Wilson Mediates Dispute between Jessie Trice & FIU Over Clinic in Liberty City

Wilson Mediates Dispute between Jessie Trice & FIU Over Clinic in Liberty City

Story by José Pérez

A public health clinic currently under construction in Liberty City is at the heart of a struggle between one of South Florida’s oldest and most recognized community care clinics and Miami-Dade County’s public university.   Both Jessie Trice Community Health Center and Florida International University say that they each were promised use of the Liberty City Health Center and, less than a year before its scheduled opening in Spring of 2014, Congressperson Federica Wilson (D-FL) held a meeting in her Miami Gardens office this week to resolve the matter.

The impetus on the part of Wilson to facilitate the meeting, which included high-ranking representatives from Jessie Trice, FIU, the Florida Department of Health, the Health Foundation of South Florida, and the Model City CAC, was simple and urgent.    “We need to move forward with building the Liberty City Health Clinic,” said Wilson, to help the underserved and boost the economy.

At issue is who will control use of the Liberty City Health Center when it opens next year.

FIU said that it was told that it would be able to use the facility as part of teaching program it developed for its students.  Jessie Trice says that they were promised the continued use of a site they’ve served for over forty years by a resolution passed by the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners two years ago.

Wilson, who originally worked with local officials on the project when she was a State Senator, said that the idea all along had been that the Liberty City Health Clinic would be run by Jessie Trice. “It’s my understanding that Jessie Trice will head the clinic.”

Dr. Deborah George, Chief Medical Officer for Jessie Trice, said “I can’t imagine any reason why Jessie Trice would not be the clinical provider for Liberty City.”

Jessie Trice has a long history of service at the site in question.  From 1972 until the mid-2000’s, Jessie Trice operated out of the old Scott Center which sat adjacent to the present site for the Liberty City Health Center. 

Lillian Rivera, administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County, said the Health Department obtained the land from Miami-Dade County via County Commissioner Jean Monestime.  Rivera, who is in charge of supervising public health programs in Miami-Dade, said that the 10,000 square foot facility is already being built on county-owned lots just south of the Northside Metrorail Station in North Liberty City.  According to Rivera, there are two more parcels available that will be used for expansion of the site as funds become available.  

Stephen Sauls, Vice President, Office of Government Relations for FIU, was beginning to describe the history of FIU’s involvement with the project – including contacts with legislators in Tallahassee including State Senator Anitere Flores -when Rivera interrupted him to declare that “there was no intention to exclude Jessie Trice.”

Rivera repeatedly insisted that Jessie Trice was not supposed to be excluded, adding that the medical education component was at the heart of reaching out to FIU.   “I thought that bringing FIU was a good thing for the community,” said Rivera who supports the idea of extending the classroom into the community.  “The key is to test this model of training new physicians.”

Wilson questioned Rivera’s judgment in that instance.  Describing the decision to bring FIU into the discussion for the future of the Liberty City Health Center as “not a smart decision,” Wilson was not pleased.  “I don’t appreciate it.”

Sauls talked about the university’s intentions.  “Our focus has been to provide additional health care,” he said, via FIU’s NeighborhoodHELP program which is “a program that is ready to be replicated.” 

Wilson asked Dr. Joe Greer, Assistant Academic Dean of Academic Affairs for FIU and the man charged with the leadership of the NeighborhoodHELP program, if FIU was willing to work with Jessie Trice.     Greer avoided giving the Congressperson a direct answer but did say that FIU works with “over 100 community partners” as part of its work with “household-centered care.” 

“We work with anybody.”

Greer returned to the theme introduced by Sauls as to why FIU is interested in the Liberty City Health Clinic. “To make [NeighborhoodHELP] successful, this has to be tied into a clinic.”

Sauls indicated that success in Liberty City could bode well for FIU in the future hence the strong desire to “show that it’s a model that works so it can be replicated in other places.”

The question of who had preference for control of the health clinic still hung over the meeting.   For example, Sauls stated that the “site was offered to us” but did not specify by whom.   

For Wilson, the resolution by the Miami-Dade County Commission saying that clinic would be operated by Jessie Trice added credence to what she said was “the original plan”: to provide the health center for Jessie Trice.

