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Trailer 2 for The Black Miami, a documentary based on Black Miami by Dr. Marvin Dunn

Articles/Artículos

Rogue Florida Guv’s Next Pandemic Fiasco: Vaccine Rollout  12/16/2020 Daily Beast: "But, as is the case in most states, none of Florida’s early doses are going to essential workers such as grocer -store staff, transit workers, pharmacy employees, and teachers. What makes Florida’s plan so controversial is that, unlike many other large states, Florida authorities have declined to restrict businesses and schools or to mandate mask-wearing. Those policies have left Floridian essential workers no choice but to work among an especially infective public and risk exposure. Likewise, DeSantis has not detailed a plan to rush vaccines to communities of color that, owing to structural disadvantages going back generations, are uniquely vulnerable to the virus. In Florida as in many other states, there’s significant overlap between essential workers and communities of color, further underscoring the importance of vaccinating these groups as fast as possible."

Brevard County: Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda Executes Black Teen for Driving Past Him  11/22/2020 Cop Blaster: "Brevard County Deputy Sheriff's Office (BCSO) Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda executed two black teenagers for trying to drive past him. The shooting was caught on his dash camera where you can clearly see that the vehicle he shot at was turning right in an effort to drive past him (see video below). The vehicle was obviously going to great lengths to evade the officers without actually hitting them."

Miami-Dade's 'Republican Cuban establishment' regains power in Florida, Washington  11/16/2020 Miami Herald: "The results also may indicate complications for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who has said he plans to restore former President Barack Obama’s Cuba policies “in large part” after Trump restricted travel to the island and ended remittances. Though Republicans are in the minority in the U.S. House, the new Cuban American Republican coalition in Miami-Dade County is sure to put up more resistance than one that would have included Mucarsel-Powell and Shalala."

As Trump Gained Latino Support in Florida, Biden’s Campaign Ignored Warnings  11/10/2020 New Yorker 

Florida's Latino voters being bombarded with right-wing misinformation, experts and advocates say  10/20/2020 ABC 

Voter intimidation looms as a concern. Here’s how South Florida will fight it.  10/17/2020 Sun Sentinel: "The Center for Public Integrity reported that supporters of President Trump in Virginia temporarily blocked an entrance to an early voting site, forcing officials to offer voters escorts to cast ballots. In Minnesota, a private security company is recruiting former military members to guard polling places, alarming election officials with the prospect of unofficial armed guards who could intimidate or harass voters. And Michigan, wanting to curb intimidation, won’t let people openly carry guns near polling sites."

Armed Militias And Poll Watchers: Know The Laws In Florida  10/11/2020 Patch: "Second, call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to report what you see. Assistance in also available in Spanish at 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888- 839-8682), in Arabic at 844-YALLA-US (844-915-5187), and Asian languages at 888-API-VOTE (1-888-174-8683). A video call number for American Sign Language is available at 301-818-VOTE (301-818-8683)."

Donations From Michael Jordan, LeBron James To Help Felons Vote  10/6/2020 MSN 

At least one person arrested during St. Augustine protests outside Flagler College  10/4/2020 MSN: "The altercation happened as protesters and counter-protesters gathered in front of Flagler College on King Street. Both gatherings centered around Mark Bailey, a member of the Flagler Board of Trustees. Protesters led by the Reverend Ron Rawls accuse Bailey of using his wealth and influence to "hinder social justice progress in St. Augustine by attempting to sway a government ruling on removing and relocating the Confederate monument," according to a Facebook post."

Proud Boys try to assimilate into Florida GOP as Trump denies knowing extremist group  10/2/2020 Miami Herald 

John Legend Helps Returning Citizens Restore Their Voting Rights  9/25/2020 Now This: "John Legend is helping restore voting rights for thousands of Floridians with felony convictions by paying off their outstanding court fines and fees."

Republican Senator Proposes Bill That Would Make It Illegal to Count Votes  9/24/2020 Slate: "On Thursday, Florida Sen. Rick Scott proposed a bill that would change election laws with less than six weeks to go until November’s election, causing complete mayhem and ensuring that untold numbers of otherwise valid votes would not be counted. Scott’s proposal is simple and entirely unworkable. His Help America Vote Act of 2020 would require that mail-in ballots be counted within 24 hours of when voting closes on Election Day."

Against Experts' Advice, Police Once Again Deploy Tear Gas at Miami Protest  6/29/2020 Miami New Times: "The widespread use of chemical agents on protesters in more than 100 US cities during the global coronavirus pandemic has drawn criticism from experts who say the substances could worsen the effects of COVID-19. Although chemical irritants are considered non-lethal, they can cause permanent disabilities if used incorrectly. Rubber bullets are far more damaging. A 2017 British Medical Journal analysis of projectiles used in crowd control found that 15 percent of people injured were permanently disabled and 3 percent died. Earlier this month, a Fort Lauderdale woman suffered a fractured skull after being hit by a rubber bullet at a protest."

Trump thanked 'great people' shown in Twitter video in which a man chants 'white power'  6/28/2020 CNN 

WHEN LIBERTY BURNS  6/19/2020 Miami Film Festival: "On December 17, 1979, Arthur McDuffie failed to stop for a traffic light, and police officers gave chase. After realizing he could not escape, McDuffie surrendered. He was beaten until he lost consciousness, ultimately causing his death. The shocking acquittal of the offending officers charged in the murder sparked a civil disturbance in Miami’s urban core. The “McDuffie Riots” that followed in May 1980 caused the deaths of 18 people, millions of dollars in destruction, and became a symbol of the city’s struggle to contend with race relations and its sordid history during the Jim Crow era. The documentary engages family members and friends of Arthur McDuffie, retired police officers, eye witnesses, historians and contemporary community activists in interviews and it chronicles McDuffie’s life and his rich relationships with his family and his community. It traces, with brilliant insight, the dynamics of race relations in the City as it manages increasingly diverse ethnic populations, growth and change. And yet, 40 years later, this seminal Miami reckoning is in danger of disappearing from public consciousness – something that Alexis’ timely and important film seeks to redress."

Hallan muerta a activista de marchas contra el racismo en Florida  6/17/2020 Ruda: "La policía de Tallahassee informó del arresto de un sospechoso, Aaron Glee Jr., de 49 años. Éste ya había sido detenido en mayo pasado acusado de agresión agravada a una mujer y liberado bajo una fianza de 2 mil 500 dólares. En varios mensajes, la joven dijo que fue asaltada, que llamó a la Policía y que escapó. Salau se unió a las marchas de Black Lives Matter, en las que recitaba los nombres de hombres afroamericanos que murieron a manos de la policía, entre ellos George Floyd, según se ve en varios videos."

10 SWAT members in South Florida resign from unit, saying they feel unsafely restrained by politics  6/13/2020 CNN: "The officers sent a letter, dated Tuesday, to Hallandale Beach Police Chief Sonia Quinones, saying they were "minimally equipped, under trained and often times restrained by the politicization of our tactics to the extent of placing the safety of dogs over the safety of the team members." The officers also said they were displeased after the command staff took a knee with activists and others during a demonstration on Monday, according to the letter."

Florida police organization offers to hire cops who were fired or resigned over police misconduct  6/8/2020 CNN: "As the cries for police reform grow louder across the nation, some police departments are holding their officers accountable, firing or suspending those accused of excessive force during recent protests. One Florida police organization has said it will re-hire those very officers accused of misconduct, and that offer is prompting outrage."

Florida Ousts Top COVID-19 Data Scientist  5/19/2020 NPR: "In a statement later to The Miami Herald, DeSantis' communications director, Helen Aguirre Ferré, said, "Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the Department's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors. "The blatant disrespect for the professionals who were working around the clock to provide the important information for the COVID-19 website was harmful to the team. Accuracy and transparency are always indispensable, especially during an unprecedented public health emergency such as COVID-19. Having someone disruptive cannot be tolerated during this public pandemic, which led the department to determine that it was best to terminate her employment.""

State senator sounds the alarm about Florida’s concealment of COVID-19 death statistics  5/11/2020 Alternet: “Recently, it was reported that the death count tallied by the Medical Examiners Commission was at one point 10% higher than the number released by the Florida Department of Health,” Berman explains. “Shortly after this discrepancy came to light, state officials cited privacy concerns to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the agency providing support to the Medical Examiners Commission, and blocked the report from further release.” Berman adds, however, that a list from medical examiners “never contained the names of COVID-19 victims” but rather, “contained demographics, cause of death, and case summaries — far from private information.”

Activists plan Jacksonville protest over handling of Ahmaud Arbery case  5/7/2020 News4Jax: "Their 5 p.m. Friday demonstration will involve a motorcade, a gathering on the grounds of the Duval County Courthouse and a news conference. During the motorcade, participants will circle the courthouse either on foot or in a vehicle and are instructed to blow car horns or hold signs. The demonstrators are also making the protest more personal to Jacksonville, saying the Sheriff’s Office has a “lack of trust, transparency and accountability” and has failed to release body cam video in police-involved shooting investigations. “Jacksonville to Brunswick we stand in solidarity demanding justice for Ahmaud but as well continue to demand justice for families here, who see their killers walking free due to a racially unjust system,“ said activist Michael Sampson of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee."

There could be 22 emerging COVID-19 hotspots in small cities or rural areas in eight states that are lifting lockdown restrictions, analysis of social media coronavirus posts reveals  4/29/2020 Daily Mail: "There could be up to 22 emerging coronavirus hotspots in small cities and rural counties across eight US states that are lifting lockdown restrictions, data researchers have found. An analysis conducted by data firm Dataminr used artificial intelligence to examine social media posts related to coronavirus and predicts the smaller areas where infections are set to increase. The firm identified the areas based on clusters of public social media posts that directly referenced, among other things, firsthand accounts of symptoms, relatives who have been infected and testing supply shortages."

CDC director: Agency sent guidance to Florida weeks before gov ordered some residents to stay at home  4/13/2020 The Hill: "If true, Redfield's remarks would mean that the state had received advice from federal officials on necessary steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus weeks before DeSantis publicly alluded to a lack of guidance from the White House coronavirus task force while facing criticism for his decisions not to shutter state beaches or issue a statewide stay-at-home order."

‘Officials in Florida city say they face ‘unimaginable’ potential death from COVID-19: ‘Recipe for disaster’  4/8/2020 Alternet: "Officials in the Florida city of Hialeah are warning that they are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic and face the possibility of “unimaginable” death from the disease. In interviews with The Daily Beast, the officials explained how their large population of senior citizens is at grave risk if Hialeah erupts as a major COVID-19 hotspot."

DeSantis order relaxes rules for churches, freeing megachurch pastor to resume services  4/2/2020 Fox: "The pastor canceled his upcoming in-person services after being arrested for hosting hundreds inside his megachurch despite a Hillsborough County "safer at home" social distancing order, banning gatherings of 10 or more to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But Governor Ron DeSantis issued his own, statewide order Wednesday, which says the rules will be different for places of worship. Under his new order, church services are considered "essential" and there is no clear indication social distancing rules must be followed. This new executive order is giving leaders at the local level whiplash."

The best politician in America today is a city commissioner who chewed out the worst mayor in Florida  3/22/2020 Alternet: "The Mayor broke all kinds of protocol in this meeting trying to prevent Hardy from speaking, of which he skillfully called her out on. The Mayor then broke the rules to recess the meeting, walk away, and dismissively tell him “he was done”. That’s when all hell broke lose.Hardy accused city manager Michael Bornstein of “turning off people’s lights during a global health pandemic”. He said Mayor Triolo was more concerned with her relationship with Bornstein and was complicit because she refused to call an emergency meeting on measures the city could take."

Videos show Miami Beach arrests of black spring breakers slammed as racist by NAACP  3/17/2020 NBC: "The Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP is calling for the removal of the Miami Beach police chief and city manager in response to videos showing police interactions with black spring breakers last week. In one of the viral videos, a Miami Beach police officer appears to grab a young woman by the throat after she falls onto the street following a collision with an officer. That video was uploaded to social media and has been viewed more than 390,000 times."

