Let's compare Miami in 2007 to 1957. Which is better? (Tampa, Hialeah: foreclosures, amusement park)

[LeftHook]

Originally Posted by kelabu

Are we kidding? I guess that's only a serious question for some of us. Let's see what I come up with when I google the good old days in Miami. Colored Town, Virginia Key Beach, Jim Crow, black performers couldn't even stay in Miami Beach after their shows..... I think I'll take 2007 please =)

Overtown, Miami, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virginia Key - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anybody ever watch Dave Chappelle? There was a funny skit about the realities of that kind of nostalgia.

Black performers couldn't stay in Miami Beach...Wtf?

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by tallrick

That's a common thing it seems. Up till the 80's it was not unusual to see a single income, even lower-wage person able to afford a decent home for the whole family. Then came the northeasterners, drug dealers, and boatloads of refugees and the whole thing changed. The late 70's and 80's saw the destruction of many landmark businesses and unique attractions. What is left today is an overpopulated, restrictive hotbed of corruption. No median wage earner starting out can ever hope to provide a decent living for their family anymore. My only hope is that this is not a permanent condition and the failing economy will reverse the trend of today's low quality lifestyle for working-class Miami residents. I doubt that we will ever recover the style and feel of the 50's though.

Thats right....

[MiamiGringo]

I wasn't here in 1957 but it sounds like a banner year.

Negroes sat quietly in the back of the bus. The department stores had white only policies for hiring sales people except in the "specialty" shops. Jews were restricted from being in too many hotels and had to form their own hospital since Jewish doctors were not hired in the "regular" hospitals. Schools punished children for speaking Spanish.

And of course most houses weren't air conditioned and I'm sure July must have been a pleasure.

Oh, and the fun with Kefauver commission hearings and the entirely corrupt Miami Beach Police Force.

Ah, the good old days....

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by MiamiGringo

I wasn't here in 1957 but it sounds like a banner year.

Negroes sat quietly in the back of the bus. The department stores had white only policies for hiring sales people except in the "specialty" shops. Jews were restricted from being in too many hotels and had to form their own hospital since Jewish doctors were not hired in the "regular" hospitals. Schools punished children for speaking Spanish.

And of course most houses weren't air conditioned and I'm sure July must have been a pleasure.

Oh, and the fun with Kefauver commission hearings and the entirely corrupt Miami Beach Police Force.

Ah, the good old days....

And yet, people were happier, had better attitudes and had more economic stability. All the people my parents knew back then had a better life than the people I know now in Miami. Imagine being able to afford a home and be able to drive your car without going broke. The best thing is that gated communities and condos did not exist. And people back then would have revolted if Team Metro was unleashed on 1950's Dade County. Remember, today many blacks are still segregated in high-crime areas without decent homes. Even worse, we are on the verge of economic disaster in south Florida.

Even in the 70's I remember kids getting a detention for speaking Spanish. However, it was rare.

[nerdsports]

It's hard for me to throw my $.02 in this thread because I'm only 24... Times are different, there's not much you can do about that kind of stuff. My childhood memories are from the late '80s and '90s which were AWESOME to me. I'm sure when I'm 50+ I'll be on a forum typing out all my great days as a kid in Miami during the late '80s & '90s like many are on here.

Everytime I look at pictures of the past ('50s and such) I can't help but wish I were around in those times. It looked so carefree and fun. But things change, people adapt and it is what it is.

My parents arrived here in the Mariel boatlift (should I apologize to tallrick for that?) lolll.

[MoverandShaker2004]

Originally Posted by tallrick

And yet, people were happier, had better attitudes and had more economic stability. All the people my parents knew back then had a better life than the people I know now in Miami. Imagine being able to afford a home and be able to drive your car without going broke. The best thing is that gated communities and condos did not exist. And people back then would have revolted if Team Metro was unleashed on 1950's Dade County. Remember, today many blacks are still segregated in high-crime areas without decent homes. Even worse, we are on the verge of economic disaster in south Florida.

Even in the 70's I remember kids getting a detention for speaking Spanish. However, it was rare.

I think life EVERYWHERE was better in '57 than 2007, not just in Miami. People were happier. However, I don't think "oppressed people" such as blacks, Jews, and homosexuals are happier now than they were back then; THAT WAS ALL THEY KNEW. Racism, segregation, and discrimination still exist. The only difference is that today it is not state sponsored.

Were the orthodox Jews on Miami Beach ever oppressed??? They owned the beach back in '57 and they still continue to own the whole strip and live in enclaves of extreme-conservative wealth. Gimme a break! The Jews' tight knit families might give off the impression of oppression, but in fact they seclude themselves from mainstream society.

On Team Metro I think that it is a wasteful mechanism whose sole purpose is to give dumb, illiterate, and otherwise unemployable people a job in Dade County.

[burgler09]

Originally Posted by LeftHook

Black performers couldn't stay in Miami Beach...Wtf?

that is pretty commonly known knowledge... it wasn't Miami only.. it was places all over the country.

[MiamiGringo]

Originally Posted by MoverandShaker2004

I think life EVERYWHERE was better in '57 than 2007, not just in Miami. People were happier. However, I don't think "oppressed people" such as blacks, Jews, and homosexuals are happier now than they were back then; THAT WAS ALL THEY KNEW. Racism, segregation, and discrimination still exist. The only difference is that today it is not state sponsored.

Wow. That's quite a viewpoint.

[MoverandShaker2004]

Desegregation left some deep wounds in many American cities. Miami is no different than cities like Newark, Detroit and Chicago in this sense. The intentions of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's were humanitarian and for a good cause; the way the new policies were carried out resembled a botched revolution. Never depend on the government to spearhead anything. FDR's New Deal was a shining success, LBJ's Great Society was a great failure. That's it.

[goodman terrace]

I grew up on south beach i lived on biscanye st 1st for 20 years , I lived in housing projects . I used to be ashamed to say so, Now when i look back at the way i lived with the beach breeze and the the warm evenings watching the dog walkers from the track , and the hang outs on the pier on south beach , I look back and it was paridise......You know the saying you dont know how good it was till you have lost it , 30 years later i know . dsny06@optonline.net