Charlie Sparks
Racial
Tensions Tightening
A
picture entitled “Race and Ethnicity: Miami (2000)” is a digital paint spill.
Colored dots representing different races congregate in large pools that
slightly bleed into the color next to them. Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics
densely claiming their own territory while pressed up right next to each other.
It is a picture that only slightly begins to tell the story of the racial
strife that has infected Miami-Dade County for decades. A second picture
entitled “Race and Ethnicity: Miami (2010)” tells an almost identical story. Of
course, many more dots are splashed across the picture; in ten years, the
population is bound to increase, especially in a metropolis such as Miami.
Looking more closely, however, the picture has something more ominous than
increasing population to show. The geographic regions that each race has
occupied have not changed in the past decade, but unfortunately, the small
amount of mixture of races has all but disappeared. The vague borders that
separated the many races inhabiting Miami have become almost entirely distinct
to the point of segregation.
Segregation
is a severe way to describe any modern civilization, especially considering the
history of America, but it is the only way to describe the phenomenon that
plagues Miami. This claim is supported by maps of poverty rates in Miami. The
areas that differentiate the African-Americans also show an enormous increase
in poverty. The surrounding areas average around 15% poverty, while the
African-American regions show from 35% to over 50%.
The
“Miami Vice” stigma associated with the city (drugs, crime, fancy cars, and
sunshine) is commonly believed to be a direct byproduct of the racial conflict
that afflicts Miami. These pictures of
racial distribution do nothing to dispute this accusation. Since the 1980’s
when Miami Vice and the racist Time article “Trouble in Paradise” showed the
world a city with as many drug dealers and murderers as millionaires, the city
has inexplicably adopted this persona. The side effect of this kind of fame,
however, is exactly what is seen in these pictures. The poor African-Americans
and exiled immigrants have stayed where they are, the rich whites and
foreigners have taken the most desirable locations in Miami, and each have
turned their shoulder against the others.
The
idea that Miami is made up of exiles, mobiles, and locals is a unique
occurrence worldwide. No other community is so starkly divided on such a large
scale and this is a problem that is getting worse. The exiles resent the locals
and foreigners for not being like home and the locals resent the exiles and
foreigners for invading and changing what they consider to be rightfully
theirs. Meanwhile the rich foreigners depend on the exiles and locals to
maintain the image of a city thriving with crime and culture right outside your
doorstep. An image which attracts so many tourists and vacationers all wanting
to satisfy their need for excitement.