Cuando los bebés negros eran usados como cebo para cazar cocodrilos en Florida  11/18/2019 Strambotic 

Haitian, Jamaican or American ... If you’re black in Miami, odds are you’re struggling  2/25/2019 Miami Herald: "A new study sheds light on the yawning gap in wealth in the Miami area between white households and households of color. Among non-white groups, it is Miami-area households identifying as black that continue to suffer most, according to the authors of the study, “The Color of Wealth in Miami.”"

11-year-old arrested after refusing to stand for Pledge of Allegiance  2/17/2019 NY Post: "The classroom kerfuffle happened when a substitute teacher, Ana Alvarez, ordered the boy to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. When he told her he believed the flag was racist and the anthem was offensive, Alvarez asked him “why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live,” the teacher said in a statement to the school district. The teacher said he replied, “they brought me here.” Alvarez then told him, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.”"

Prosecutors Meet With Florida Teens Over Possible Hate Crime  1/26/2019 Atlanta Black Star: "Bartlett is charged so far with illegally carrying a concealed weapon, which is a felony. “We know what we saw in the video, but it goes beyond that,” said Don Horn, chief assistant Miami-Dade County state attorney. “We’re going to do everything we can to see that justice is done in this case.”

How was Miami’s Overtown neighborhood chosen as the place to expand I-95?  1/15/2019 The New tropic: "“By 1961, Overtown families began receiving surprise letters telling them they were expected to uproot and relocate from their homes within six to eight weeks,” Fields said in an email. “No mention was made of any appeal process, and ‘the rest is history.’” "

Mockery of Justice: Criminal justice in Jacksonville is tainted by racism and civil rights violations  12/26/2018 Folio: "The self-proclaimed Bold New City of the South is neither bold nor new when it comes to criminal justice. Racism and civil rights violations pervade Jacksonville, as they have in the past. I focus now on several abuses that are systemic and continuing. Elected officials bear the blame for doing nothing about racist arrest policies and abuses of the rights of defendants and the public."

Black Florida State Representative Proposes Law to Prevent the Erasure of Confederate Monuments  12/22/2018 Atlanta Black Star: "The Florida Panhandle’s first Black representative since the Civil War just proposed a bill that would make it a crime to remove Confederate memorials, names and symbols in the state, not to mention that any intentional damaging of said memorials would be treated as a third-degree felony. Rep. Mike Hill (R-Pensacola) insists Gen. Robert E. Lee was more than just “some racist” and lauded him as “a gentleman, a Christian, and a man of great valor who” deserved to be revered, as should all Confederate leaders, the Broward Palm Beach New Times reported."

Video: Forget what you think you know about Overtown  12/17/2018 The New tropic: "Once considered “The Harlem of the South,” it was the gathering place for musicians such as Duke Ellington, Sammy Davis Jr. and Billie Holiday. But when the construction of I-95 divided the neighborhood into quadrants in the 1960s, Overtown’s economic stability collapsed, and so did its claim to fame as the entertainment capital of the South."

Five Signs the Florida Democratic Party Still Doesn't Get It  12/16/2018 Miami New Times: "Andrew Gillum was a strong candidate for governor. Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott were grotesque, cretinous candidates and seemingly awful human beings. Everything looked so easy. So of course the Florida Democrats blew it. They're the Florida Democrats! They're a group of party apparatchiks and generally privileged white people who treat political representation like a club and a hobby instead of seeing politics as the dire, important, often-life-altering issue it is. The party is staffed by people who reward those who stress loyalty and tradition over good ideas."

I dig through archives to unearth hidden stories from African-American history  12/4/2018 The Conversation: "Many years ago, as a graduate student searching in the archives of Spanish Florida, I discovered the first “underground railroad” of enslaved Africans escaping from Protestant Carolina to find religious sanctuary in Catholic Florida. In 1738, these runaways formed Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first free black settlement in what became the U.S. The excitement of that discovery encouraged me to keep digging. After doing additional research in Spain, I followed the trail of the Mose villagers to Cuba, where they had emigrated when Great Britain acquired Florida. I found many of them in 18th-century church records in Havana, Matanzas, Regla, Guanabacoa and San Miguel del Padrón."

Gov. Rick Scott's Wildly Biased Voting Rights Board: Here's How He Reportedly Boosted Republicans and Disfavored Black Voters  10/25/2018 Alternet: "According to the Post's findings, Scott has restored the voting rights of twice as many whites as blacks, even though whites and blacks were released from state prisons at roughly the same rate. Furthermore, Scott re-enfranchised a higher percentage of Republicans, and a lower percentage of Democrats, than any governor since 1971."

Miami Republican chairman reportedly planned Pelosi protest with Proud Boys  10/20/2018 Think Progress: "Now another Republican has been connected to the Proud Boys. After an angry mob confronted and cursed at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a campaign event for Donna Shalala (D-FL) in Coral Gables on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported the Florida protest “appears to have been organized by Nelson Diaz, the chairman of the Republican Party in Miami-Dade County.”"

Miami GOP Chairman Nelson Diaz leading Proud Boys hate group in attack on Democratic campaign office  10/19/2018 YouTube: "The Republican Party Miami-Dade's County Chairman led an angry mob of partisans with the local leader of national hate group the Proud Boys in an attack on a Democratic campaign office the week."

Third police officer sentenced to prison for framing black males  10/19/2018 Nation of Change: "After pleading guilty to framing innocent black men and punching a handcuffed suspect in the face, a third Florida police officer was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in prison for conspiracy to deprive a person of his civil rights and deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Two other officers have been sentenced to one year in federal prison, while their former police chief awaits sentencing next month."

Miami GOP Chairman just caught leading Proud Boys in attack on Democratic campaign office  10/19/2018 The Stern Fact: "Chairman Diaz even told me that he never heard of the Proud Boys, even though the Miami New Times caught local GOP Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart posting a photo of himself with one candidate of the group’s members just two months ago. But the video doesn’t lie, and it depicts Diaz only a few feet away from Miami Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio when he yelled: “Open up! It’s some Proud Boys in here.”"

Why Young Men of Color Are Joining White-Supremacist Groups  9/4/2018 Daily Beast: "Tarrio, who identifies as Afro-Cuban, is president of the Miami chapter of the Proud Boys, who call themselves “Western chauvinists,” and “regularly spout white-nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center."

After surprise primary victory, can Andrew Gillum win the Florida governor's race?  8/30/2018 NBC: "But the state remains divided stubbornly 50-50, which means Democrats need to both energize their base and win over swing voters, said Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist who backed Graham. “It's still a state that is very evenly balanced,” said Schale — who, like Graham, quickly got behind Gillum. “Democrats that think Andrew's not going to be able to connect with suburban white women, and typical swing voters aren't paying attention to what's happening around the country.”"

Here Are 5 of the Most Disturbing Facts About Florida Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Ron DeSantis  8/30/2018 Alternet: "The Florida gubernatorial race could become a referendum on Sanders’ ideas versus Trump’s ideas, and DeSantis is way beyond conservative—he is extreme."

Black lawmaker says Miami Democrats have ‘lynched’ him in primary  8/16/2018 Miami Herald: "Hardemon, in interviews with the Miami Herald, said his party doesn’t like black people — “especially black men” — and claimed the chairman of the Miami-Dade Democrats recruited a Haitian-American candidate to boot him from office. This week, Hardemon went one step further, lobbing a racial accusation during a meeting of Democratic leaders in Doral. “It’s surprising to be lynched from the Democratic Party,” Hardemon said from a stage, standing next to Chairman Juan Cuba."

Miami Congressman Diaz-Balart Posts Photo With Alt-Right "Proud Boy"  8/10/2018 Miami New Times: "The Proud Boy who met with Diaz-Balart describes himself online as a military veteran and National Rifle Association "certified pistol instructor." He's repeatedly taken photographs with Miami-Dade County Republican Party members and appears to be involved with Carla Spalding's campaign for Florida's 23rd Congressional District, a seat currently occupied by Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Spalding has been endorsed by Roger Stone and has appeared on InfoWars, so it's perhaps not surprising that her campaign seems to include a Proud Boy, as well."

As Algae Bloom Grew, Miami Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart Took $27,200 From Big Sugar  8/8/2018 Miami New Times: "From the beginning of June until early July, an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee grew and grew until it covered 90 percent of the lake's surface. Then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released water from the lake, letting the algae migrate to both coasts of Florida. The nasty, toxic sludge — caused in significant part by polluted runoff from sugar farms — has killed wildlife, lowered property values, and wrecked tourism. It's also made campaign contributions from the sugar giants a major political liability."

Cops, courts in Miami-Dade harsher on blacks. New study details stark racial disparities.  7/19/2018 Miami Herald: "No group in Miami-Dade County gets treated more harshly in the criminal justice system than blacks, according to a joint study released Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union and University of Miami. Researchers, who analyzed five years of data between 2010 and 2015, found stark differences across the board."

Police chief, officers in Florida town accused of pinning crimes on blacks to help stats  7/12/2018 Miami Herald: ""If they have burglaries that are open cases that are not solved yet, if you see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglaries," one cop, Anthony De La Torre, said in an internal probe ordered in 2014."

A conversation about racism in Miami should include all groups – not just Cubans  6/2/2018 Miami Herald: "In my life — and in 38 years as a journalist covering every topic in the book in South Florida — I've witnessed racist and prejudiced words and acts from members of every group in our community. Yet the flurry of outrage and calls for conversation seem to happen only when the offender is Cuban or Cuban-American." [Cuban privilege!]

Afro-Latinos Say Miami Blackface Play Is Part Of Bigger Problem With Racism In Latino Communities  5/29/2018 WLRN: "And supporters of the play kept telling her this was tradition, but Afro-Latinos say this is bigger than a play. For them, it's part of larger problem in Latino communities, where blackness is demonized and deemed inferior through art, entertainment and everyday conversations."

This Miami parody features an actress in blackface and the audience 'loves it'  5/19/2018 Miami Herald: "A popular Spanish-language theater near Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood has been entertaining its audiences for months with a parody that would spur outrage in many other cities. One of the leading actors in the play performs in blackface. The response from most of this audience: applause and laughter. “It has been a hit and no one has complained ... on the contrary, she is one of the favorites," said Marisol Correa, who oversees the venue where the play is showing. “The character is typical of the Cuban theater, the negrito cubano, but the person is never discriminated.”"

Publix bankrolling the campaign of Florida GOP Adam Putnam  5/17/2018 Ybor City Stogie: "Latinos who shop at Publix - Check this out… ----- Its heirs and past and present leaders are bankrolling the campaign of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam at unprecedented levels. ----- Putnam is a vocal supporter of Trump’s vitriolic anti-immigrant policies, and while he served in Congress before Trump existed, he cast anti-minority votes. ----- His voting record clearly shows he’s all about suppressing the vote of minorities who are U.S. citizens."

Estate of Keegan Roberts v. Michael Centanni Evidence Locker  3/5/2018 John M Philips Esq: Contains numerous call recordings and statements by Keegan Von Roberts' murderer, the white supremacist Centanni.

The N.R.A. Lobbyist Behind Florida’s Pro-Gun Policies  3/5/2018 New Yorker: "Last fall, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that, in Stand Your Ground’s first decade, the number of homicides ruled legally justifiable had increased in Florida by seventy-five per cent. In one notable instance, two boat owners got into a fight and fell in the water; as one attempted to climb out, the other fatally shot him in the back of the head. A jury found the killer not guilty. Mary Anne Franks, the law professor from the University of Miami, told me that the number of justifiable homicides is likely to continue to rise. “The new amendment makes it even easier for killers who provide zero evidence of self-defense to avoid not only being convicted but being prosecuted at all,” she said."

