MIAMI — Community leaders, activists and residents on Thursday gathered for a town hall on the “State of Black Miami,” voicing frustration over political representation, hiring decisions and the impact of Florida’s new anti-DEI law.
Attendeees aired concerns about what they described as systemic inequities affecting Black residents across Miami-Dade County.
Former state Sen. Dwight Bullard criticized elected officials and questioned the lack of advocacy for Black communities.
“Where is our strategic intervention as Black Floridians and Black Miamians irrespective of party affiliation,” Bullard said.
Residents also expressed frustration over voter apathy and what some called defeatist attitudes within the community.
“You tell me there was no African-American that has qualified to become a city manager?” Liberty City activist Sharon Frazier asked, criticizing recent hiring decisions for Miami’s city manager and police chief positions.
Speakers argued that qualified African Americans within local ranks were overlooked for those jobs.
Pierre Rutledge, who heads Miami-Dade’s Black Affairs Advisory Board, said leaders making hiring decisions “need to be fair and equitable.”
The town hall marked the board’s last official meeting after Florida’s new law targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs eliminated DEI standards affecting such boards and initiatives.
“There are elements of segregation that still exists within Miami-Dade County,” said attorney Stephen H. Johnson.
Johnson also pointed to what he described as institutional racism within Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, blaming it for the absence of Black cadets among the department’s newest recruits.
“When there is no voice to raise those points that it is allowed to persist — people just believe it’s natural,” he said. “This is how things have always been, so this is how things will always be.”
Attendees also raised concerns about Florida’s congressional district maps, including District 20, which some speakers said pack Black voters into a single district while reshaping neighboring districts.
The discussion included concerns that longtime U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz could potentially run in District 20 against Black Democratic candidates.
Christopher Simmons, principal of Care Elementary School in Overtown, said representation matters.
“When we don’t see representation for us, it is hurtful,” he said. “But we have got to be the change as well. We have to put ourselves in that position.”
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