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My family moved to Miami in 1951 when I was 5 years old. I still live Miami-Dade. It was never a "paradise," but it was a damn nice place to live. And, contrary to what some have posted, it was not a backwater "town" - it was a city. We had a thriving downtown, suburban shopping centers, expressways, an international airport, a nationally televised New Year's Eve parade, restaurants, movie theaters - everything that defined a metropolitan area for the times (50s/60s/70s).
Question: could a black man go down to the pool for a nice swim in 1951?
No, of course not. Nothing ruined SoFla, it is what it is and suits me just fine. MUCH better today than 30 years ago TO ME (actually DW too).
What slowed down/hampered Miami's development into an even better/more interesting place with more professional opportunities was a combination of the influx of Marielitos + the cocaine wars + growth + many established people leaving all within a few years of each other. (Andrew being the last straw for lots of folks.) The whole combination.
A vacuum was created and it's taken a while to fill the void (I still don't think we're 100% there). Many people took advantage of the vacuum, some good, many bad. As Luiso pounds on every post, politicians got/get power without having the populations interest at heart, etc.
TO ME, much of the "anger" you see is usually 1 of 3 things, anglo's being "angry" that they became a minority, hispanics being "angry" that they aren' being acknowledged for their contributions and "old timers," of all colors, being angry that Miami has changed so much. Well, of course, some people are just jerks and some people get a bit antsy in the heat too, but pride is a tough nut for some people to get past.
EVERY city in the US has poverty, crime and "bad" people. EVERY SINGLE ONE. SoFla is not immune, THAT fact has nothing to do with Cubans or Haitians. Are things worse than they have to be b/c so many poor/under-educated immigrants have filled in? Of course. But to me, that alone hasn't held Miami back.
Good post.
All cities are merely microcosms of what goes on everywhere.
Seriously - do you think Miami desegregated at the urging of Miami's Cuban refugees? Really??
Obviously that's not what i mean. Hell, they were the segregationists in their own country to some degree.
My point is that it was no paradise before the Cubans and Haitians arrived there. Simple as that. Maybe for a narrow portion of the population, but it was hell for other people.
Question: could a black man go down to the pool for a nice swim in 1951?
Right.
Exactly. Hell, it wasn't even until 1949, that Jews weren't banned from hotels in Miami Beach--and for a long period they were restricted to live south of 5th Ave. Miami was strictly segregated, WASP controlled town for a long time.
Obviously that's not what i mean. Hell, they were the segregationists in their own country to some degree.
My point is that it was no paradise before the Cubans and Haitians arrived there. Simple as that. Maybe for a narrow portion of the population, but it was hell for other people.
Did you live in Miami in the 50s, 60s, 70s?
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