“As far as I’m concerned, it belongs to Jessie Trice,” said Wilson who also said that “If FIU wants to work with Jessie Trice, fine [but] it has to be Jessie Trice leading.”

Sauls said he had “never heard of the resolution” which prompted Annie Neasman, CEO of Jessie Trice, and George to hold up copies of the resolution they brought with them to the crowded meeting.

Wilson announced the formation of a task force to resolve the issue as soon as possible.  “We’ll determine how we’ll operate the clinic and who does what,” she said.   Once the task force met, an official and perhaps conciliatory ground-breaking is to be scheduled for the site.  Still, the message from the Congressperson was very clear to all present: “We cannot and will not allow Jessie Trice to be left out.”

The taskforce meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 21 at noon at FIU.

*To read the published version of this article as printed in the South Florida Times, please click on this urlink.

Future of Florida’s Franchise Focus of Forum

VRA PANEL DISCUSSION RICHMOND HEIGHTS – 2013-7-11

Future of Florida’s Franchise Focus of Forum

Story by José Pérez

Late last month, State Representative Kionne McGhee (D-117) organized a panel discussion to talk about the recent Supreme Court ruling that effectively eviscerated the protections contained in the 1965 the Voting Rights Act as well as emerging voting legislation and right restoration for ex-offenders in Florida.    The discussion, which was open to the public and held at Martin Memorial AME Church in Richmond Heights, featured an all-star roster of panelists.

Late last month, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a key element in Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the so-called “coverage formula,” was unconstitutional. That formula was used to determine which states required permission from the federal government before those states could enact changes to voting laws and/or procedures.  By essentially invalidating a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, the high court has opened the proverbial door for states make changes to election laws with no clearance from Washington, D.C. needed.

The case against the Voting Rights Act was based on the argument that, because African-Americans are voting and holding office in record numbers including in the South, the landmark legislation  was no longer relevant. 

One prominent member of the High Court disagreed.  In an interview with the Associated Press, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said doing away with the VRA was "like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."

In his opening remarks, McGhee insisted that, according to the 15^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, “you cannot take away a person’s right to vote” but followed with a question.

“Is the 10^th Amendment more important than the 15^th Amendment?”   The 10^th Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Thus, the question for McGhee, the panelists, and the approximately 40 people that were present in the pews of Martin Memorial centered on the validity of states in general and Florida in particular to enact voting laws that ran contrary to the wording and spirit of the 15^th Amendment and its protections of suffrage for citizens.

The discussion began with historical perspective on the Voting Rights Act.    Howard Simon, Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said that the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was “the heart and soul of what the Civil Rights Movement achieved.”

Simon drew attention to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which focused on states with a history of discrimination, virtually all of which are in the Southeastern United States, comprising what had once been the heart of the seditious Confederate States of America.  That section, Simon said, stipulated that no changes can be made to voting laws in those states without approval from the Department of Justice.   According to Simon, approximately 700 potentially discriminatory voting practices were blocked by the DOJ under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. 

With oppressive obstacles to voting such poll taxes and literacy tests removed under compulsion from the federal government, the VRA afforded many African-Americans and even poor whites the opportunity to cast ballots throughout the South.  “It literally changed the face of the South,” said Simon

The NAACP’s Bradford Brown, who along with Simon worked as an activist in Alabama over a half century ago, said that the 15^th Amendment was essentially “voting rights enforcement.”

Donald Jones, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Miami’s law school, said that the judicial decision – split with a 5-4 decision among its Justices – was “backlash” from not just electing a Black man to be president of the United States but doing so twice. 

Almost immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling, some previously affected states acted on it.  Texas announced that it would move forward with executing a voter identification law that was passed in Austin in 2011 but was blocked by the Department of Justice.  Mississippi said that a similar law would go into effect in time for next summer’s primaries while leaders in North Carolina promised an expedited process with their own voter ID bill which was passed last week

In turn, the Department of Justice launched a legal counterattack with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder vowing to focus first on Texas utilizing elements of the Voting Rights Act left unchanged by the landmark decision.  Specifically, Holder is pinning his hopes on the belief that Section 3(c) can make up for what is no longer available to DOJ officials in Section 4(b).    Holder said the DOJ plans “to fully utilize the [Voting Rights Act’s] remaining sections to ensure that the voting rights of all American citizens are protected."

