Marvin Dunn


Marvin Dunn is an American historian, psychology professor emeritus, author, and filmmaker. He has written about the history of African Americans in South Florida. He lives in Miami, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of the city in 1985.

Life and career

Marvin Dunn was born in June 27, 1940, in DeLand, Florida. His parents were Corinne Elizabeth Williams and James C. Dunn Sr., his father worked as a farm and orchard picker. Dunn attended Euclid High School in DeLand.
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 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
He served as a United States naval officer aboard aircraft carriers from 1961 until 1967.
Dunn is a professor emeritus at Florida International University, where he worked from 1972 until 2006. He chaired FIU's psychology department from 2000 until 2006.
Dunn ran in the 1985 Miami mayoral election, placing fourth with more than 7,000 votes.
Dunn helped found the Miami Center for Racial Justice. He gives Black history tours in Miami. 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.
In 2023 he was interviewed by WLRN about his life experiences and outlook. NBC-6 Miami made a documentary about Dunn in 2024.
In 2025, Dunn opposed the ceding of land in Miami by the state of Florida for a Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. CBS News interviewed him in 2025 about Donald Trump's push to reform history exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution museums.
A proposed affordable housing building is to be named after him in 2025. Morehouse College honored him with the Bennie Service Award in 2025.

Publications

Filmography