Justice for Keegan Von Roberts  3/5/2018 AVAAZ: Petition with a good explanation - "The state of Florida is attempting to justify his murder with this law all due to a small part of his car being parked on the sidewalk. His murderer lives all the way across the street. We wont let the state brush this under the rug all because they don't have time or do not want to deal with it. If your mindset is where all of ours is after reading this we ask that you please sign this petition and share as we all just want "JUSTICE FOR KEEGAN"."

Manolín: "Vivimos en EE.UU. y le estamos muy agradecidos pero no hay por qué callar"  2/16/2018 Cibercuba: "Manolín, El médico de la salsa, ha publicado un texto en su perfil de Facebook a propósito del tiroteo en una escuela secundaria de Broward, el pasado 14 de febrero, en el que murieron 17 personas y otras 15 resultaron heridas. Más que aludir directamente a la tragedia, el músico cubano ha ido a la que considera la causa principal, el gran problema de origen: la venta de armas."

Miami Latinos Have Avoided Electing African American County Mayors, But That Could Finally Change  1/29/2018 Remezcla: "In 1983, Puerto Rican Miami Mayor Maurice Ferrer won his sixth consecutive two-year term against Cuban-born Xavier Suarez after a campaign that began to uncover the growing tensions between Miami’s Cuban majority and the Black minority. Many Black voters campaigned for Ferrer, resentful of the “Cuban takeover” of the city. Suarez’s supporters, in turn, were found holding signs that simply urged, “Cubans, vote Cuban.” As Luke wrote, only one Black county mayoral candidate has gotten a close chance at the seat: Arthur Teele, Jr. in 1995. Teele won a majority of the Black vote, but barely gained any Latino neighborhoods, while his opponent, Cuban born Alex Penelas, garnered 90 percent of the Latino vote come election day."

TRES VIUDAS EN UN CRUCERO llega a la Sala Catarsis de Miami  1/25/2018 YouTube: "Tres viudas que viven que en el mismo Condominio en Hialeah, deciden tomar un crucero por el Caribe. Lo que nadie imagina, es lo que les ocurre mientras lo planeaban, y después que regresan del viaje. En esta comedia le aseguramos una risa continua y una diversion constante . Más info en www.teatrotrail.com" [Con una negrita en blackface…]

Hispanic Voters Will Never Elect a Black Miami-Dade County Mayor  1/22/2018 Miami New Times: "When he was seeking reelection in 2012, Gimenez showed up at every rally and black church to drum up endorsements. Though the black vote can push a candidate over the top in a countywide election, we somehow always select the best Cuban candidate. And once the Cuban candidate wins, he tosses the African-American community into the garbage. All we get in return is a giant F-you."

Florida Gave Out Irma Food Stamps on Election Day, Keeping Poor Voters From Polls  11/8/2017 Miami New Times: "The one thing all of those people trapped in food-stamp lines certainly weren't doing was voting. Someone, somewhere, should have bumped the event forward a day."

White Nationalist who Fantasized, Plotted Murder of Minorities Discovered to be Law Enforcement Leader  10/24/2017 DC Weekly: "A top law-enforcement official in Palm Beach County, Florida is coming under fire for allegedly being a white nationalist, fantasizing and plotting the death of black citizens or Jews. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Michael Gauger was exposed for his correspondence with other members of the now-defunct White Nationalist website Stormfront, whose members were linked to as many one hundred hate-crime deaths."

KKK Grand Dragon gets outed as Florida college student — and classmates want him gone  10/23/2017 Raw Story: "Students at Jacksonville, Florida’s University of North Florida were shocked when they discovered their “normal”-looking classmate is a KKK “grand dragon.” In interviews with The Tab, UNF students describe their interactions with Ken Parker, a well-known racist profiled multiple times for his hateful ideology."

Vigil held for Keegan Roberts  10/21/2017 News4Jax: [refusal to name Michael Centanni.] "The family members of Roberts were passing out flyers calling for State Attorney Melissa Nelson to review the case again. Police said Roberts' neighbor, who News4Jax is not naming because he hasn't been charged with a crime, shot Roberts after some type of dispute between the two."

Florida should help protect Puerto Ricans’ voting rights  10/13/2017 Miami Herald: "Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland can vote in federal elections. Yet while participation in elections is above 80% on the island, once Puerto Ricans move, their voting rates drop, due in part to barriers to participation caused by voter suppression policies that must be changed. For example, in states requiring photo voter ID, Puerto Rican birth certificates issued prior to 2010 are not accepted to get the identification needed to vote. Post-Maria, it is going to be impossible for the Puerto Rican government to provide enough updated birth certificates so her people may vote. Furthermore, there are costs associated, and no one should pay for an updated photo ID to vote."

New Miami Herald Investigation Looks At Abuse In The Florida Department Of Juvenile Justice  10/8/2017 WLRN: "One of the things that we had been told again and again was that officers and youth-care workers were paying young people in honey buns and other treats as a reward for dispensing discipline on other unruly youth. And we had reason to believe, based upon what we were hearing, that that might have been what resulted in Elord’s death."

Puerto Ricans are a surging, outraged political force in Florida in the aftermath of Maria  10/6/2017 WaPo: "“All politics is about motivation, and at this point, the Hispanic community here is extremely motivated against Trump,” said Anthony Suarez, a lawyer and local political elder who was elected the first Puerto Rican member of the Florida House in 1999. The community now has six of its own representing Florida between the state legislature and the U.S. House: three Republicans and three Democrats."

Voter Suppression in the 2016 Presidential Election  10/4/2017 Project Censored: "Specifically, as a result of the Shelby decision, changes to voting laws in nine states and parts of six others with long histories of racial discrimination in voting were no longer subject to federal government approval. Since Shelby, fourteen states, including many southern states and key swing states, implemented new voting restrictions, in many cases just in time for the election. Texas implemented a photo-ID law that resulted in one of the lowest voter turnouts in the country. In North Carolina a voter-ID requirement permitted just a few acceptable forms of identification: According to data from the state’s board of elections, over 300,000 registered voters lacked even one accepted form of ID. Arizona made changes to its voting laws that the Department of Justice had previously rejected due to minority voter discrimination. Florida converted to English-only elections in many counties, and also changed poll locations at the last minute."

Decision not to file charges in Keegan Robert's death brings disappointment, mistrust  10/3/2017 First Coast News: "He said even if the family fails to have their day in a criminal court, this does not preclude their right to file a civil lawsuit against their neighbor. The burden is a lot lower in civil cases."

Russians Appear to Use Facebook to Push Trump Rallies in 17 U.S. Cities  9/20/2017 Daily Beast: "Suspected Russia propagandists on Facebook tried to organize more than a dozen pro-Trump rallies in Florida during last year’s election, The Daily Beast has learned."

Community group calls for justice in shooting deaths of 2 Jacksonville men  9/20/2017 News 4 Jax: "The group also called the shooting death of Keegan Roberts unjust. Police said Roberts was shot and killed by a neighbor in July, but no arrest has been made. Roberts' mother, Cecilia Shephard, told News4Jax she'll keep fighting until that changes and she gets justice."

A Convicted Domestic Terrorist Was at the Charlottesville Nazi March  8/15/2017 War is Boring: "At least one man who attended the Aug. 11, 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, is a convicted domestic terrorist. Michael Tubbs, currently the chairman of the Florida League of the South, spent four years in prison after stealing military equipment and plotting to bomb black- and Jewish-owned businesses in Jacksonville, Florida."

Politics as usual? Not with Cuban music in Miami anymore  8/6/2017 Repeating Islands: "Miami’s Cuban music scene has a new, younger face that cares little — if any — about politics. “The presence of Cuban artists who settled in Miami or simply come and go constantly is very recent and has become something almost normal, considering that until recently it was difficult and cumbersome to put on any artist linked to the island in any way,” said Nemesio “Neme” González, a producer and manager who also owns Neme’s Gastro Bar on Coral Way."

Young father fatally shot by neighbor, police say  7/20/2017 News4Jax: "Keegan Von Roberts died after a shooting just after midnight on Peach Street, south of Beach Boulevard. Police said it happened when an ongoing dispute escalated. Homicide detectives questioned the man they believe fired the shot and later released him. They said the case has been referred to the State Attorney's Office."

MDC’s Koubek Center to Host 19th IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival  7/18/2017 MDC News: "Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center will once again host the annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival, Aug. 14 – 19, a unique celebration of Afro-Cuban culture through dance and music."

19th Annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival/Conference  7/17/2017 Repeating Islands: "The 19th Annual IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival takes place August 14-19, 2017, in Miami. One of the related events is a conference that opens a dialogue on topics relevant to the continuity and preservation of the Regla de Ocha tradition. The conference—“Following the Steps of the Orishas: Afro-Cuban Spirituality in Urban Spaces”—sponsored by the IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company and HistoryMiami Museum, will take place on Thursday, August 17, from 9:00am to 8:00pm at the Museum, located at 101 West Flagler Street, Miami."

Florida state attorney pulled over in traffic stop that goes nowhere fast  7/12/2017 CNN: "A Florida state attorney who was pulled over in a traffic stop said she hopes to use the incident as a teachable moment for police. Aramis Ayala, Florida's first and only black elected state attorney, has been no stranger to controversy since taking office as head of the 9th Judicial District, which covers Orange and Osceola counties."

This Collective Is Providing a Space for Miami’s Queer, Femme Community  7/12/2017 Remezcla: "There’s a tension between the Miami I grew up experiencing – the food prepared by women, the warmth they emit and the culture they carry with them home – and the artificiality [prevalent in Miami] that stems from subscribing to a patriarchal, consumerist society.” It’s that duality that has made her message resonate on such a personal level for so many in South Florida. The pressure to look like a video vixen is there but so too are the Dominican, Haitian, and Cuban matriarchs who give the city its distinct energy."

How Latino Anti-Blackness Helped Kill Philando Castile: From Biases to Allyship  6/19/2017 OTRTC: "Latest Episode of On The Road to Consciousness with César VInterview with Sandra Abdallah-Alvarez Ramírez - "I got together with Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramirez, the Afro-Cuban journalist and cyber-activist who manages and is responsible for the creation the Directory of Afro-Cuban Women. Sandra has relentlessly been doing some incredible work with those she calls 'sus negras' (her black women). Like Sandra, I too believe everyone should know who these women are and what they have done. Most importantly, I believe everyone should know about what they are doing today. Please join us in celebrating Afro-Cuban women, literally, from most walks of life."argas?."

Big night for Florida Democrats ends in acrimony over chairman’s racial remarks  6/18/2017 Miami Herald: "The Florida Democratic Party’s big annual fundraiser ended in acrimony Saturday night after Stephen Bittel, the party chairman, dismissed anger from lawmakers who didn’t get introduced on stage as a “childish” complaint from African-American legislators. Bittel also said that state Sen. Oscar Braynon of Miami Gardens, the Senate Democratic leader who had expressed lawmakers’ unhappiness to the chairman, was acting like “a 3-year-old.” Bittel has since apologized."

Black Dade Democrats angered by a lack of action, injustice  5/31/2017 Miami Times: "Black Democrats in Miami-Dade County say they are tired of party leaders ignoring issues on the Black agenda: discrimination, police brutality and economic justice. They say they are becoming more vocal about their displeasure with the party even if Miami-Dade Democrats call for the resignation of State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle."

I'm with AUDREY  4/26/2017 Folio Weekly, Jacksonville: "Eventually, the counternarrative emerged: Artiles was using a variation on the ethnic slur, and his claim was that it wasn’t racial, it’s just how people talk in Hialeah."

