Liberty City Sheds Its History as the Crime Capital of South Florida

The last line of the Wikipedia entry for Liberty City is disturbing to me.

Liberty City is a notoriously dangerous section of Miami as mass shootings are commonplace.

I have to ask why somebody would end this Wikipedia post in this manner after reading the prior sentences within the same paragraph.

Liberty City is also home to the Miami Workers Center. A strategy and organizing center for low-income communities and low-wage workers in Miami-Dade County. Initiated in March 1999, the Center’s mission is to work to end poverty and oppression. The Center’s most significant achievement has been the initiation and development of Low Income Families Fighting Together (LIFFT)—a grassroots membership organization of and for current and former welfare recipients, low-wage workers, and public housing residents that has become a growing force in Miami-Dade County. In these efforts the Miami Workers’ Center joins arms with Miami-Dade County's low-income people to address issues of poverty and limited opportunity.

There is much to be hopeful for in Liberty City, not the least of which is the massive investment made by the county to provide community services to the residents. This 5-story tall building is dedicated entirely to providing much needed health and wellness programs to some of the most disadvantaged people of South Florida. It is adjacent to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Metrorail station.

People are too quick to condemn the inner-city poor as a drain on taxpayers. People like my nephew. Thankfully, Miami-Dade County sees their work in Liberty City as an investment in the future, rather than a paternalistic duty.

As wonderful as the Miami-Dade County Human Services Office Building is, I doubt if it will do as much to alter the course of history in Liberty City as the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center will. While visiting the center to take photos I met with the manager, Marshall Davis. He is a white-haired man who has been at the center for more than twenty years.

This is a small excerpt of a conversation that I had with him. My question to him was, "What makes you optimistic about the future of Liberty City?"

Indexing for This Topic:

"Cause for Optimism"

"The Culture"