The history of South Florida intimately intertwines with America's Black history. In honor of Black History Month, the National Weekly will highlight and celebrate the pioneering Black communities of South Florida, as they struggled with harsh climates and strict segregation to create a legacy that would inspire generations. This week we will focus on Coconut Grove, one of the region's earliest Black communities.

Named after the Coconut Grove post office built by Dr. Horace Porter in 1873, Coconut Grove is the oldest continuously inhabited community of South Florida. Originally an independent city, Coconut Grove was annexed to the City of Miami in 1925.

Today's Coconut Grove is a local hotspot of boutiques, top-rated restaurants and night clubs. Yet underneath the newly sprung, glittering store fronts, Coconut Grove still keeps remnants of its pioneering Black Bahamian settlers, which gave birth to a thriving Black community.

Grenadians at home and across the world will be celebrating the 38th anniversary of independence for the Spice Island on February 7. But in South Florida, the Grenada Civic and Cultural Association (GCCA) will be the center of celebrations. For 24 years, the GCCA has made a home for the Grenadian-American Diaspora in South Florida.

The GCCA was founded in Miami by Michel Hood-Julien and Bulah Alexander in 1988, when "there was not much [Grenadian] cultural awareness in the community," says current GCCA president Sherry Peters. The association grew from a small collection of Grenadian-Americans seeking to celebrate Grenadian culture together, to a full cultural and philanthropic organization. The GCCA has help Grenadians both at home and in Florida, from providing book scholarships for Grenadian students attending colleges and universities in the U.S., to shipping school equipment and medical supplies to Grenada.

Today the GCCA is dedicated to providing "social and cultural interaction amongst Grenadians and other national groups in the South Florida area, whereby creating a framework for Grenadians to contribute towards the development of Grenada in the areas of education, health, tourism, culture, artistic endeavor."

Pain and illness can prompt a wide range of responses in individuals. But too many senior citizens among the African-American community choose to bear their pain in silence.

"Elderly African Americans tend to be stoic and endure their pain privately," says Deborah Mizell, community liaison for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Broward County. "They often internalize their pain and just don't talk about it."

The cultural silence surrounding pain and disease is just one reason why there remains an end-of-life care gap among the African-American and Caribbean communities. In Florida, a disproportionate number of African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color never receive appropriate end-of-life care, and never utilize their hospice coverage from Medicare and Medicaid.

As we enter Black History Month, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care seeks to change this through the VITAS Access Initiative, a program dedicated to promoting public awareness about end-of-life care, particularly among South Florida's underserved communities, so that they have the information and access they need to make informed choices about end-of-life care.

Miramar High School's own Alvin A. Davis, current 2012 Florida Teacher of the Year, has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year award.

The national award honors teachers across the country, and allows awardees to collaborate with policy makers as advocates of the teaching profession and the nation's students.

"Alvin is a competent and passionate educator who makes sure his students have every chance for success," Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson noted in a press statement. "He knows that teachers are the most influential factor in a student's academic accomplishments and I am honored to congratulate him for this nomination."

"I'm grateful and I'm honored," Davis said at a press conference at Miramar High, after the announcement of his nomination, surrounded by his supportive students, faculty and district administrators.