The Attorney General is not alone in pursuing the 3(c) avenue in the Lone Star state.  In a suit filed last week in Texas, a group of Latino Texans argued that "because the State of Texas is no longer subject to the preclearance provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act through the formula in Section 4(b), Section 3(c) relief is available against the State."  According the suit, "Section 3(c) relief is warranted in this case because existing evidence establishes intentional voting discrimination and other proceedings provide overwhelming evidence of constitutional violations in and by the State."

Not everyone, however, is supporting Holder’s moves.  "Attorney General Eric Holder proves he is more interested in political stunts than enforcing the law," said Horace Cooper, Co-Chair of Project 21, a conservative African-American think tank, in a written statement.

Maribel Balbin of the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade County, added that “we were already under siege” in Florida before the Supreme Court’s decision, citing increasingly pitched political and legal battles between her organization and a Republican Party-controlled State Legislature.    For example, in 2011, the League of Women Voters sued to get a ten day extension to the existing voter registration period and the very morning of the panel discussion in Richmond Heights, the Florida Supreme Court sided with the League ruling that the Florida Legislature could not bypass trial in a legal fight over concerns of gerrymandering.

ThinkProgress reported that Florida’s on-again, off-again moves to purge voter rolls is officially back on track after a federal appeals court tossed out a suit in response to the Supreme Court's decision. According to AP, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced plans to restart the voter roll purge. This comes just two months after Florida Govenor Rick Scott signed a bill that brought back some early voting days which he advocated removing just a couple of years earlier.

The Palm Beach Post published a story last week in which Jim Greer, a former leading member of the Florida Republican Party said that those same voter purge initiatives were motivated more by fear of Democratic electoral victories than any concern over voting fraud. 

“The Republican Party, the strategists, the consultants, they firmly believe that early voting is bad for Republican Party candidates,” Greer said to The Post. “It’s done for one reason and one reason only: ‘We’ve got to cut down on early voting because early voting is not good for us.’ ”

The Post also reported that a GOP campaign consultant, Wayne Bertsch, was aware of the same hidden agenda. “In the races I was involved in in 2008, when we started seeing the increase of turnout and the turnout operations that the Democrats were doing in early voting, it certainly sent a chill down our spines."

For Balbin, the remedy for the sudden lifting of protections against encroachments was simple. “We need strong federal standards.”

According to TruthOut.org, hearings on developing a new formula to determine which areas should be subject to pre-clearance have been held in Congress but added that there is little optimism that anything will be enacted in the near future.

Given the profound worries conveyed by the speakers at the forum, Jones compared the Court’s decision in this matter to the Dred Scott case of the mid-19th century.   “This is a court that doesn’t remember our history,” he said.  “They have historical amnesia.”

Another problem discussed by the panel concerned the high number of Floridians are not allowed to vote.  “One out of every four African-American males in Florida are disenfranchised,” said Desmond Meade, a local activist and law student at Florida International University’s School of Law.   Why are so many Black men in Florida not allowed to vote?   Convicted felons in Florida lose the right to vote and, in this area, it ranks number one.  “Florida leads nation in disenfranchisement,” Meade said.

Felon disenfranchisement dates back to 1868 to uphold institution of white power in Tallahassee, added Simon.

The problem is huge, said panelists.  Meade reported that “1.5 million people in Florida are ‘returning citizens,’” using that strength-based term as an alternative to the more commonly-used “ex-felons.”

Most returning citizens are disenfranchised for non-violent offenses (such as trapping an under-sized lobster, disturbing a sea turtle’s nest, et cetera). When they are released from prison, returning citizens in Florida cannot vote, cannot run for office, and, in the case of Meade who is himself a returning citizen, cannot sit for the state bar examination.

