
14. Chase, Anthony (1986). Curtis, Lynn A.; Porter, Bruce; Dunn, Marvin (eds.). "In the Jungle of Cities". Michigan Law Review (book review). 84 (4/5): 737–759. doi:10.2307/1288843. ISSN   0026-2234. JSTOR   1288843.
15. Howe, Kathleen (June 1, 1998). "Black Miami in the Twentieth Century. By Marvin Dunn". Tampa Bay History (book review). 20 (1). ISSN   0272-1406.
16. Hoffmann, Michael. "Book review: 'The Beast in Florida: A History of Anti-Black Violence' by Marvin Dunn". The Florida Times-Union (book review). Retrieved October 5, 2025.
17. Howard, Marilyn K. (December 1, 2015). "The Beast in Florida: A History of Anti-Black Violence. By Marvin Dunn. (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2013. Pp. 186. $24.95.)". The Historian (book review). 77 (4): 790–791. doi:10.1111/hisn.12077_21. ISSN   0018-2370.
18. "Historian Marvin Dunn victim of hate crime". The Miami Times . September 14, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
19. Mallard, Aida (July 18, 2012). "Library hosting talk on Rosewood massacre". Gainesville Sun . Retrieved October 5, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Trailer video: Black Seminoles in the Bahamas: the Red Bays Story via Vimeo