OPENING ARGUMENTS IN THE BROWN CASE  4/26/2017 Black Viewpont, Jacksonville: "The Prosecutor went on to say this case is “all about lying, cheating, and stealing!” In the words of U.S. Attorney Tyson Duva “, she lied on her taxes about what she gave to her own church!” (Bethel Baptist) Their strategy is to paint Brown as an accomplished liar and a corrupt politician, who cares more about herself than disadvantaged kids.But the prosecution will have to prove a lot more than that to convict Ms. Brown! (Half the people we know, routinely lie on their income taxes and many others routinely lie on their tax returns about how much they gave the church! The Prosecution will have to do a more than paint the picture of being crooked it must be able to prove How she did it and How she spent it!"

NAACP Releases Report Card: Florida Failing in Key Categories  4/23/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "The Diversity Matters Initiative examined the records of targeted cities, counties, school districts and private corporations statewide. The NAACP Florida State Conference examined their records on employment, advertising and spending with minority, women and veteran-owned businesses. The NAACP Florida State Conference conducts this review annually, proposes recommendations and releases its findings to the public."

Florida donors among Donald Trump inauguration backers  4/22/2017 Pensacola News Journal: "Florida Crystal Corps (West Palm Beach): $500,000" [Owned by the Fanjules, owners of Domino sugar and a pillar of the plantocracy in exile.]

Florida State Senator Frank Artiles Resigns After Racial Remarks  4/21/2017 NBC Miami: "Sen. Perry Thurston intervened and Artiles, a Cuban-American from the Miami area, used a variation of the "n-word" and used a vulgarity to describe Negron, according to the complaint filed Wednesday by Thurston."

Miami state senator curses at black lawmaker — and refers to fellow Republicans as ‘niggas’  4/18/2017 Miami Herald: "“He said, ‘If it wasn’t for these six niggers,’” Gibson said. By way of explanation, he added, “‘I’m from Hialeah,’” she said. “I said, ‘OK, Perry, I’m done,’” Gibson said. Gibson left the conversation to go to the restroom. “I said, ‘Dude, did you say ‘niggers?’” Thurston recounted. “‘No, I said ‘niggas,’” which is different in his mind.” But not in Gibson’s and Thurston’s, they said."

“GOOD OLD BOY POLITICS”  4/3/2017 Black Viewpont, Jacksonville: "Community activists like Denise Hunt and Biko Saboteur resound the growing distrust of JSO held by many in the black community. They’ve been critical of police-involved shootings and JSO’s lack of transparency and accountability. The trust issue has been exacerbated by statistics that reveal an epidemic rate of JSO-involved shootings of unarmed African Americans. Just in the last six years, Jacksonville police officers have shot 54 people—40 of them black. Statistics like these led two community groups to file formal complaints with the Justice Department to investigate JSO for excessive use of force."

‘People Power’ comes to Miami  3/15/2017 Miami Times: "O’Brien and her friends — all Black females — were among thousands who jammed into the Watsco Center at the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables for resistance training, marking the beginning of a movement that the national American Civil Liberties Union dubs “People Power.”"

The State of Black Broward: Starting the Conversation  3/9/2017 West Side Gazette: "Last week: “The dismal statistics presented at the recent “State of Black Broward” conference: only eight of the county’s 90 judges are Black; Black motorists are stopped 1.9 times more than whites for seat belt violations; median household income is $74,000 for whites and $43,000 for Blacks; the unemployment rate last year was 4.4 percent but nine percent for Blacks; and, of the more than 800 firefighters in Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue, only 54 are Black. Combined with recent studies showing racial disparities in school suspensions and sentencing, there is but one conclusion: Broward has a race problem,” stated Clarence V. McKee, president, McKee Communications in an op-ed in the South Florida 100- Sun Sentinel Sunday March 5, 2017."

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER GALLON SALUTES THE ARTS VIA RECOGNITION OF CURRENT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ALUMNI INVOLVED THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED FILM ‘MOONLIGHT’  1/25/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "Miami-Dade County School Board Member Dr. Steve Gallon III will present an agenda item and resolution at the Board’s upcoming monthly meeting recognizing several current and former students who were involved in the critically-acclaimed film, ‘Moonlight’ that chronicles the life of a young Black male from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in Miami’s renowned Liberty City neighborhood."

Florida High School Students Stage Sit In To Demand African-American History Be Taught Year Round  1/12/2017 Vibe: "A student at Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Fla., organized a sit-in with about 10 other students in hopes officials will allow the African-American history elective be taught year round. Currently, students can take the class for a semester or half the year. Organizer Angelina Roque said the purpose of this protest was simply to get officials at the Duval County school to “make them hear us, make them see us [and] make them listen to us.”"

How Oscar Favorite ‘Moonlight’ Subtly Illuminates the Erasure of Miami’s Black Cubans  1/6/2017 Remezcla:  “Lotta black folks in Cuba but you wouldn’t know it from being here [in Miami].” Juan is referring to the fact that black Cubans tend to be invisible in Miami, and in the United States in general, their voices and experiences drowned out by the very vocal and largely white, anti-communist exile community."

BMe Community Giving Away Over A Quarter Million Dollars to Black Men Doing Positive Works in the Community  1/3/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "BMe Community wants to reward unsung "Black Men's Genius" in Miami. From now until February 21, black men who share their remarkable stories of creating opportunities for others will have a chance to become BMe Leaders."

IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company to Expand Annual Festival with Prestigious 2016 Knight Arts Challenge Grant  12/17/2016 Blogging Black Miami: "IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company, Miami’s premier Afro-Cuban cultural organization, has been awarded a prestigious 2016 Knight Arts Challenge grant in the amount of $20,000 to expand its one-of-a-kind annual Afro-Cuban dance festival. IFE-ILE is a two-time winner of the Knight Arts Challenge."

Making America Great Again? Miami homeowner refuses to remove racially-offensive Halloween display  10/31/2016 Blogging Black Miami: "A Halloween display of a mock hanging of two men in the gated Miami community of Three Lakes has caused quite a bit of controversy. A Trump-Pence campaign yard sign is also near the hanging dark-hued dummies dressed in urban-themed clothing. The yard sign is actually in the adjoining yard of a neighbor and exacerbates an already racially-sensitive situation. Donald Trump has encouraged violence against protestors at his presidential campaign rallies and his campaign is closely associated with white nationalists."

Dummies Lynched Next to a Trump Sign for Halloween in Kendall UPDATED  10/28/2016 Miami New Times: "Donald Trump and his campaign have repeatedly denied that their dog-whistle politics have enabled white supremacists, racists, or anti-Semites. Trump's supporters — especially the Republican politicians who support him — have found convenient ways to dance around the fact that some portion of Trump's base is, by all indications, motivated by racial hatred."

LIBERTY SQUARE: Power, History, & Race in Miami  10/25/2016 Liberty Square Rising, YouTube: "On January 29, 2015, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced that Liberty Square, one of the country’s oldest public housing developments would be “razed and redeveloped.” Built in 1937 during the New Deal and under Jim Crow, the development was the first segregated public housing in the United States, built to house black residents of Miami moving out of the crowded black community in downtown Miami know as Colored Town (now called Overtown)."

In 'Moonlight,' Growing Up Black, Gay And Poor In 1980s Miami  10/18/2016 NPR: "And he was struck by the ways in which the men in the story interact, "the gentleness and the kindness of the character Juan. And knowing that he was based on something in reality," says Jenkins. "When I jogged my memory, I thought back on growing up in the village, there were these men who would every now and then just go out of their way to be like, naw, naw, naw, don't do that. Leave that guy alone, or this or that. The men give each other dap, you know?"

Miami-Set ‘Moonlight’ is a Heartwrenching Exploration of Gay Black Masculinity With Echoes of Cuba  9/30/2016 Remezcla: "As he teaches Little about life, we learn that Juan is of Cuban descent – an Afro-Cuban character at the heart of a film concerned with what it means to a black man.'

Miami shooting: Man shot by cops was lying down with hands up, lawyer says  7/21/2016 CNN: ""I'm like, 'Sir, why did you shoot me?'" Kinsey said he asked the officer. "He said to me, 'I don't know.'""

Cop Kills Civilian During Act of Road Rage — Officer Not Arrested, Gets Vacation Instead  6/20/2016 Free Though Project: "A 22-year-old man was shot dead in Palm Bay, Florida, by an off-duty Brevard County Sheriff’s deputy in a fit of uncontrolled road rage late Sunday morning, marking the latest in incidents involving police coming unhinged and targeting civilians. Deputy Yousef Hafza, a veteran cop with 11 years in law enforcement, shot Clarence Mahogany X. Howard in an apparent case of road rage, though details about what took place remain murky, unnamed investigators told local ABC affiliate, WFTV 9."

Clarence Mahogany X Howard, 22  6/19/2016 EBWiki: "The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating after an off-duty Brevard County Sheriff's Office deputy fatally shot a 22-year-old man in an apparent road rage incident in the area of Emerson Drive and St. John's Heritage Parkway in Palm Bay."

Casi 60 arrestos en el primer día del festival urbano de Miami Beach  5/29/2016 Cibercuba: "No obstante, la Policía de Miami Beach percibe que hasta el momento esta fiesta espontánea que se inició el viernes y atrae a miles de personas a las calles de Miami Beach, en su mayoría afroamericanos, transcurre con normalidad y sin mayores incidentes."

On Memorial Day Weekend in Miami Beach, Black Tourists Are Second-Class Citizens  5/24/2016 Miami New Times: "The goal seems to be to rob African-Americans blind, lock up as many of them as possible, and occasionally use some for police target practice. (Remember the 2011 killing of Raymond Herisse, in which 12 officers fired more than a hundred rounds, four others were wounded, and no one was charged?) If Memorial Day weekend were treated like a convention coming to town, Miami Beach would get hotels to block off rooms and give visitors discounted rates. The city, the county, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and commercial airlines would kick in money to help support the event. Government officials would work with the event promoters to provide comped rooms to celebrity entertainers and comped ballrooms for panels and events. Meanwhile, in cities like New Orleans and Toronto, government officials are rolling out the red carpet for events that cater to a predominantly black clientele."

The McDuffie Riots  5/11/2016 Miami Times: "“If the jury was half Black and half white would there have been a riot?” Dunn asked the room at HistoryMiami museum last week. “It was the most difficult thing I have seen in 75 years. It was worse than the 1926 hurricane. The hurricane damaged property. This damaged souls.”"

Focus on the harsh realities of black Miami  4/13/2016 Miami Herald: Comment by Alberto Jones - "Visit the Latin American School of Medical Sciences in Havana and the Caribbean School of Medical Sciences in Santiago de Cuba, where thousands of students from over 100 countries are trained to become physicians, nurses, technologists etc., For Free!. The main task assigned to the Medical School in Santiago de Cuba, is to train students from Africa and the Caribbean, especially from Haiti where hundreds have received their degree, are working in Haiti and probably in your community and whose goal is to graduate 100 physicians per year for the next 20 years. Does anyone really believe that our kids in Opa Locka, Miami Gardens, Overtown, Cincinnati, Flint or Chicago are untrainable and born killers? Mr. Monestime, do not fear historical Cuba haters in the Local, State and the Federal Government, most of whom are descendent of former slave-drivers and perpetrators of most of the ills of blacks in Cuba. Be consequent with your duties, seek help for our youths killing each other and learn, why in Cuba, no black person, has been gunned down on the streets, in school, the workplace or in church since 1959."

Focus on the harsh realities of black Miami  4/13/2016 Miami Herald: "It is my hope that a coalition of willing parties is prepared to join us. If you want to be apprised of the details, I would invite you to review the expected video of the proceedings on my office’s web page and visit http://www.stateofblackmiami.org/ for updates."

State of Black Miami Forum delivers solutions for economic challenges  4/7/2016 Bizjournals: "At a time when South Florida’s economy is growing with new jobs and steadily higher incomes, a large segment of the black community has not shared in those benefits."

