Liberty City
Liberty Square was home to a thriving Black community in the United States’ first public housing project in the Southeast. Though segregated, with a physical wall still in existence today, this community was the promise of a better life for many Black Miamians. However, by the 1960s white flight had taken many resources and promises to other parts of the city. By 1980 with the acquittal of several police officers who beat and killed resident Arthur McDuffie, years of injustice boiled over into race riots that destroyed much of the community. The city received funds to restore and rebuild, however, these funds were again distributed elsewhere. The community has struggled to recover and with the redevelopment of Liberty Square, Liberty City Rising, many of the age-old concerns about neglect and displacement continue. Read a history of Liberty City from the New Tropic here.