While it is possible for a disenfranchised Floridian to have his or her rights restored, it is a daunting and often fruitless process.  Typically, a returning citizen must wait between 5 to 7 years before he can apply to have his or her rights restored.  The application process can take up to six years and, according to Meade, less than 1% actually succeed in having those rights restored.  “You might as well be a slave,” lamented Meade, a sentiment echoed by attorney Christopher Benjamin who also served on the panel.

For many Floridians, that amounts - essentially – to a lifetime disenfranchisement which Simon called the “biggest voting scandal in the country.”

Christina White, Acting Chief Deputy Supervisor of Elections for Miami-Dade County, brought voter registration forms as well as forms with which voters could update the signature they have on record with the Elections Department.  This is important because in order for an absentee ballot submitted to be valid, the signature on the ballot must match the signature on record with the Elections Department.

Voter turnout for local elections is usually only between 20-30%, said White.

White also talked about HB7013, the Election Reform Bill of 2013 which expands sites that can be used for voting.  The Bill also gives local elections supervisors the power to expand early voting days up to 14 days (including the Sunday before an election) at their discretion.

Simon, however, has his doubts.  “Your right to vote will depend on which county you live in.”  He also pointed out that most of the Black voters that cast their ballot for Barack Obama voted early.

That local aspect to the evening’s discussion was a recurring theme.  “A lot of these problems,” pointed out Simon, “are local problems that we can address.”   It was because of that that some in attendance were doubly-concerned.  “We are in an area where [these issues are] predominant,” said Jerry Alleyne-Nagee of Perrine. “There are a host of people that are suffering but I do not see this room packed up”  

For perspective, Meade highlighted the fact that it only took a few million people to get Governor Rick Scott elected in 2010 (2.6 million) and President Obama reelected in 2012 (4.2 million). 

*To read the print version of this article, please click on this urlink.

Hundreds Hold Vigil for Trayvon, Protest Against Verdict in Downtown Miami

Hundreds Hold Vigil for Trayvon, Protest Against Verdict in Downtown Miami 

Story & photographs by José Pérez

After a quiet, rainy night in which little if any public reaction to the non-guilty verdict handed down in the George Zimmerman case in Sanford, Florida was evident anywhere in Miami-Dade County, an evening vigil was held in downtown Miami in memory of Trayvon Martin, the Miami Gardens teenager who was killed during a nighttime encounter with Zimmerman in February 2012.    Organized in part by Dream Defenders and the Miami Workers Center, the event, which was part rally, part revival, was held at the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard.  

Flanked by statues of Ponce de Leon and Bolivar, the vigil was held at the small park dedicated to the memory of assassinated U.S. President John Kennedy and was attended by a diverse group of people spanning differences in age, ethnicity, gender, et cetera.   It began under grey clouds filled with rain with a moment of silence for Martin, his family, and “other victims” of violence.  Thereafter, speakers lashed out at the verdict and what many in the crowd of almost 200 people felt was a troubling sign for the social fabric of the United States.

“The danger is not riots,” said Gonzalo Vizcardo of Dream Defenders, “it’s more George Zimmermans.”

Vizcardo said that the vigil was organized just hours before the verdict was announced late the previous night.     The group, which was organized in different cities in response to the death of Martin last year, was also active, according to Vizcardo, in bringing pressure to bear on Sanford Police and the Seminole County state attorney to pursue charges against Zimmerman.

Whitney Maxey [confirm] of the Miami Workers’ Center said that “this case was just an example of how communities of color are constantly trampled.”  

Tiara Miles, moved to Miami from Chicago earlier this year.   Miles was living in Louisville when news of Martin’s death first surfaced last year and attended rallies there.  Although she is enjoying her new life in Miami, she admitted that the verdict made it an “embarrassment” to live in Florida.

“What does that say about that state of Florida?”

Speaking to the growing group of concerned residents and curious tourists and random passerby, Marc Luzietti of One Struggle yelled, “There is a new Jim Crow today!”

Christian Demeritt of Miami also spoke the crowd. “I don’t want this to die down,” she said, “because it’s going to happen again.”

“It’s up to us! We are the people.”

State Senator Dwight Bullard (D) saw the vigil as an important opportunity for “coalition-building” with the hope that it could affect “real, positive change.”

