Is There a large Black presence in Miami? (Miami Beach, Florida City: high crime, neighborhoods)

[i'm not a cookie]

I know that Miami doesn't really have a large white American (of European ancestry) presence(only 11 percent) in the city and it's mainly Hispanic/Spanish is widely spoken. I learned today that Miami used to be 40 percent black back in the early 20th century, which surprised me, but anywho I was wondering how the present day black Presence of Miami is or how the black culture is like down there and if it is growing or shrinking.

[Arcenal813]

There are lots of blacks (a good 20% or so) but most are of Haitian origin... :/

[i'm not a cookie]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

There are lots of blacks (a good 20% or so) but most are of Haitian origin... :/

Ah okay, so I'm guessing the "African American" culture there is quite different from the rest of the country. Are there a lot of Black Cubans there also? This is just out of shear curiosity.

[StarfishKey]

If you have a question about Miami, the Miami forum would be the place to ask it. However, looking this up online will produce a lot of information. There are a lot of African-Americans concentrated in the Overtown area of Miami. There are more Haitians in the Little Haiti area. Liberty City is another historically Black neighborhood. Miami continues today to be affected by the segregation and Jim Crow practices which were legal through the 1960s. Neighborhoods are by and large very segregated, and as there were curfews that required all workers to carry ID and be back in their neighborhoods usually by 6PM in the evening, even if they had to commute there from places like Miami Beach (where they were not even allowed to stay or go on the beach) even today families who grew up here continue to be concentrated in those areas, and new immigrants move to be with relatives. So although people have moved out from those areas now, and new people who come in for jobs or university who of course live elsewhere, these areas continue to have concentrated Black African-American or Caribbean populations. Miami also has some small groups of people from a handful of West African nations, and West Indian people - these tend to be spread out, as there are no historically based neighborhoods to move directly to.

If you head further down into the Keys, there are a few historically African-American neighborhoods, as well as historically Bahamian neighborhoods.

There are Cubans of all different shades of skin tone in Miami, but white Cubans are the ones who were wealthy and moved en masse to Miami just before the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and they are the ones who control Miami's government and businesses for the most part, in addition to wealthy white South Americans. Many Cubans of darker skin tone ultimately moved on to cities further North, like NYC and Jersey City, where there were better opportunities for them at a time of segregation and even after, where Miami's racism continued to be strong even if not legally enforceable as a govt. institution anymore.

The African-American culture in Miami is particularly Floridian, influenced by the South, and also influenced by Caribbean culture, because of the forced concentration of segregated neighborhoods where all people of color were forced to live in close quarters to each other for multiple generations, regardless of whether they wanted to live there, or got along with each other. Newly arrived African-Americans from around the US will bring their own culture from where they are from, and it of course will be different from families who have lived in Miami for multiple generations.

[OptimusPrime69]

There is a black presence, however it is notably different than black culture in Philly, Baltimore, st. louis, etc.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

There is a black presence, however it is notably different than black culture in Philly, Baltimore, st. louis, etc.

In what way ?

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

In what way ?

A number of blacks in Miami are Haitian or from other parts of the Caribbean.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by flyers29

A number of blacks in Miami are Haitian or from other parts of the Caribbean.

When you say a number is that a large number or small and how do blacks from the Caribbean differ from Afro-Caribbean blacks in their culture,etc.

I'm genuinely interested to know.

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

In what way ?

Blacks in Miami are largely Haitian, Jamaican, and Bohemian. They're Caribbean culture. They're different that ur average blck guy from NY or Delaware or wherever.

[tallrick]

You can still find plenty of the traditional black ghetto culture in Liberty City, Overtown, Perrine, Florida City and Opa Locka. High crime, dangerous areas with the familiar look. Even Coconut Grove has the Grand Avenue ghetto.