MY HOMETOWN
by Alan Rosenthal 1969 Senior Class President

Miami has always been a special place.  On winter days, when the rest of the country is cold and dreary, it is sunshine and warmth.  But no one imagined that Miami would become one of the great cities of the world, much less so quickly.  No other city in human history has so rapidly evolved through such significant challenges, transitions and iterations.  Most other important metropolises are hundreds of years old. At only 121 years old, Miami is a mere child compared to New York, Beijing, Buenos Aires, London, Rome and virtually all the other economic and cultural capitals of the world.  And during its “youth”, the city endured the rapid-fire integration of many nationalities, ethnicities and cultures, quintupled its population, suffered violent civic unrest, became a focal point of illicit drug cartels and received visits from Donna, Betsy, Cleo, Wilma, Katrina, Andrew and Irma.  

I love Miami.   I love living here and being from here.  And it is gratifying to have witnessed and experienced the City’s incredible transformation into such a unique and cosmopolitan urban center.       

In the 1950’s, Miami was as “Southern” a town as Birmingham, Alabama with its conservative, genteel norms and values along with its well-entrenched segregation – a surviving legacy of the Confederacy.  It was a relatively small city, with an economy driven by tourism, along with housing development for those tourists whose vacations  transmogrified into winter homes, and then into permanent relocation. The tourists went mostly to Miami Beach for the sun, sand and ocean by day, and by night, for the glittering night clubs with A-list entertainers – Frank Sinatra, Buddy Hackett, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Judy Garland.  Diverse culture and the arts were virtually non-existent.  Entertainment options included movies and sock-hops and sports beyond the sandlot were limited to college and high school football or basketball games and Grapefruit League baseball games. 

There wasn’t much to Miami in the 50’s.  There was little development south of Coral Gables other than farms and Homestead Air Force Base.  The western boundary of the city was 57th Avenue.  There were no expressways and the Dade County Courthouse – at 24 stories – was the tallest building in Florida. 

And then – in a virtual instant – Miami was changed forever.  It is the ultimate irony that the person largely responsible for propelling our city on the path to greatness was a brutal Communist dictator – Fidel Castro.  Castro’s assumption of power in Cuba and his creation of a totalitarian state 90 miles from Florida, caused at first a trickle and then, a flood of Cuban emigres to Miami.   They came seeking freedom and opportunity and, for a time, hoped for their ultimate return to a free Cuba.  But throughout the 1960’s, the “refugees”, as they were called, built a self-sustaining community here by working hard, bringing over family members who had remained in Cuba and starting new families and businesses.  But, Cuban refugees were not initially welcomed into the community.  Prejudice and economic fears created an “us vs. them” atmosphere further dividing a city which already suffered from the deep racial divide between white and black. 

In the 60’s and into the 70’s, as the local Cuban population exploded through organic growth and increasing immigration, tensions were exacerbated as Miami, along with the rest of the United States, was transformed by the civil rights movement and the end of lawful segregation.  Miami’s economy was ignited by the demand for homes, services, education and infrastructure for this burgeoning community.  However, the political structures and mores of Miami’s leadership and governance were ill-equipped to deal with the diverse interests and needs of the now-competing groups within it.  Resentment and ignorance contributed to the erection and maintenance of geographic, political and economic barriers between the groups.  While business, political and religious leaders urged peaceful coexistence and cooperation, at the grass roots level, Miami was a mere collection of separate, self-contained and self-interested “tribes”: White Americans,  Black Americans and Cubans. And from the late 60’s through the next decade, Miami’s simmering racial divide erupted several times into violent civil unrest. 

The 80’s and 90’s presented new challenges and new hope for Miami.    The illicit drug industry, particularly cocaine, brought a significant infusion of cash and the many things it can buy, along with the attendant criminal activity it fostered.  Miami’s business community changed dramatically – with large, locally-owned corporations such as Eastern Airlines, Southeast Bank and Ryder Trucking disappearing in favor of national and international conglomerates.  While those locally-owned companies had been an important stabilizing force with strong ties to, and providing leadership for, the community‘s civic, cultural and charitable organizations, they were also vestiges of the past.  They lacked diversity and broad perspective despite adding an occasional minority member or two to their governing boards and C-suites.

Immigration from other countries in the Caribbean, primarily Haiti, and from Central and South America expanded dramatically during this period.  Some of Miami’s new immigrants wanted to escape political oppression while others sought business and economic investment.  Miami offered both.  It had firmly established itself as a place where immigrants could prosper.  And Miami, with its close proximity, growing population, available property, temperate climate and relatively low taxes, was attractive to foreign investors.

But the 90’s also brought Hurricane Andrew.  Widespread destruction of homes, businesses and lives was a punch-in-the-gut to the entire region.  Nonetheless, Miami’s resilience demonstrated determination, toughness and patience in rebuilding and moving forward.

Miami entered the new millennium poised for greatness.  With the ongoing absorption of immigrants from diverse places and cultures, it had become a truly international city.  And while each of Miami’s numerous sub-communities provided its people a fulfilling, if self-contained life within itself, the members of those sub-communities had, by that time, been working and living with those in the other sub-communities, through triumph and tragedy, for decades.  Whether Miamians had lived here for generations or just arrived, they knew and understood that there was no going back.  This was, and would always be, a place for anyone and everyone regardless of where they were from or where they were going.  And for the first time in Miami and, unlike most places in the world even to this day, we knew that our strength was forged by, and dependent upon, our diversity, rather than in spite of it. 

The 2000’s brought continuing population growth and a corresponding building boom along with economic expansion and diversification.  After reaching the western boundary, developers turned eastward with residential and commercial skyscrapers and the gentrification of forgotten neighborhoods. The urban core, which had always lacked housing and was a ghost town after five o’clock and on weekends, became, virtually overnight, a 24/7 beehive of life with millennials, young families, new businesses, entertainment and the arts.

Immigrants and investors from Europe followed their Western Hemispheric counterparts of the previous decades.  The number of sub-communities increased dramatically thereby requiring compromise and coalition-building in civic, economic, social and cultural decision-making.  Global corporations established offices here, not only as a convenient stopover on the way to someplace else, but because this was a place where international business could be conducted and where a high quality life was attainable for their personnel.  Culture and the arts increased exponentially.  Small businesses abounded. Immigrants and investors began arriving from the Far East, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and beyond.  Miami had arrived as an important world city.

Of course, Miami is not without its challenges.  Disparity between haves and have nots, transportation gridlock, insufficient educational funding and innovation, lack of programming and financial resources for those in need, boom/bust economic cycles, deteriorating infrastructure, and sea level rise are but a few of the problems that will inhibit growth and prosperity unless meaningfully addressed with visionary leadership and collective political will.

But, Miami will remain one of the great world cities while also being one of the best places to live, work, play and raise a family.  The foundational pillars of our city and its people are diversity, resilience, opportunity and beauty.  There is no place I would rather be.

I wish you and your families a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!