Miles agreed.   “[The verdict] was “disheartening. It divided a lot of people.” The verdict, in fact, was a bigger concern for her than any worries about violence in response to it. “I didn’t even think about [civil disturbance].”

  

Michelle Madison, a local entrepreneur, was also moved by “the significance of the verdict [and] what it means for kids and justice.”

Bullard said that he was “happy to see that our community has gotten to a point that we can move past being angry.”   

Light rain began to fall just as crowd prepared to march to a couple of blocks up Biscayne Boulevard to the Freedom Tower just across the street from the American Airlines Arena, chanting “Peace for Trayvon!”   The chants grew louder as they neared their historic destination.   “What do we want? Justice!”  

When they arrived at the Freedom Tower, the group climbed defiantly on its steps as the rain fell stronger and the volume of the chants increased.   “I am Tray-von!”

Speakers called for a special legislative session to repeal the Stand Your Ground law that has been at the center of this case since last year. Demeritt, who said that the vigil was the first protest event she had attended since college, sang, with many singing with her. 

For organizers and supporters alike, the vigil was meant to be the catalyst for a paradigm change.  “We want to see a change,” said Maxey.   She and Bullard both spoke of what she called “bigger forces at play.”

 “There’s a need for people who understand,” said Miles who said she felt “fortunate” to be present at a moment of important significance. “We need to educate people on these social issues.”

*To read the version of this article as printed in the South Florida Times, please click on this urlink.

South Dade Rallies for Trayvon Martin

South Dade Rallies for Trayvon Martin 

Story and photographs by José Pérez

A small but vocal group of people concerned about the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial congregated at an empty lot at the intersection of US 1 and SW 200 Street in Cutler Ridge last Saturday, not realizing that the verdict was several hours from being announced.  Zimmerman was on trial in Sanford, Florida, accused of murdering Miami Gardens teenager, Trayvon Martin who was visiting his father in February 2012.

Wearing white “I am Trayvon Martin” t-shirts, the group of about 20 people stood on both sides of police barricades erected by Miami-Dade P

olice officers who maintained a discreet yet noticeable presence, holding signs and chanting the same slogan.  

Patricia Smith, a grandmother who lives just a few blocks from the site of the rally, was one of the the volunteers.  “This is my first time doing something like this.”   She was motivated to come out on a warm afternoon, she said, by “a mother’s love.”

Ron Fulton, uncle of Trayvon Martin, made the approximately 45 mile drive from Miami Gardens to join the rally.   “These people didn’t have to be out here,” Fulton said. “That’s what brings me out here.”

The event was scheduled a few weeks ago, before anyone had any idea that the trial would go to the jury that same weekend, said Johnny Macon, one of the organizers. “We are promoting nonviolence,” said Macon, regardless of the outcome of the trial.  “We want everyone to be peaceful.”

 “I hope [that] there won’t be violence,” said Enid Demps of Goulds as walked along US 1 holding a handmade sign that read “JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON.”

At a Miami-Dade Police Department briefing conducted about an hour and a half before the event started, uniformed and plainclothes police officers under a tent as they outlined plans for the event.  Although plans for the imminent verdict were made by MDPD months earlier, no adjustments or additional mobilizations to the regular staffing for the area were announced.   Although a police helicopter buzzed overhead just as the demonstration was beginning and some police officers were seen walking from a mobile command post each holding handfuls of plastic twist ties typically used to cuff people in lieu of traditional handcuffs, the mood in the air was far from hostile.  In fact, some officers even joined in a group prayer led by Alphonso Jackson, Sr, Pastor at Richmond Heights’ Second Baptist Church. 

Fulton was asked by the media about the possibility of violence in response to a not guilty verdict for Zimmerman.   He dismissed such a premise.  “At the onset of this, there was no violence so why would there be any now?”

Macon said that the mindset for all of those participating was what he hoped would echo throughout Miami-Dade County: “be angry but sin not.”

As long-time Miami activist Renita Holmes led a slowly growing number of rally participants in chants in favor of “No justice, no peace!” car horns honked in support of the placards and exhortations for solidarity. 

