She helped establish Miami Gardens and became its first mayor. Shirley Gibson dies at 79

Etched along the exteriors of Miami Gardens’ City Hall is the name Shirley Gibson, the woman largely responsible for creating the predominantly Black city — and who later became its first mayor.

Gibson died Monday evening, just days after she had a brain hemorrhage, her daughter Tiffany Wimbery-McMillan confirmed to the Miami Herald. Gibson was 79.

Wimbery-McMillan, 50, described her mom as resilient and a champion of younger generations.

“She was always for empowering younger people, and respecting people that were younger than her,” she said. “She empowered them, she appreciated them, she listened to them. She considered their views and their opinions.

“She always believed that, you know, at some point, the people that are in position now are going to get to a point where they can’t serve in those positions. So, we need to get the next generation ready to carry the torch.”

Details regarding the funeral were not available Tuesday afternoon. In addition to her daughter, Gibson leaves behind her son Robert Wimberly Jr., 54, and four siblings. She preceded one in death.

On Tuesday evening, flags in Miami Gardens flew half-staff paying homage to the late mayor.

‘She was the first one to do it’

Born in native of Camilla, Georgia, Gibson moved to the Florida Keys with her parents when she was 10. “I didn’t know anything about up here. We came from no water to the ocean,” Gibson told a Miami Herald reporter earlier this year when she was recounting the founding of Miami Gardens.

Her family would then move to the Liberty City area before making the trek to the Carol City area, or now Miami Gardens — the largest predominantly Black community in South Florida that she and other community organizers helped establish in 2003.

Gibson, the oldest of six, described the move as a “tremendous transition” that she adjusted to and helped shape her experiences in South Florida. “If I can break bread with you, I can begin to look at you in a way that we probably can be friends,” she said.

A Miami-Dade police officer turned elected official, Gibson served as Miami Gardens mayor from the city’s establishment in 2003 until terming out in 2012. Gibson earned a bachelors of arts in Criminal Justice in 1981 and a masters in pastoral ministries earlier this year. In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the university.

“(She) was a pillar of everything that is necessary to build a successful city,” St. Thomas University President David Armstrong said in a statement. “She was a police officer. An elected official. And she was a friend. We will always be in her debt for helping to establish our ongoing relationship with Miami Gardens , and we will always thank her for being a shining example of what is possible when regular citizens dedicate themselves to the betterment of their community.”

Apart from her dedication to education, Gibson was a devoted mom who was also involved with the Miami Norland Senior High School Parent Teacher Student Association, her daughter said. Shortly after its founding, Gibson served as Miami Gardens mayor from the city’s establishment in 2003 until terming out in 2012.

“She started off as just a concerned parent, and then she went up the ranks,” Wimberly-McMillan said. “We didn’t come from a legacy of politicians. She was the first one to do it.”

As mayor, Gibson worked to instill a sense of pride into the city that just celebrated its 20th birthday. That came in the form of community cleanups, paving roadways and improved landscaping, she told the Miami Herald in 2020.

“Businesses, churches, other organizations, nonprofits — we all took ownership,” Gibson said. If left to county government, she added, the area would never have seen its current success. One of those successes included pioneering Jazz In The Gardens, the city’s premiere concert event, which was initially held in a parking lot and now attracts roughly 60,000 people to jam out at Hard Rock Stadium.

The city’s incorporation, according to Gibson, was an act of self-determination: many residents felt the county wasn’t putting their taxes dollars to good use.

“As had happened in many areas, particularly where Black people lived and part of a larger government, you just didn’t get what you deserved, you didn’t get the things you needed for your community but you were paying your taxes,” Gibson told the Herald in 2020. “It was difficult.”

Incorporation didn’t come easy. One of the biggest challenges was going head-to-head with Wayne Huizenga, the then-owner of the Miami Dolphins who launched a $100,000 campaign to thwart the incorporation plan. Additionally, Gibson and others faced intimidation from the county.

“You know, a lot of people were concerned that we would not be successful, because the county said we were too poor to be our own city,” she told the Herald in 2023. “So when your government tells you that it resonates, and so we had to try to overcome that.”

Miami Gardens Councilwoman Shannon Campbell said she’s known Gibson since she was a police officer with the Miami-Dade police and encouraged her to get into politics.

“She actually saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” she said. “I never saw myself as being an elected official.” Campbell said Gibson encouraged her to be open to learning and was a wealth of knowledge that she bestowed on her.

Gibson leaves an indelible legacy

Other legislators took to social media to express their condolences. Miami Gardens Mayor who described Gibson as a pioneer and visionary.

“Her legacy of leadership and dedication to our city will always be remembered,” he said in a statement.

Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert, who succeeded Gibson when her term ended, noted that she was a visionary. “Thank you for the voice you offered when others were silent, the vision you shared when the way was not clear and the strength you provided that allowed us to all endure,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram.

Wimberly-McMillan said her mom’s devotion to mentoring and youth was present in her passion for Embrace Girls Foundation, an organization that provides mentoring, social, academic and wrap-around services to girls attending Broward and Miami-Dade County schools. Just days before her death, Gibson spoke on a panel for the foundation’s International Day of the Girl Forum.

“Thank you for opening so many doors for our girls,” read part of a statement on the organization’s Instagram page. “You showed us the way and we’ll take it from here.”

Wimberly-McMillan said a birthday celebration was planned for Gibson’s 80th birthday on Dec. 17, which coincides with the Embrace Girls Foundation’s “Intimate Holiday Evening” event at the Casino at Dania Beach. “Let me tell you something, we are still going to party for my mom,” she said.

Wimberly-McMillan described her mom’s final moments as peaceful, but said she will be remembered for her determination.

“Her legacy will be to empower, embrace and uplift the next generation,” she said. “She didn’t believe in people staying in position. She believed in empowering the next generation to come before you to serve.”