What began as an effort to honor a local statesman quickly turned into a heated debate over memory, legacy and community ownership with a Miami Gardens community park at its center.
Last week, the Miami Gardens City Council voted unanimously to rename Rolling Oaks Park to “Senator Oscar Braynon II at Rolling Oaks Park” despite opposition from longtime residents who said they were left out of the process.
The vote followed a contentious May 14 council meeting where emotional objections and calls for compromise met an initial proposal to rename the park “Senator Oscar Braynon II Park.”
The City of Miami Gardens Council approved the resolution to rename the park after Sen. Oscar Braynon II.
Honoring Braynon
Councilwoman Linda Julien, who sponsored the resolution, said it was important to honor Black leaders who shaped Miami Gardens.
“It behooves us to acknowledge those people who have paved the way for us to have a seat at the table in this community up to Tallahassee and beyond,” Julien said. “Because of Oscar Braynon’s record as an effective policymaker and public servant, every resident in this city is reaping the benefits.”
Sen. Oscar Braynon II began a career in public service in 2003 when he was elected to the Miami Gardens City Council at age 26. He later served as vice mayor and eventually as a state representative and senator.
Braynon, a Miami Gardens native who still lives in Rolling Oaks, began a career in public service in 2003, when he was elected to the city council at age 26. He later served as vice mayor and eventually as a state representative and senator.
“It's such an honor because I grew up in that park,” Braynon told The Miami Times. “It wasn’t anything I asked about or thought about. My service wasn’t about these types of things. It wasn’t about the promotions. It was about making my community better.”
Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who preceded Braynon in city leadership, credited him with securing critical funding for the park's renovation and stormwater mitigation.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner and former Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert showed up to support the item at the May 28 meeting.
“The very park, Rolling Oaks Park — the money that was used to renovate it was a general obligation bond that very few people supported,” Gilbert said. “I went to him as mayor and said, ‘Hey, I need help with this.’ He helped raise the money for the park he played basketball at.”
The park was renovated and reopened in October 2024 with updated amenities. Gilbert urged residents to value Braynon’s contributions over nostalgia.
City officials cut the ribbon for the upgraded Rolling Oaks Park in October 2024.
“We’re holding on to a tradition because it’s something we’ve always known, but that doesn’t mean it was right or good. Those trees are beautiful, sure, but they are things. He actually served this community,” Gilbert said.
Braynon’s name already appears on the Hard Rock Stadium pedestrian bridges alongside Gilbert’s.
“This is a man who for his entire adult life up until four years ago served Miami Gardens,” said Katia Saint Fleur, a former Miami Shores councilwoman and Braynon’s employee. “He gave up time with family and economic opportunities to serve the community. I think that is befitting.”
Longtime Rolling Oaks residents express disappointment over the park's renaming.
Residents push back
Despite praise from city leaders, dozens of residents opposed the change, urging the council to preserve the original name of “Rolling Oaks.” They made a petition, gathering more than 600 signatures, and criticized the lack of community input.
Rolling Oaks Park has long stood as a symbol of Black homeownership and progress.
“We took it upon ourselves in the homes in Rolling Oaks to sit down and plan to fill that land that you see now as Rolling Oaks,” said Gale Cunningham, a longtime resident, during public comment. “It was not Miami Gardens. We were North Dade.”
Rolling Oaks Park, located in a historically Black neighborhood of the same name, was established in 1978 through a $300,000 federal grant to Miami-Dade County. According to residents, it was developed by Louis P. Fletcher and Carl J. Lunetta as a tribute to the community and later transferred to Miami Gardens after the city was incorporated in 2004.
Charles George, a longtime resident, in front of an oak tree at the park.
“Remember, twenty-something years had passed where we were already experiencing the goodness of the park,” Cunningham said. “The park belongs to everyone, but don’t forget the history. We're the ones that made that first plan.”
Charles George, another longtime resident, recalled how the late Judge Wilkie Ferguson encouraged him to move to the neighborhood, describing it as a haven for Black middle-class families.
“It was everything he said it would be, and our children grew up in this area, in this park,” George told The Miami Times. “All you can see [are] oak trees in this community, and it was named for Rolling Oaks, the community. So that’s what we’re used to.”
Others, like Malcolm Jones, said the renaming felt dismissive.
Malcolm Jones recalled growing up in the park and criticized the council for not listening to the community it serves.
“We didn’t ask for that,” Jones said. “I grew up before that park was even built. Don’t tell me about ‘a thing’ — oak trees can’t be cut without permission. Oak trees need to be there, so the Rolling Oaks Park needs to be there.”
Kevin Williams urged officials to remember who they serve.
“Just like when they made the rules that govern the world, it started with ‘We the People.’ Not the judicial, not the president — the people,” he said. “My question is, all that you wanna do for Oscar Braynon, and I know him — I would commend him. But your service to God is not a service for your name.”
Councilwoman Linda Julien defends the resolution to honor Sen. Oscar Braynon II at the park.
In response to resident outcry at the May 14 meeting, Councilwoman Katrina Baskin, who has deep family ties to Rolling Oaks, proposed instead naming a structure within the park — like the basketball court — after Braynon instead. Julien rejected that suggestion.
“For me, it was not Oscar who played inside the structure. He played in the park. He grew up playing basketball in that park, and if you go to the park right now, you may find his two boys playing basketball in the park,” Julien told The Miami Times.
Longtime neighbors filled the council chamber to defend Rolling Oaks Park’s original name with signs and shirts.
Julien acknowledged the value of the debate but cautioned against what she described as a mindset that blocks progress.
“The not-in-my-backyard mentality is what continues to impede on the progression of Black communities nationwide,” she said.
Differing priorities
(L-R) Lucius Williams, a longtime Rolling Oaks resident, and his son Kevin Williams outside City Hall after the resolution was approved.
In the end, the council unanimously approved a hybrid name: “Senator Oscar Braynon II at Rolling Oaks Park.” For many, the gesture rang hollow.
“They already had their minds made up. Our vote didn’t matter,” said Jones. “What’s so significant about renaming a park that already has a name? It shows the park doesn’t belong to the constituents — it belongs to the council members. That's what we learned today.”
Though he says he empathized with residents’ emotional ties to the park, Braynon emphasized that “Rolling Oaks” remained part of the new name.
“I think Rolling Oaks is still in there,” Braynon said. “I don’t know if everybody understood the confusion and understood that Rolling Oaks is still there.”
Still, he views the renaming as a step toward preserving the city’s legacy.
“People remember the founders of the City of Miami Gardens by the things named after them,” Braynon said. “Miami Gardens' history is very important. It was hard to start, but we’ve weathered the storm and are better for it.”
Williams said the decision revealed a deeper disconnect between officials and working-class residents.
“This is one of the most enriched Black communities you can find,” he said. “The people that are still here, you're not listening to them because you're only caring about your final balance, which is the dollar.“
His father, Lucius Williams, a veteran who has lived in Rolling Oaks since the 1970s, criticized what he described as misplaced priorities, including a lack of tax relief for disabled veterans and seniors.
Marjorie Cross said the council should prioritize emergency assistance, infrastructure and road repairs.
“You don’t have to spend all that money to make a new sign,” he added. “Put that money toward somebody who’s crippled or sick.”
In 2025 alone, the city has approved at least six street renamings.
Marjorie Cross said the council should prioritize emergency assistance, infrastructure and road repairs.
“I don’t like that they act like our voices don’t matter,” Cross said. “The third largest city, and you wanna tell me they don't have any hardship fund set aside for all your residents? But yet they have money to do all these other things they wanna do.”