Macon said that there would be “no need for a demonstration with a guilty verdict” for Zimmerman.  He added if there was no verdict announced today, any future demonstrations would be held at nearby Goulds Park, just a mile or two away, in keeping with existing plans set up by Miami-Dade County.

For those present, the death of Martin and the attention paid to the trial “absolutely” could bring about positive changes in the community, said Fulton.   “We’re trying to stand our ground,” said Macon. “We want everyone to be fair.”

DOJ Report Paints A Sadistic Picture Of MPD

DOJ Report Paints A Sadistic Picture Of MPD 

Story by José Pérez

After a sweeping investigation looking into the law enforcement patterns and practices of the City of Miami Police Department that lasted a year and a half, the United States Department of Justice released its letter of findings to the public earlier this week.    The results are damning.

In the report, US Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote, “We find that MPD engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force with respect to firearms discharges in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 14141.”  The DOJ found that MPD officers shot at individuals intentionally as many as 33 different times between 2008 and 2011.

That figure came from documentation in MPD records but the DOJ report also indicated that records were often inadequate, largely because they were not often completed and filed in timely fashions.   Subsequently, the DOJ observed, neither close supervision nor ensuring accountability of specific police officers involved in police-involved shootings was done by MPD.

Roy L. Austin Jr, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ said plainly, “Miami has to reform deadly force.”

Investigators reviewed approximately 17,000 documents which included forensic reports, transcripts, training manuals, investigative reports, policies and procedures. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also conducted lengthy interviews with Miami Police Department (MPD) personnel at various levels of administration and in different departments as well as members of the community. 

The investigation was launched in November 2011 in response to outcry over an outburst of police violence that resulted in the deaths of 7 Black men in Miami between Summer of 2010 and Winter of 2011. 

Overall, the DOJ report published four fundamental findings.   The first indicated that, out of the 33 documented officer-involved shootings found between 2008 and 2011, “MPD found 3 cases of unjustified force.”   It was also revealed that “MPD officers routinely employ poor tactics.”  The third finding looked at “improper actions by specialized units” including the chilling revelation that of 17 police shootings in 2010 and 2011, nine “involved an officer from a specialized unit.”

Bradford Brown of the Miami-Dade NAACP said that the specialized units, who typically use unmarked police cars and do not wear the highly visible dark navy blue uniform of MPD, were “overemphasized and under-supervised.”

Finally, the DOJ report said that MPD investigations of police-involved shootings are “inadequate.”   This was attributed “unreasonable delays” in delivering the outcome(s) of police shootings.  Additionally, the failure to properly analyze relevant information “to determine whether a shooting is justified” also adversely impacted investigations.

This is not first time that the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ has investigated MPD.  The most recent time prior to this investigation was about a decade ago when the federal authorities investigated MPD from 2002 to 2006.   Austin said, at the time of the previous investigation, many changes were made and progress appeared to be unfolding. 

Those positive steps appear to have been either short-lived or not rooted in reality.  “It is disturbing to me,” said Austin, that the issues his office saw back then still remain.

Still, Austin and Wilfredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, whose office worked with the DOJ during the course of the investigation, both commended both current MPD Chief Manuel Orosa and Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado for working productively with investigators by providing “full access.”     Ferrer also acknowledged community leaders and other elected officials such as United States Representative Federica Wilson (D-FL) who contacted Attorney General Eric Holder about the matter two years ago.

The report also found that just seven police officers were involved in over a third of the shootings during the period of time investigated.   Neither Austin nor Ferrer would state the names of any of the officers they alluded to, citing that such information was out of the scope of their investigation and mandate.    Their civil investigation, said Austin, was “distinct from criminal investigations.  We intentionally do not make a determination” about individual officers.  For that, he said, the cases must be handled under a separate determination, by a separate unit at the DOJ.

Ferrer explained the difference between this investigation and a criminal investigation.  “Criminal prosecution needs to find beyond a reasonable doubt [that there was] intent to violate the victim’s Constitutional rights.  A civil investigation has a different threshold,” said Ferrer, which is established via pattern and practice.

In short, Austin described their findings as “a narrow investigation [that] focused on the greatest problem.”

