Was Overtown ever a nice area? (low income, income, live in)

[polo89]

Originally Posted by Steelers10

Yeah, I didn't know any of their particular names but the charter with all of the names still exists I think. Bahamians were there well before Miami was settled. Within a few decades, some of the Bahamians from Key West actually put their houses on trucks and had them moved up to Coconut Grove!

The divide is even physical in Miami. Even though it appears to be one large "black" ghetto, Haitians live to the east of I-95 and Dominicans live to the south of the Airport Expressway, ironically in between African Americans and Cubans. Or maybe it's not so ironic.

Symbolic almost. Black-Latino Dominicans are the halfway point and buffer zone between FULL Blacks in Liberty City/Brownsville/Little Haiti, and White Cubans in Little Havana.

[polo89]

Originally Posted by ncguy444

I have noticed that many of the speed/specialty players for many midwest and eastern college football teams come from south florida. Even small 1AA seem to recruit these players. I always was intrigued by the roots of the people in the bell glade and pahokee area. This area is where the real talent is produced if you go by statistical percentages.

Belle Glade is an NFL factory. It has to have the most NFL players per capita.

[polo89]

Originally Posted by Vinny Vuckovich

Louis Oliver, former free Safety at UF and Miami Dolphins is from Belle Glade, this guy is freakish big fast and strong. I never seen a guy so big and strong and fast ... maybe Jim Brown, Bo Jackson or Herschal Walker could compare. Wilbur Marshall ( UF, Chicago Bears LB ), another freaky scary physical talent whose father is Bahamian, enter US via Miami, later relocating up to Merrit Island ( Space Coast ).

SoFla definitely produces the most West Indian NFL players. Plenty of Bahamian and Haitian football players in the NFL. The only other region I can think of that produces as many foreign Black NFL players is probably Texas, due to the combination of it's huge football culture and huge Nigerian population. Alot of Nigerian players come out of Texas.

[buahh]

Steelers

I read once that blacks in Coconut Grove lived in modern day Byscaine Boulevard, but had to flee because American soldiers training for the Spanish-American war used them as target practice. The Army recruited many blacks for that war.

[Vinny Vuckovich]

Wilbur Marshall , whose Father is 100% Bahamian had a Greek God type Body back in the day. Gray Fencik once commented " When God made a Football body, he mad Wilbur Marshall."

NFL Training Camp Over the Years - Mike Singletary and Wilber Marshall | SI Kids

[11KAP]

smh here we go again. just because you're
haitian, jamaican, dominican or bahamian;
that does not stop you from being black.

[WINTERFRONT]

There are Jamaicans, Bahamians and Dominians who think they are not black?

@_@

[slim305]

overtown was never a nice place... too much voilence and in the 90 it was worst.

[straight shooter]

Actually in the beginning Overtown was a working class African American community that had a theater, pharmacy, doctors office, and many small locally owned businesses. Crime wasn't a problem up until the 50's.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Pear Martini

I'm at home watching The First 48 and frequently they show murders in overtown. I have been lost in Downtown Miami before and ended up in Overtown. It was quite frightening because I saw vacant lots and at least 20 "crack heads" fighting each other in one alley way.

What was overtown like back in the day? Does it stand a chance of ever gentrifying?

Those black people can be so terrifying. You have to be careful. Every Tuesday they (blacks) have these meetings and they discuss how to ambush whites driving threw overtown.