How an Orlando data scientist is helping #BlackLivesMatter make the case against police violence  3/23/2016 Orlando Weekly: "Using public records, online articles and crowdsourcing, Burghart found that in 2013, 1,271 people were killed during interactions with police. In 2014, that number increased to 1,295, and by 2015, it was 1,299. From 2008 to 2014, the average number of people killed by police was around 419 people per year, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. Why the discrepancy?"

16-Year-Old Suicidal Teen with Toy Gun Killed by Florida Police  3/23/2016 Atlanta Black Star: "A Black teen was killed Sunday night in Florida after calling police to say he was going to commit suicide. It took one hour for police to show up, and they shot and killed Robert Dentmond in front of his apartment building. Nine Gainesville Police Department officers and Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies shot at the 16-year-old in the parking lot, where bullets flew through the building and affected residents there, according to Fusion."

Remembering Miami Beach's Shameful History of Segregation and Racism  3/10/2016 Miami New Times: "Miamians like to think of themselves as a separate world from the Deep South, but the fact is Dade County has its own long and hideous history of discrimination — particularly in Miami Beach, where wealthy elites could enforce their biased whims."

Basta de criminalidad policíaca en el imperio yanki  2/23/2016 Fidelista Por Siempre: Video de la matanza de un hombre desarmado -- "¿Hasta cuándo? Y el presidente de ese criminal país pretende darnos lecciones de derechos humanos…., que descaro tiene ese hombre. Primero ocúpese de su policía, que en Cuba JAMAS la policía ha asesinado a uno de sus ciudadanos. Basta de criminalidad policíaca en el imperio yanki. COMPARTIR y mostrar al mundo a estos criminales disfrazados de una "gran" democrazy."

Black Miami police officers protest Beyoncé boycott  2/20/2016 ABC: "Do whatever is necessary" to put a stop to Ortiz's "antics" and "long pattern of irresponsible behavior," as he continues to portray African-Americans "in a negative light with thinly veiled racist overtones," Moore said in the letter."

#BlackLivesMatter ignores us, some mothers say  2/2/2016 Miami Times: "Marvin Dunn, a retired Florida International University psychology professor, understands that sentiment. He said other Black men cause more killings of young Black men, even though the police involved shootings trigger the large-scale protests that capture public attention. “I agree with these mothers. Far more Black lives are taken by other Blacks than are taken by the police,” Dunn said. “The tragedies of police shootings of Blacks is indeed a critical issue, but Black on Black violence is a far more serious problem. “If we want Black lives to matter to the police, they must matter even more to us.”

Tipping a Hat to H.T. Smith, a Rebel with a Cause, at the Gay8 Festival  1/13/2016 Miami Herald: "H.T. Smith is no stranger to discrimination. His long career of service has had him chair the Coalition for a Free South Africa — leading the charge to convince local governments and universities not to do business with companies that did business with apartheid South Africa — head a tourism boycott against Miami after local officials snubbed Nelson Mandela during his historic visit; champion the amendment that explicitly gives women and people born outside the U.S. equal legal protection; and co-chair the Miami-Dade Say No to Discrimination referendum, fighting for equal rights for all people regardless of their sexual orientation."

A Breakdown of the 71 People Killed by Police in Florida in 2015  1/7/2016 Miami New Times: "There are some notable findings for Miami-Dade: The county had by far the most police-involved deaths, with 15 last year. The county with the next highest number was Jacksonville, with just six. The Miami-Dade Police Department led the state in deaths, with seven tied to department officers, while the City of Miami was third, with three."

Black in Time: Neighborhood historic sites on hallowed grounds  1/6/2016 Miami Herald: "If you wish to learn about local history, explore the community on a self-guided tour. Begin with the sites below."

Why Angela Davis Came to Miami  12/23/2015 Observer: "That a famous Communist and vocal supporter of the Cuban Revolution was coming to Miami, a city not only defined by neoliberal excess, but also ruled by anti-Castro Cuban exiles, was in itself a spectacle to behold."

The Ocoee Massacre  11/5/2015 Weekly Challenger: "The siege of Ocoee claimed numerous African-American victims. Langmaid, an African-American carpenter was beaten and castrated. One mother, named Maggie Genlack, died with her pregnant daughter while hiding in her home, their bodies found partially burned under their home. Roosevelt Barton, an African-American hiding in July Perry’s barn, was shot after the mob set fire to the barn and forced him to flee. Hattie Smith was visiting her pregnant sister-in-law in Ocoee when her sister-in-law’s home was set on fire. Smith fled, but her sister-in-law’s family was killed while they hid and waited for help that would never come."

South Florida Black-owned media companies team up to address advertisers  10/29/2015 West Side Gazette: "For the first time, all of the top Black-owned media companies in South Florida have joined forces to show a united front and to prove to advertisers that doing business with them is more than worth it. The group members, nine media organizations, named themselves the Black Owned Media Alliance (BOMA) and put on their first symposium as a way to educate media buyers and advertisers. It was the first in a series of planned educational outreach in an attempt to get the respect shown to even smaller media companies that are non-Black."

Historic Boycott Miami forced long-overdue changes, proved the power of the black community  7/16/2015 Miami Herald: "Improvements for the African-American community directly and indirectly attributable to the boycott were both numerous and notable: court-ordered single-member districts for better representation of minorities, the creation of the Visitor Industry Council to expand African-American participation in the county's tourism industry, scholarships for black students to attend Florida International University's hospitality program, an investigation of Haitian protesters' treatment by police during a rally in July 1990, and the establishment of a black-owned, convention-quality hotel in the Miami Beach area." [No critical discussion here. The hotel was sold for 127 MM, how did that benefit the community?]

Overtown Rising: Gentrification and the Fight to Thrive  7/8/2015 Dream Defenders: "Enter: Overtown. A neighborhood once home to some of the most well-to-do black folks and businesses in the country. Today it has vastly changed from the historic place it once was.[5] Homelessness, drugs, dilapidated housing, poor schools, and increased crime have taken over with many to blame: the dirty politicians who only worry about themselves, the federal housing policies that target vulnerable communities of color, and the local residents who have been misinformed."

The Counted: the definitive map of US police killings in 2015  6/4/2015 Guardian 

Fla. Prosecutors Drop More Than 36 Cases Linked to Racist Cops  4/11/2015 The Root: "The Broward County State Attorney’s Office has abandoned more than three dozen criminal cases connected to four former Fort Lauderdale police officers entangled in a racism scandal."

Post-racial Miami: Black federal judge mistaken for "the Help" by white political candidate  4/6/2015 Blogging Black Miami: "Surely Bay Harbor Islands Town Council candidate Ken Eskin wishes he’d never ever uttered the words “What family do you work for?” when he encountered Marcia Cooke in the condo parking lot, as she placed items in her car and he distributed campaign materials. Eskin, who is white, assumed Cooke, who is black, was the help. Cooke has lived in the area for twenty years and has been a federal judge for 11 years. "

Florida Lynched More Black People Per Capita Than Any Other State, According to Report  2/11/2015 New Times: ""Many people are under the wrong impression that the majority of lynchings were black males assaulting white females, but most were because black men and women were accused of stealing," University of Florida professor Jack Davis, who has written about Florida lynchings, tells New Times."

Black Cubans: Restoring US Ties Is Cool, but America, Keep Your Hang-Ups About Race at Bay  1/21/2015 The Root: "Elia Espuet: Yes—I’m inclined to believe that as relations with Cuba and the United States go forward, the rich white Cubans will marginalize the black Cubans on the island. Unfortunately, I don’t see things becoming better for black Cubans."

Study: White Floridians Are Pretty Racist  12/10/2014 Miami New Times: "Florida scored a 0.436 (1 would represent totally racist, 0 would be totally not racist). Granted, that's slightly less racist than the stretch of deep south state from Louisiana to South Carolina just above us, but its nothing to be proud of. We're more racist than Texas! "

Anniversary recalls Congo rescue by Miami Cubans  11/15/2014 Miami Herald: "Fifty years ago, a group of Cuban exiles working for the CIA rescued American hostages amid fierce firefights in the Congo. Sunday, some of the surviving warriors and hostages will reunite in Miami."

Univision Fires Host Rodner Figueroa for Comparing Michelle Obama to Planet of the Apes  11/12/2014 Miami New Times: "Rodner Figueroa, best known for hosting the entertainment and gossip show Sal y Pimienta, was guesting on another show, El Gordo y la Flaca, yesterday when he compared First Lady Michelle's appearance to that of the cast of Planet of the Apes."

Q&A with Eric Knowles, president of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce  8/10/2014 Miami Herald: "A new building, a master plan for the county’s urban core, and making the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce relevant to young black professionals are among the goals of G. Eric Knowles, who now leads the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce."

Black Miami – The History You Never Learned  3/9/2014 World or Bust: "I decided to write this post as many people in Miami (or elsewhere) have no idea how the Magic City came about, especially in regards to its black populations who were the real catalysts for settlement and growth."

The Decline of Cuban Power in Miami  2/27/2014 Miami New Times: "If you don't know that, you don't know where you're living." Miami is where it is today, he added, "because of the Cubans who came here." Those comments prompted this response from Commissioner Dennis Moss: "That's part of what's wrong with Miami-Dade County. We're not about fairness. We're about power and money." Moss also noted, "Black folks built this community. To simply say that, well, Latins came to this town and all of a sudden this town is what it is — I resent that. My ancestors were helping build this county while other people were other places."

MLK Day celebration features history author  1/24/2014 Suncoast News: "The headliner was Marvin Dunn of Miami, whose book “The Beast in Florida: a History of Anti-Black Violence” is going for more than $100 on eBay and Amazon. The book, published in the spring of 2013 by the University Press of Florida, only had one printing, so copies are hard to come by. Dunn stayed afterward to sign those brought to the event."

How Miami's Shrewd Black Leadership Turned The Mandela Snub To Local Advantage  12/5/2013 WLRN: ""South Florida, meanwhile, was getting some hard facts about its tourism industry. Basically, it was discovering that while black travelers and conventions were a mainstay of Miami tourism, the industry had few ownership, management or even employment opportunities for African-Americans. 'We needed something to get national support. We were looking for something to ignite a movement.' Twenty percent of the conventions that had come to Miami the year before Mandela arrived were black, recalls H. T. Smith, a lawyer with deep Miami roots. It was a market segment worth hundreds of millions of dollars and local blacks couldn't even get hired as waiters or bartenders, he said."

Afro Cuban Relations with Florida  11/16/2013 Havana Times: "Can anyone imagine Jazz, professional baseball, Latin American and Caribbean literature, without Afro American and Afro Cuban close collaboration?"

Does Miami Beach Need A Reality Check On Racism?  5/29/2013 WLRN, Miami: "Once you actually broke through traffic surrounding the neighborhood, the South Beach streets themselves were largely quiet and un-trafficked, due to all the road closures. Even foot traffic was restricted, as barricades lined all major avenues. Officers from various departments and private security guards stood guard on practically every corner, sometimes even outnumbering weekend revelers. Paddy wagons were parked in highly-visible locations, as police towers hovered over the mostly uneventful scene below."

Owning the Revolution: Race, Revolution, and Politics from Havana to Miami, 1959–1963  6/1/2012 eScholarship 

The Black Miami: Black Influence in South Florida from the 1800s to the '80s Riots  5/24/2012 Miami New Times: "Carlton Smith: I met another producer, Michael Williams, through work, and we had talked about doing side projects together -- particularly, we wanted to do a documentary. He had been reading this book, Black Miami in the 20th Century, and he said it would make a really great documentary. I read the book myself, at which point we decided to take it on as a documentary project. We called the author of the book, Dr. Dunn, who lives in Florida and is a retired professor from FIU. We said that if he was on board, we would definitely do it. He joined us as an interviewee and an associate producer, which was a win-win."