Next for MPD is a court-enforceable agreement which is expected to encompass procedures, trainings, and other aspects for reform.   The entire matter will be presented to a federal judge after all parties involved have met and agreed to a sustainable performance plan.  

Austin said that, as such, a judge has not yet been assigned and added that the court agreement would not be permanent.   He did, however, offer as examples similar investigations and court-enforced agreements in New Orleans and Seattle where both departments were required to first meet conditions outlined in their respective agreements then sustain those reforms for two years.

 

In the case of MPD, “the agreement will be focused on what we found,” said Austin.

Austin and Wilson both pointed out that not having a binding court-enforceable agreement was a primary factor that contributed to the ineffectiveness of the reforms pledged after the previous DOJ investigation of MPD.

Orosa, who took over MPD in December 2011 just weeks after the DOJ began its investigation, released a statement in which he pointed out “a significant decrease in police-involved shootings in 2012.”   He added that the “success in this area comes as a result of reforms established under my direction.”  Orosa said that the MPD submitted “a comprehensive report to DOJ” a year ago.  Regarding the agreement necessary before the matter can be referred to a federal judge, Orosa wrote that the MPD “looks forward to the opportunity to clarify several components of the letter, as well as to labor intensely to negotiate an agreement with the Department of Justice.” 

The DOJ report acknowledged that decrease and speculated that the department “may be capable of addressing the problem.”

“The police department could do better,” said Austin. “We are optimistic that it will continue.”

Representative Wilson and others were more interested in accountability than optimism. “It appears that the DOJ is happy with current chief,” she said.   Wilson is pushing for a legitimate emphasis on reforming MPD’s institutional culture.  “It shouldn’t matter who the police chief is.  What should matter are the permanent policies and practices.”

Jeanne Baker, Chair of the Police Practices Committee of the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, took aim at the Miami’s civilian oversight body.  “The Justice Department was able to arrive at conclusions that the city’s internal mechanisms – including the Civilian Investigative Panel – have proven inadequate to find: that the City of Miami Police Department has been violating the Constitutional rights of its citizens.”

Baker’s boss at the ACLU, Howard Simon, addressed the issue of individual accountability for the shootings and deaths. “Ultimately, someone needs to be held responsible for the deaths and the violation of constitutional rights. People’s rights have been violated and lives have been unjustly taken. Now that the groundwork has been laid by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, we expect a follow-up investigation into the conduct of Miami Police Department officers who were responsible.”

*To read the print version of this article, please click on this urlink.

'Facing the Rising Sun' - Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony Held on Virginia Key

Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony Held on Virginia Key

Story & photograph by José Pérez

As the astronomical phenomenon of the “super full moon” faded in the dark warmth of the early summer sky, drums greeted the dawning sun in the east, rising over the waters of Biscayne Bay.   Standing firm against a strong wind blowing from the south, a circle of people gathered in remembrance of untold millions of people that did not survive the ocean crossing between Africa and the Americas during the era of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, just yards from a sea turtle’s nest.

The gathering was not a random nor coincidental meeting on a Miami beach.  It was the continuation of what has become a special South Florida tradition:   the annual Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony. This year’s edition was held last Sunday morning on historic Virginia Key. 

“It’s in honor of the millions of people that lost their lives because of the slave trade,” said Robert McKnight, a local artist who has been actively involved with the event for many years.   “It’s a chance to pay tribute, a way to pay homage to the ancestors that passed during that trip.”

Altine, another local artist and a woman of great energy who started the Remembrance Ceremony on the first day of Kwanzaa in 1993, said the event has grown greatly since its first year at Haulover Park Beach in Northeast Miami-Dade County. “Now we have Key West, and people all over the country” are hosting their own remembrance ceremonies.   For example, San Francisco, New Orleans, Charleston, Philadelphia, Pensacola, and Yorktown, Virginia all remember the countless humans whose remains abide in the murky depths of the ocean that brought the marauding caravels to the coasts of Africa for centuries.   There is even an underground memorial – a circle of statues - in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean nation of Grenada. “If we don’t remember them, who will?” asked Altine, who has had the remembrance on Virginia Key since 1994 with the support of organizations like the Kuumba Artists’ Collective and the Virginia Key Park Trust.

