Banner Graphic, Volume 13, Number 99, Greencastle, Putnam County, 3 January 1983 — Page 3

Divided Miami

'Kerosene just waiting fora match'

describes city of economic contrasts

MIAMI (AP) Tourism in Miami is off 10 percent, refugees have washed ashore by the thousands, drug trafficking is rampant, ethnic groups are polarized and poor black neighborhoods have been wracked by bloody riots in 1980 and again last week. Yet the long shadows appearing on Biscayne Bay signal prosperity: the first new skyscrapers in a decade rise among the palm trees downtown. Nearly 20 construction projects are under way and the number of international bank offices here surpassed New York this year. America’s youngest big city has a split personality. Once a balmy community dependent on tourism, it has in less than a decade become a center of international finance and trade. But along with the new identity came drug running, a soaring crime rate and a volatile ethnic mix. City officials lay the blame for Miami’s problem on growing pains. “Miami is now experiencing what New York experienced in the 1940 s it is becoming an international city, with international people,” says City Manager Howard Gary. “With growth there comes pain.” The growth as an international city has shielded Miami from the harsher effects of recession that might have resulted from a tourist-dependent economy. But in the midst of the boom, Miami “forgot to bring along the black community,” says Gary, the first black city manager here and a product of the Liberty City slums. “People have got to realize that to keep our big economic pie intact, you’ve got to give some of it away to those who are less fortunate.” About 16,000 of those left behind live a few blocks from downtown, underneath a new superhighway, in a neighborhood of rat-and roach-infested tenements and vacant lots called Overtown. Last week a Hispanic police officer shot and killed a young black man in a video arcade there, spawning two days of sporadic looting, rock throwing and car burning. There was one other death, as well as 26 injuries and 43 arrests as police sealed off Overtown. The barricades are gone, but the poor housing, lack of jobs and feeling of isolation remain. “It’s like a puddle of kerosene, just waiting for a match,” says Barbara Carey, a Metro-Dade commissioner. Overtown’s melee was an extension of the tension that has existed since Liberty City exploded into riots in 1980. The toll then: 18 dead, SIOO million in property damage and 250

Klan demand for meeting refused

MIAMI (AP) City Manager Howard V. Gary says he will not meet with a Ku Klux Klan leader who accused police of “coddling” blacks during last week’s racial violence in the Over town section. Klan members handed out racist literature in the city Sunday and Bill Wilkinson, imperial wizard of the KKK’s Invisible Empire, threatened a “major, massive” demonstration here within two months unless the meeting takes place. .“He’s going to have a long wait to wait for me,” Gary answered. “This is a local problem and he has nothing to do with it.” The black city manager also

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business destroyed. Despite an infusion of $7 million from the business community, Liberty City hasn’t changed much, Mayor Maurice Ferre concedes. Joblessness is higher than before the riots and many businesses never returned. “We live in a community that divides itself on ethnic lines in a stronger way than just about any other community in America,” Ferre said Saturday. “With cutbacks in federal funds, there’s no question that the most affected party in the whole process is the black community.” Dade County, which includes Miami, is 47 percent white, 36 percent Hispanic and 17 percent black. Among the Hispanics are Cubans, Nicaraguans, Colombians and Haitians. Some refugees without skills or education have displaced blacks in service-related jobs, many of which require bilingual skills. One reason racial harmony hasn’t come easily is that few of the 1.5 million residents of the metropolitan area have roots here, the mayor says. Miami is young even by U.S. standards. It was incorporated 86 years ago, when financier Henry Flagler extended his railroad south from West Palm Beach. Miami’s proximity to Latin America and its huge bilingual population have contributed to the recent economic growth. Five years ago, Florida law prohibited international banks. But the law was changed and now 43 foreign banks, from Banco De Bilbao to the Royal Bank of Canada, are incorporated here. Now the city is trying to improve its position as an international commerce center. It is also trying to re-establish itself as a tourist destination with new luxury hotels and a con-vention-conference center. A phalanx of cranes is reinventing the skyline. Some 50 building projects worth more than $2 billion are under way, including a World Trade Center, a new Dade County Courthouse, condominiums and banks. A 20-mile elevated railway system for commuters, with a pricetag of $1 billion, is set for completion next year. “There’s all kinds of growth, dynamism and money being made.” says Seth Gordon, of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Crime is still a problem, but there has been progress. The city dubbed America’s murder capital in 1981 recorded 197 slayings in 1982, down 12.5 percent. And a federal task force headed by Vice President George Bush launched a war on drug smuggling in 1981; officials say they are beginning to win some battles.

criticized the Klan leader’s threat of a major demonstration.. r “All I can say is if he is as concerned about the United States of America as he says he is, he’ll recognize that that type of action does not bring about calm or safety in any community,” he said. “And it’s counterproductive to bring about peace in this country. Wilkinson accused police of “coddling of black criminals” during two days of racial violence touched off when a Hispanic officer shot and killed a 21-year-old black man in a video arcade. Wilkinson said he hoped to meet with either Gary, Mayor

Maurice Ferre or a representative of the U.S. attorney’s office. Wilkinson criticized “the lack of outcry and condemnation for the black criminals that burned and looted and beat up white people. There’s been absolutely no outcry against that by officials.”

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January 3,1983, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic

653-8461

Miami police officers relax on their cruiser after long hours of work in the Overtown area of Miami during three days of disturbances and rioting. The violence started after a black youth was shot by police during a check of a recreational hall. Police said the armed youth threatened an officer. (AP Laserphoto)

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