The Black Miami: Black Influence in South Florida from the 1800s to the '80s Riots  5/24/2012 Miami New Times: "That's why the new documentary The Black Miami has piqued our interest. Based on Dr. Marvin Dunn's book, Black Miami in the 20th Century, the film describes the history and significance of blacks in South Florida. Regardless of your background, you're sure to be captivated by the stories of The Black Miami, many of which you've likely never heard."

Déjà Vu 2002 in Florida  2/17/2012 Huffington Post: "Florida's Republican governor and GOP-led legislature are attempting to retain a stranglehold on state government and cement their control in Tallahassee for another decade. Déjà vu 2002. Just like in 2002, the GOP is ignoring the will of the people. Voters in 2010 overwhelmingly approved the Fair Districts amendments with 63 percent of the vote in a clear demand for a different process -- one free from incumbent protection and partisan advantage."

Parsing the Memorial Day shooting in South Beach  6/5/2011 Beached Miami: "They do not report where they found the gun — on the “floorboard behind driver’s seat,” according to David Smiley, the Herald reporter covering the story — until Saturday afternoon. The delay here is odd since a lot of people immediately speculated that the police had fired more than 100 rounds at an unarmed black man, and this speculation reportedly worried the Head Honcho. In one of his articles, Smiley said Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega was “concerned about the publicity surrounding the shooting” and that he “called the gun’s discovery ‘great news.’”

Miami's Spate of Cop Shootings of Black Men  3/25/2011 Color Lines: "The black men were all killed by Latino police officers, the New York Times reported."

Miami's Continuing Color Problem  12/14/2010 The Root: "There were too many police shootings of unarmed black men in Miami for my taste, and in the prior decade, one of the most notorious police shootings had led to violent riots. There was not a visible black middle-class community, although middle-class blacks were scattered about, but there were plenty of visibly poor and badly deteriorated black neighborhoods. African Americans were mostly politically marginalized and had even less economic power. Cuban Americans -- many of them fair-skinned "white" conservative Republicans, uninterested in power sharing -- were politically ascendant. (Afro-Cubans and other Afro-Latinos, for the most part, blended into the African-American community.) Non-Hispanic white residents were fleeing Dade County and heading to whiter suburbs in northern counties."

Miami Shootings Stoke Racial Tensions  8/30/2010 NPR Jacksonville FL: "Since July, the city of Miami has experienced four fatal police shootings of African-American men. While law enforcement has defended the shootings, community activists question what they say is the excessive use of lethal force. Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito says the four incidents, while unfortunate, do not represent an significant uptick in police shootings."

Dengue Fever Outbreak Leads Back to CIA & Army Experiments  7/17/2010 Voltaire Net: "As early as the 1950s, the army’s Fort Detrick in partnership with the CIA launched a multi-million dollar research program under which dengue fever and several addition exotic diseases were studied for use in offensive biological warfare attacks. Indeed, as several CIA documents, as well as the findings of a 1975 Congressional committee reveal that 3 sites in Florida, Key West, Panama City, and Avon Park, as well as 2 other locations in central Florida, were used for experiments with mosquito borne dengue fever and other biological substances. The experiments in Avon Park, about 170 miles from Miami, were covertly conducted in a low-income African American neighborhood that contained several newly constructed public housing projects. CIA documents related to Project MK/NAOMI clearly indicate that the mosquitoes used in Avon Park were the Aedes aegypti type. Interestingly, at the same time experiments were conducted in Florida there were at least two cases of dengue fever reported among civilian researchers at Fort Detrick in Maryland. Avon Park residents still living in the area say that the experiments resulted in “at least 6 or 7 deaths"."

Inner-City Garden Plants New Hope in Miami Neighborhood  3/9/2010 VOA: "As a university professor in Miami, Florida, Marvin Dunn launched an inner-city garden to give his students an outlet for volunteer activity. Now his vision has grown into a year-round urban farm that produces scores of vegetables and fruits. Marvin Dunn grew up in Overtown, a historical black neighborhood in Miami. He knows it once saw brighter days. "Overtown was a popular, healthy, wonderful place to live," said Marvin Dunn. "There was no unemployment here. And then over the years the community declined."

Only in Miami: Omara Portuondo Compared to the Ku Klux Klan  2/13/2010 Cuba Now: 'It seems that Mr. Prieres’ “school of thinking” does not admit that a Cuban figure as Omara Portuondo can freely sing in the United States. I guess that Mr. Prieres’ “environment” excludes the over 11 million Cubans living on the island. It seems to be an institution of poor education and thinking. According to Miami New Times magazine, the organization Vigilia Mambisa declared that Omara “is accomplice of the regime,” and anti-Cuban activist Emilio Izquierdo Jr. made this incredible comparison: “Brinign Omara Portuondo to Miami is like taking the Ku Klux Klan to Liberty City”. Perhaps Izquierdo does not know, or means nothing for him, but the Ku Klux Klan is a racist, terrorist organization founded in the US to kill, torture, or intimidate black, Jewish or other groups, including Catholics, peace activists, and unionists. Omara Portuondo is a Cuban woman of mixed race with unique voice and international prestige resulting from her huge talent. Comparing her to the Ku Klux Klan is like comparing Luis Posada Carriles to Bola de Nieve."

Apartheid protesters got it right  9/20/2009 Miami Herald: [Another fine example of the Miami Mafia debasing imagery from the Black struggle.]

Invoking MLK and Rosa Parks in Cuban Exile Politics  5/30/2009 AfroCubaWeb: "The Miami Mafia has supported Antúnez' struggle, as have Ibero Spanish politicians in countries such as Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Argentina, as well as the Pope, who asked for his release when he was incarcerated. Antúnez has been adopted by the Miami based Directorio Democrático Cubano (DDC), which is supported by USAID and NED - they provided 89% of its budget in 2002. The 3 leaders of the Directorio are Javier de Céspedes, Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, and his wife Janisset Rivero Gutiérrez, who according to the Cuban press are veterans of numerous terrorist and far right campaigns against Cuba. Gutiérrez was a leader of the terrorist/freedom fighter group Organización para la Liberación de Cuba and a supporter of the death squad related ARENA in El Salvador."

Black Vs. White - Miami Remains The Same  5/27/2009 Miami New Times: "As much as I hate it when politicians play the race card when they are facing possible criminal charges, I can't just dismiss it either in the case of Spence-Jones. After all, Sarnoff is the city's only Anglo commissioner and Arriola is one of the most prominent Anglo Cuban Americans in Miami. Together they initiated a criminal probe into the city's only black, and only female, commissioner."

End of the Diaz-Balart Dynasty  10/23/2008 Miami New Times: "The conduct of Raul Martinez. After years of embarrassing our community through corruption and scandal, using public office to become a millionaire, convictions for bribery and extortion, Martinez is featured in the investigative documentary Cocaine Cowboys, about drug trafficking in South Florida. Now Raul Martinez wants to take his corruption to Washington. We have to stop corruption. Say no to Raul Martinez."

Diaz-Balart Meets with Colombian Defense Minister, Urges Free Trade Agreemen  7/23/2008 Mario Diaz Balart: "“The United States Congress must stand in solidarity with President Alvaro Uribe and his democratically elected government,” said Diaz-Balart."

Police arrests Miami students for peaceful protest  3/7/2008 Party for Socialism and Liberation: "Miami Edison High School is 90 percent Black—a high percentage of students are Haitian and Haitian-American—and 9 percent Latino. Sixty percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, attesting to the student body’s primarily working class background."

Miami students protest police invasion of their school  3/5/2008 SF Bay View: "Monday morning 300 students boycotted attending Miami's Edison Senior High, the first school day after police brutally beat and arrested masses of students on Friday. The mostly Black and largely Haitian-American youth are organizing to demand the arrest of Assistant Principal Perez for assault on a student, the dropping of all charges against the students arrested Friday, no retaliation against students and the institution of restorative justice as a problem solving model, instead of arresting more young people in the future. This level of organizing is unprecedented and deserves community support."

Students Protest and Police Riot- Edison Sr. High School  2/29/2008 Take Back the Land: "The mostly black and largely Haitian-American Miami Edison students organized a protest this morning at the school courtyard. According to all accounts, the protest was peaceful, possibly including civil disobedience (Miami Herald: "The incident apparently began as a peaceful protest, according to a teacher inside the school, but got out of hand." CBS4: "The student said police were called to the school to respond to the protest, and when students objected a scuffle broke out, escalating quickly into an all out fight between students and officers."). Police were called in to break up the protest and when the students refused- exercising their right to protest- school and city of Miami police attacked them and the students defended themselves against attacks by police."

Miami Protesters Say: Jail Killer Cops!”  12/1/2007 Socialist Action: "Rage over the deaths of four unarmed Black men by Miami cops over a 19-day period has sparked angry protests against police brutality. The rash of deaths began on Oct. 25 when a young Haitian man, Gracia "BG" Beaugris, was shot three times while walking home with his father's laundry. While Miami officials promise an investigation, the state attorney's office has not convicted a single cop involved in the death of an African American in 20 years, despite many such cases. No indictments in the recent deaths have been filed."

The Arthur McDuffie Riots of 1980  8/12/2007 Miami Beach 411: "The Miami race riots (also known as the Arthur McDuffie Riots) of May 1980 were the first major race riots after the end of the civil rights movement. The Miami Black community, long abused and neglected by civic leaders who, among other things, placed I-95 straight through the cultural center of their neighborhoods, was getting angrier by the day. Recently arrived Latin and Haitian immigrants were taking jobs and social benefits that had traditionally belonged to Blacks. Cuban refugees wielding money and power were beginning to take control of the city, and as such were awarding minority contracts and jobs to Cubans instead of African-Americans. This, combined with the continuous poverty and degradation of their neighborhoods, had Miami’s Black community ready to snap."

Exiled Cuban Pilots Remember the Congo War  7/29/2007 NBC: "More than one hundred pilots did tours with the secret air force. Most were recruited in Miami, and despite being bitter about the defeat at the Bay of Pigs, the CIA was able to find plenty of exile pilots willing to take another shot at Fidel Castro. This time they won."

Miami’s Royal Palm Sells For $127.5m  2/1/2005 Black Enterprise: "The Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort, a black-owned luxury Miami hotel, is changing hands now that developer R. Donahue Peebles has agreed to sell it to The Falor Co. for $127.5 million. Peebles stands to make a hefty profit, as he reportedly spent $84 million to acquire the 417-room, oceanfront resort, which opened in 2002. His company, Peebles Atlantic Development Corp. (No. 42 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/ SERVICE 100 list with $82 million in sales), was named the BLACK ENTERPRISE Company of the Year in 2004. Peebles’ acquisition of the Royal Palm was a high-profile venture because its sale to an African American developer was a concession by Miami Beach to end a three-year tourism boycott." [Sold to a white developer.]

Questions over felon `purge list' threaten Florida governor  7/4/2004 Knight Ridder: "As thousands of Floridians learn that a state list could wrongly bar them from voting, Democrats have found a rallying point for the November elections and proof, they say, of long-held suspicions that Gov. Jeb Bush's elections machinery is rigged against them. More than 2,100 people, many of them black Democrats, remain on the list of potentially ineligible ex-con voters despite winning clemency - and the right to vote - after their crimes, The Miami Herald reported Friday. Democrats and activists call it a "purge list" - a phrase that deeply irks the governor."

Miami Mayor to Apologize for 'Mandela Moment'  7/12/2003 Fox News: "Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas (search) said Monday he would make an official apology to former South African president Nelson Mandela (search) next week. "If Mandela were in Miami today, I think he would receive an official welcome." Penelas said. Thirteen years ago, that was not the case. In June 1990, Miami's politically powerful Cuban exile community protested a visit by Mandela, newly released from a South African prison, for his praise of Fidel Castro (search), arch-enemy of Cuban exiles but friend of the anti-apartheid movement. Despite pleas by local African-American leaders, the cities of Miami and Miami Beach, along with Miami-Dade Country, refused to recognize Mandela when he visited the area for a labor conference. The Miami City Commission rescinded a proclamation honoring Mandela. Tourists angry at the Mandela snub launched a boycott that cost the city $25 million in lost revenue. Business leaders helped end the boycott in 1993, but tensions continued in the 1990s between blacks and Cubans after several incidents where Miami police roughed up Haitians."

Trial to begin for 11 Miami officers  1/6/2003 Boston Globe: "Based on information from two retired officers who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in September 2001, 11 other officers were indicted on federal corruption charges alleging coverups in four police shootings in which three men were killed… ''The history of Miami has been characterized by ugly police-community relations,'' said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. ''There is a loss of confidence, if not outright hostility, by the minority community because of the great number of shootings of typically unarmed black young men.'' …The four Miami shootings involved the killings of three black men. A fourth man was wounded, and another man involved in the shooting was not harmed."

Miami Beach: Black-owned hotel ends boycott, begins hope  5/18/2002 Houston Chronicle: "The former Washington resident, who built his business developing commercial office space, swooped into Miami Beach in 1996, bought a dilapidated hotel and won a municipal bid to build another in an adjacent oceanfront lot. The venture was at the center of a settlement between activists, city officials and lodging executives ending a three-year black tourism boycott of South Florida. It cast Peebles as the nation's first African-American to develop and own a major convention-resort hotel… The hotel will be able to draw a good chunk of the black tourism market, worth $36 billion last year, according to industry watchers. It is sold out for Memorial Day weekend, booked the Black Film Festival in June and an NAACP conference next year, marketing director Velton Showell said."

Afro-Cuban Delegation Meets With Congressional Black Caucus  8/1/2001 CNS News: "A delegation of Afro-Cubans, four from the Miami area and two from the Washington, D.C. area, spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, hoping to convince them that Fidel Castro is bad for Cuba and should improve his human rights record there. Omar Lopez Montenegro of the Cuban Civic National Union was among the delegation. He was told by the Castro government to leave Cuba several years ago and has lived in the United States ever since."

Black and Cuban-American: Bias in 2 Worlds  9/13/1997 NYT: "And they remain virtually invisible in the Miami power structure -- there are no black Cuban-American elected officials, no leaders of a major exile group and no major academic studies documenting their migration -- even though they are more representative of an island where half or more of the population is now estimated to be black and mulatto."

Black, Cuban Racial Chasm Splits Miami  3/23/1997 LA Times: "We are very much on edge here, and it's getting worse because of the constant elimination of African Americans from jobs and political offices," warned Nathaniel J. Wilcox, executive director of a civil rights group called People United to Lead the Struggle for Equality, or PULSE. "They are becoming the oppressor."

Miami Police Officer Is Acquitted In Racially Charged Slaying Case  5/29/1993 NYT: "In a decision met with anger and dismay among blacks in Miami, a Hispanic police officer who was convicted there in 1989 on two counts of manslaughter in the shooting deaths of two young black men was acquitted today in a second trial on the same charges. William Lozano, the 33-year-old, Colombian-born police officer who has been the focal point of the most racially charged case in Florida in the last decade, threw his arms up in joy and embraced his lawyers when the verdict was announced late this afternoon. But relatives of the men he killed broke into tears and left the courtroom of Judge W. Thomas Spencer, saying they were at a loss to explain the decision of the six-member jury."

Miami Journal; Boycott Over Visit Of Mandela Lives On  7/13/1991 NYT: "The City Commission rescinded a proclamation welcoming Mr. Mandela, and Mayor Xavier Suarez and four other mayors from the region openly criticized Mr. Mandela for not denouncing human rights violations in Cuba. Miami's blacks, who make up about 21 percent of the city's 359,000 residents, took that as a snub of royal proportions, an insult added to decades of economic, social and political injury. In response, on July 17, 1990, a small group of the city's black leaders began an economic boycott against the tourism industry, arguably the region's most important business. Now almost a year old, the boycott continues, and organizers recently declared their intention to turn up the heat a bit by sending out videotaped messages highly critical of Miami to organizations around the country likely to hold conventions or refer people to the area. The videos will urge them to keep their convention and vacation business away. Giant cruise ships still glide silently through Biscayne Bay and rental cars still seem to take up more than two-thirds of every parking lot, but the boycott has taken its toll. A spokesman for the boycott group, H. T. Smith, a lawyer, estimated that the campaign has cost the area $27 million in convention business. Officials from the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau estimate that of more than $200 million in convention business annually, about 19 conventions or meetings worth about $8 million have been canceled." [The real number was likely far higher.]

Miami Racial Tensions Fester  12/31/1982 WaPo: ""Leave these Latins get out of here, right now," shouted a local black leader, the Rev. Jonathan Rolle, in a television interview Wednesday night. "The Latin police, they just ride around in their cars, and they never get out," he said today in a telephone conversation. ". . . . The Latins are the ones who are killing the blacks." Archie Hardwick of the James E. Scott Community Association charged that the federal government, in its eagerness to help emigrants from Fidel Castro's Cuba, funneled money and energy into resettlement efforts that shortchanged other, black-oriented programs then getting under way in the Great Society years."
   

Black Floridians' Burden: the Cuban Invasion

In 1959, "white" Cubans started emigrating to Miami on a massive scale and pushed aside the then thriving Black American and Bahamian communities, who many still remember had built Miami. Black jobs and neighborhoods were taken over by the federally financed refugees while Blacks were relegated to Overtown, Liberty City, and Opa-Locka, among others.  Until then Overtown in particular had a rich history and was called the Harlem of the South, it is no longer, though that is likely due to the Feds passing I-95 through there. Overall, there should be a good reparations case against the Federal Government for this ethnic cleansing that started only 60 years ago.

Cubans coming to Miami continued to be mostly of Ibero-Spanish origin until Mariel in 1980 and the balseros who followed. Even then, many Black Cubans blended in with Black Americans or moved to New Jersey and New York, rejected by their white Cuban counterparts. This was recently referenced in the Academy Award winning film, Moonlight: “Lotta black folks in Cuba but you wouldn’t know it from being here [in Miami].” (How Oscar Favorite ‘Moonlight’ Subtly Illuminates the Erasure of Miami’s Black Cubans  1/6/2017 Remezcla). This same article references a 2016 book, Miami’s Forgotten Cubans  by Alan A. Aja, which is one of the few studies of AfroCubans in Miami.

From the start of the Cuban invasion, the two wealthiest and most important Cuban American families, the Bacardis and the Fanjuls, who own Domino Sugar, funded terrorist groups such as Alpha 66 that attacked Cuba repeatedly and killed over 3,000 civilians. They form the exiled plantocracy, complete with their stable of politicians: the Diaz Balarts, Ileana Ross Lehtinen, Marco Rubio and their cohorts.

Throughout this process, many Black Americans were killed every year by Florida police, whose officers were increasingly Cuban Americans or Latinos.

In 1990, the Miami City Commission rescinded a proclamation welcoming Nelson Mandela to the city during his tour of the U.S. after his release from prison in South Africa. The city's Cuban-American mayor and four other Cuban-American mayors from the area publicly criticized Mandela for not denouncing human rights violations in Cuba. Of course they ignored the fact that Mandela was out of jail because of the Cuban victory in Southern Africa. The response from Black Miami, then 21% of Miami's 359,000 inhabitants, was swift: they declared a national boycott that cost Miami anywhere from $40 million to $3 billion in lost revenue and forced a settlement 3 years later.

As more and more balseros or raft people poured in from Cuba throughout the 90's, US intel agencies took notice that many were Black and sent out memos to their Cuban American client organizations to start integrating Black Cubans in a classic imperial divide and conquer approach. CIA agent Jose Basulto took the lead and trained his people in nonviolent protests at the Martin Luther King Institute (Invoking MLK and Rosa Parks in Cuban Exile Politics  5/30/2009). Having devastated Black Miami, the exiled Cuban plantocracy appropriated US Civil Rights icons in their struggle to regain influence over the now largely Black homeland. The exiles are using race as their main wedge issue to try and destabilize Cuba, and we have been tracking this since at least 2001.

These facts are not in dispute. The real question is why this whole process, especially the ethnic cleansing of Miami, has been so ignored, both in Cuba and the US, and what can be done about that. This ignoring has already caused problems by making the Cuban rap and hip-hop community vulnerable to persuasion and money from Miami, USAID, and NED, leading to needles state repression.

-- Andy Petit

The White Man's Burden (1899)
Rudyard Kipling

Take up the White Man's burden,
Send forth the best ye breed
Go bind your sons to exile,
to serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half-devil and half-child.

La carga de los floridanos negros: la invasión cubana

En 1959, muchos cubanos "blancos" comenzaron a emigrar a Miami y dejaron de lado a las entonces prósperas comunidades afroamericanas y bahameñas, que se acuerdan bien como habían construido a Miami. Los negros y sus barrios fueron asumidos por los refugiados financiados por el gobierno federal, mientras que los negros fueron relegados a Overtown, Liberty City y Opa-Locka, entre otros. Overtown en particular tiene una historia rica y fue llamado el Harlem del Sur, pero no lo es ahora, aunque esto es mas la culpa del gobierno federal directamente, que paso la autopista I-95 en medio del barrio.  Pero en general, debe haber un buen caso de reparaciones con el gobierno federal por esta limpieza étnica que comenzó hace solo 60 años.

Los cubanos que vinieron a Miami siguieron siendo en gran parte de origen ibero-español hasta la onda de Mariel en 1980 y los balseros que siguieron. Incluso entonces, muchos cubanos negros se mezclaron con negros americanos o se mudaron a Nueva Jersey y Nueva York, rechazados por sus homólogos cubanos blancos. Esto fue recientemente mencionado en la película ganadora del Premio de la Academia, Moonlight: "Mucha gente negra en Cuba, pero no lo sabrías por estar aquí [en Miami]." (How Oscar Favorite ‘Moonlight’ Subtly Illuminates the Erasure of Miami’s Black Cubans  1/6/2017 Remezcla). Este mismo artículo hace referencia a un libro de 2016, Miami's Forgotten Cubans de Alan A. Aja, que es uno de los pocos estudios de los AfroCubanos en Miami.

Desde el comienzo de la invasión cubana, las dos familias cubano-americanas más ricas e importantes, los Bacardis y los Fanjuls, propietarios de Domino Sugar, financiaron grupos terroristas como Alpha 66 que atacaron a Cuba y mataron a más de 3.000 civiles. Ellos forman la plantocracia en el exilio, con su conjunto de políticos: los Diaz Balarts, Ileana Ross Lehtinen, Marco Rubio y sus cohortes.

A lo largo de este proceso, muchos estadounidenses negros fueron asesinados cada año por la policía de la Florida, cuyos oficiales eran cada vez más cubano-americanos o latinos.

En 1990, la Comisión de la Ciudad de Miami rescindió una proclama dando la bienvenida a Nelson Mandela a la ciudad durante su gira por los Estados Unidos después de su liberación de la prisión en Sudáfrica. El alcalde cubano-americano de Miami y otros cuatro alcaldes cubano-americanos de la zona criticaron públicamente a Mandela por no denunciar las violaciones de los derechos humanos en Cuba. Por supuesto, ignoraron el hecho de que Mandela estaba fuera de la cárcel debido a la victoria cubana en el sur de África. La respuesta de Black Miami, entonces el 21% de los 359.000 habitantes de Miami, fue rápida: declararon un boicot nacional que costó a Miami de $40 millones a $3 mil milliones en ingresos perdidos y obligó a un acuerdo 3 años después.

A medida que más y más balseros llegaban de Cuba a lo largo de los años 90, las agencias de inteligencia estadounidenses advirtieron que muchos eran negros y enviaron memorandos a sus organizaciones clientelares cubanas para comenzar a integrar a los cubanos negros en una clásica división imperial. El agente de la CIA, José Basulto, tomó la iniciativa y entrenó a su gente en protestas no violentas en el Instituto Martin Luther King (Invoking MLK and Rosa Parks in Cuban Exile Politics  5/30/2009). Después de haber devastado a Black Miami, la plantocracia cubana exiliada se apropió de los iconos de los Derechos Civiles de los Estados Unidos en su lucha por recuperar la influencia sobre su patria hoy en gran parte negra. Los exiliados están utilizando la raza como su principal problema para tratar de desestabilizar a Cuba, y hemos estado rastreando esto desde al menos 2001.

Estos hechos no están en disputa. La verdadera pregunta es por qué todo este proceso ha sido tan ignorado, tanto en Cuba como en los Estados Unidos, y qué se puede hacer al respecto. Esta ignorancia intencional ya ha causado problemas al hacer que la comunidad de rap y hip-hop cubana sea vulnerable a la persuasión y el dinero de Miami, USAID y NED, lo que lleva a una represión estatal innecesaria.

-- Andy Petit

Excerpt from Back to the Future: African-Americans and Cuba in the Time(s) of Race  12/2/2011 
Contributions in Black Studies: published in 1994, by Lisa Brock

IDEOLOGY, RACE AND CURRENT DISCOURSE, Lisa Brock 1994

While there has been substantial scholarship on the U.S. domination of Cuba, projects devoted to uncovering the historical connections between African-Americans and Cuba have been minimal. Aside from Willard Gatewood's several volumes, Johnnetta Cole's short 1977 article on African-American solidarity with Cuba, and Rosemari Mealy's 1992 collection of testimonials on Fidel and Malcolm, there is little else.  In fact, given African-American sentiments concerning the Cuban-American community today, it is difficult for one to believe that any feelings of closeness ever existed.

African-Americans under age forty - like their peers - have come to know Cubans through the opinions and activities of Cuban emigres in Miami. Enraged at the revolution, the latter have been promoted and given political clout by successive U.S. administrations and the national media. Unlike previous Cuban-American populations, Cubans in Florida are largely White and drawn from Cuba's pre-revolutionary elite. Implicated in police brutality and overtly racist politics, they have attained dispropor- tionate power in Florida. 4 Police shootings have incited Blacks in Miami to riot in the section known as Liberty City. The differential treatment of Haitian and Cuban emigres has prompted persistent demonstrations. Haitians, when not turned back, are held for months in detention camps while Cubans often attain political asylum within twenty- four hours.

Tensions peaked in 1990 when Miami mayor Xavier Suarez, a Cuban- American, became the only United States official to refuse to greet African National Congress head Nelson Mandela-whose organization was known for its ties to Cuba- when he visited that city. Mandela had been invited to attend the national convention of the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees, a trade union long active in the anti-apartheid struggle. Mayor Suarez' position so angered the trade unionists and Black residents of Miami that they called for a convention boycott of Miami. The boycott was effectively sustained for three years and called off only when the city's politicians negotiated a deal with prominent Blacks for greater Black empowerment. In addition, the rightist Cuban American National Foundation, through its ties to the Heritage Foundation, became known for its support of right-wing contra wars in southern Africa.

Many African-Americans have only known Cuba through such experiences, creating for them a somewhat muddled assumption that all Cubans are fascist and racist. The 1989 publication of Carlos Moore's Castro, the Blacks and Africa, added fuel to this fire by attacking Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution as consciously racist. A few prominent African-Americans such as Maya Angelou and St. Clair Drake endorsed the book, which boosted readership in the Black community. Even though Moore's book was of poor scholarship and based more on hearsay than in-depth analysis, to it kneaded an already ethnically and ideologically charged situation. But more importantly, the work has served to whittle away at some of the support base of the Cuban revolution in the Black community. Paradoxically, it has served to relocate some African-Americans to the counter-revolutionary side of the U.S. government on the one hand, and on the other, bolstered the Congressional Black Caucus in its call for an end to the blockade. The CBC has argued that only an end to the United States blockade can better the lives of Black Cubans.

Links/Enlaces

Florida

Police Killings in Florida

The 1923 Rosewood Massacre

South Florida Black Journalists Association

Visit Florida  Where to Learn About Florida's Black History

History of Florida/Modern Florida, 1900-1945, WikiBooks

Miami

Dr Marvin Dunn, historian, organizer

www.bloggingblackmiami.com/

www.facebook.com/thenewblackmiami

zipatlas.com/us/fl/miami/zip-code-comparison/percentage-black-population.htm

Black History In Early Miami

www.facebook.com/thenewblackmiami

History of Overtown

Liberty Square Rising
www.youtube.com/channel/UCA35_jPnej5Sy0cbaKU5CnA/videos

Look Back at Miami’s Vibrant African American and Caribbean Heritage, Miami and Beaches

www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/black_history/

www.bahlt.org
Black Archives, Miami

The Bahamian Influence on the South Florida Shotgun House, Kisla Foundation
"If the family represents the soul of the community, then the house is the soul's vessel. In West African culture, religious rituals made clear the belief that the traditional clay artifact – the home – contained the soul of the ancestors. In many ways, the simple nature of the shotgun houses – long, straight and narrow – found in Miami and other southern cities, affirms the lives of intimacy that the Bahamian builders' West African ancestors led. The structure of the shotgun house is illustrative of cultures where concepts of personal space suggest a closeness among family members that was uncommon in Western societies."

Miami, 1959 - 1980, USC

Miami History, Soul of America

"The federal government designated Miami to be the point of embarkation and assistance for Cuban immigrants. To use a chess metaphor it was a “Queen” in the Cold War Cuba Policy directed at Russia. Towards America’s Cold War objective, the U.S. government awarded 50 times the amount of business loans and grants to immigrant Cuban businesspersons than to black Miamians in the 1960s. The federal government also persuaded Miami, Dade County and Florida officials to award public service jobs and more home loans to Cuban immigrants. As a result, U.S. government leaders could parade successful Cuban immigrants to Latin America as an example that Democratic-Capitalism works better than Communist-Dictatorship.

Anglo-Americans could own businesses and live anywhere in South Florida. Like the rest of America, many chose new suburban communities with larger homes, new malls and jobs nearby. New freeways to suburban communities were built. The first purpose of the Interstate Highway System was to easily transport military equipment and forces nationwide, so extending I-95 Freeway to Miami was a top priority. Given the unprecedented geo-political-racial-transportation climate, swift policy decisions with bad unintended consequences were inevitable.

Since Black Miami was a Pawn on the chessboard of Cold War Cuba Policy, federal and state governments permitted construction of a major freeway interchange in the heart of economically stable Overtown. The freeway interchange had a dagger-like effect on the black community. With only historic churches remaining as anchors, Overtown became a worn-out husk of its former self. Middleclass residents moved from Overtown to Broward County, points north or out of state. City officials offered the poorest Overtown residents opportunity for public housing in Liberty City. As a unincorporated district without a tax base or political power, despair in the concentrated poverty of Liberty City was palpable.

The federal, state and city government did not develop a comprehensive plan to preserve & enhance black businesses and middleclass homes in and adjacent to Overtown concurrent with Cuban Immigrant assistance. When urbanologists and historians look back on 1959-1990 Miami, they can easily document how Cold War Cuba Policy destabilized Miami’s black community."

Dayton

A Timeline: Black History in the Miami Valley 1798 to 2001, Dayton Daily News

Orlando

Orlando Minority Media Outlets

Central Florida Black Journailst Association
cfabj.org

Cuba and Florida

The US, the Exiled Plantocracy, and Race

Cuba's Plantocracy: Cuban American business and terrorism

Questions about Black Cubans in Miami, City-data.com

Ife-Ile Afro-Cuban Dance Company, Miami

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/histarch/mose.htm

AfroCubans in the US

Alan A. Aja
Miami’s Forgotten Cubans
Race, Racialization, and the Miami Afro-Cuban Experience, Palgrave MacMillan, 2016

This book explores the reception experiences of post-1958 Afro-Cubans in South Florida in relation to their similarly situated “white” Cuban compatriots. Utilizing interviews, ethnographic observations, and applying Census data analyses, Aja begins not with the more socially diverse 1980 Mariel boatlift, but earlier, documenting that a small number of middle-class Afro-Cuban exiles defied predominant settlement patterns in the 1960 and 70s, attempting to immerse themselves in the newly formed but ultimately racially exclusive “ethnic enclave.” Confronting a local Miami Cuban “white wall” and anti-black Southern racism subsumed within an intra-group “success” myth that equally holds Cubans and other Latin Americans hail from “racial democracies,” black Cubans immigrants and their children, including subsequent waves of arrival and return-migrants, found themselves negotiating the boundaries of being both “black” and “Latino” in the United States.

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Michelle Hay
"I've Been Black In Two Countries": Black Cuban Views on Race in the US, 2009

Hay describes how black Cubans experience racism on two levels. Cuban racism might result in less access for black Cubans to their group's resources, including protection within Cuban enclaves from society-wide discrimination. In society at large, black Cubans are below white Cubans on every socioeconomic indicator. Rejected by their white co-ethnics, black Cubans are welcomed by other groups of African descent. Many hold similar political views as African Americans. Identifying with African Americans neither negatively affects social mobility nor leads to a rejection of mainstream values and norms. Those who identified most with African Americans were college-educated professionals, some of whom credited African American traditions for their achievements, their affirming feeling about blackness, and their ability to negotiate racism.
-- www.lfbscholarly.com/product-detail/ive-been-black-in-two-countries-black-cuban-views-on-race-in-the-us

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books.google.com/books/about/I_ve_Been_Black_in_Two_Countries.html?id=kZwYAQAAMAAJ

Monika Gosin

Primary research interests include: Afro Cuban and other Afro Latino immigration experiences in the U.S.; African American and Latino relations; immigrant incorporation into US society. My current research focuses on the impact of two waves of Cuban immigration, the 1980 Mariel boatlift and the 1994 Balsero crisis, on the African American and Cuban exile communities in Miami. The project also foregrounds the experiences of Afro-Cubans in the U.S., a demographic which grew in the course of these migration waves. This work is the basis for a broader study utilizing data from interviews I previously conducted in Miami, Los Angeles, and Cuba to examine the effect of migration experiences on Afro-Cuban notions of race and identity; experiences which challenge U.S. and Latin American racial and ethnic categories, as well as notions of whiteness, Pan-Africanism, and of Pan-Latinidad.  -- www.wm.edu/as/sociology/directory/gosin_m.php

Gosin, Monika. 2017. "A Bitter Diversion: Afro-Cuban Immigrants, Race, and Every day-Life Resistance." Latino Studies.15:4-28.

The Death of “la Reina de la Salsa:” Celia Cruz and the Mythification of the Black Woman
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-59874-5_4 

www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2009418980_Monika_Gosin

Antonio Lopez

Unbecoming Blackness
The Diaspora Cultures of Afro-Cuban America

In Unbecoming Blackness, Antonio López uncovers an important, otherwise unrecognized century-long archive of literature and performance that reveals Cuban America as a space of overlapping Cuban and African diasporic experiences.

López shows how Afro-Cuban writers and performers in the U.S. align Cuban black and mulatto identities, often subsumed in the mixed-race and postracial Cuban national imaginaries, with the material and symbolic blackness of African Americans and other Afro-Latinas/os. In the works of Alberto O’Farrill, Eusebia Cosme, Rómulo Lachatañeré, and others, Afro-Cubanness articulates the African diasporic experience in ways that deprive negro and mulato configurations of an exclusive link with Cuban nationalism. Instead, what is invoked is an “unbecoming” relationship between Afro-Cubans in the U.S and their domestic black counterparts. The transformations in Cuban racial identity across the hemisphere, represented powerfully in the literary and performance cultures of Afro-Cubans in the U.S., provide the fullest account of a transnational Cuba, one in which the Cuban American emerges as Afro-Cuban-American, and the Latino as Afro-Latino.

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