Ironically, a few months after Altine organized the first remembrance ceremony in Miami, UNESCO officially launched the International Slave Route Project at a conference in Benin.

The early morning ceremony is in honor of the “many people [that] died that were never properly buried,” said Dinizulu Gene Tinnie.  “It is a time to pause and reflect on this whole passage of history that did take place.”

Catherine Hummingbird Ramirez, an ancestral queen of the Carib nation, offered a spiritual cleansing for everyone in the circle with a lotion made out of plants, moving in a counter-clockwise direction.  She then offered a blessing for the ancestors in “each of the four directions.”  

“The ancestors are here,” said Hummingbird. “They’re listening.”

Hummingbird then lit white Garifuna sage – “a powerful medicine” – and reversed her direction, moving clockwise around the circle allowing the incense smoke to blow upon all.    As she did so, she led those gathered in a greeting to Pachamaná, Mother Earth, and together they called on the Great Spirit to “bless the ancestors that were coming on those boats.”

The participation of Hummingbird is an important symbol.  “She’s the connection between the ancestors that were here before everyone else came,” said McKnight.  Indeed, many present spoke of the relationship between Seminoles and the Africans they helped escape to freedom along the almost unknown southern route of the Undeground Railroad which ran just a few miles from where everyone was gathered last week.   “They’ve always been a part” of the remembrance, added Altine, who started the tradition with a Miccosukee tribal leader.  “They’re keepers of the land.”

Tinnie and others passed around ears of corn to everyone in the circle.  “Corn is a sacred plant, it does not grow wild,” said Tinnie.  These would be given as offerings in memory of the deceased.

“Facing the Rising Sun”

With corn in their hands, those present sang along with performance artist Omilani who offered “a song for the people of the [African] diaspora” in the Afro-Puerto Rican rhythm of bomba.  With lyrics in English and Spanish, Omilani sang of “a whole lotta freedom in my heart and soul…tengo liberacion en mi corazon” (I have freedom in my heart).   Pelicans glided overhead on the warm tradewinds as the song remembered the victims of the Middle Passage:   “I left a trail of blood all across the ocean.”

More songs were sung, each having lyrics that evoked the spirit of remembrance. 

Finally, the familiar strains of “Wade in the Water” began and, with that, came the signal to bring forth the offerings that would be carefully placed upon a palm frond raft made that morning on the beach with the blade of a machete by Tinnie, McKnight, and Marlon Moore.   The offerings included apples, oranges, malanga, whole pineapples, okra, plantains, slices of watermelon, rice, ñame, and the corn distributed to everyone.

“We encourage offerings to remember what these ancestors would have enjoyed,” said Tinnie.

Longtime participants of the Middle Passage Remembrance had spoken all morning of special occurrences that happen every time they come together to pay respects to the ancestors.  “Every year there’s a sign,” said McKnight.  He and Hummingbird spoke of a rain cloud a few years earlier that passed overhead shaped like the hull of a long-ago ship but “shed no tears.”

“The spiritual leaders tell you that’s confirmation,” affirmed Altine.

As the offerings were carried out into the sea by volunteers, others on the shore saw dolphins nearby breaching the surface of the water to get a closer look. 

For many present, the occasion to remember the nameless Africans buried beneath the waves also served to kindle spiritual feelings and remembrances of loved ones recently passed.  Kiesha, a professional from New England who recently moved to Miami, said she felt “overwhelmed” during the ceremony.  “This was a chance to feel something deep inside of me and get in touch with my ancestors.”

McKnight said that with the recent passing of some of his relatives during the previous 12 months, this year’s remembrance ceremony had added meaning.   “It brings it closer to home.” 

“The remembrance is a new beginning to call on my ancestors to help me get through another year.”

Kiesha also took time to remember her mother who passed thirteen years earlier, on the very same day.

For organizers, the event is a celebration of humanity.   “It welcomes everybody,” said Tinnie.   McKnight agreed, who said that the ceremony “is a way of paying homage to all of the ancestors.”

The remembrance is also a validation of resilience.  “You can’t kill our spirit,” said Hummingbird.

There was one more sign observed by participants.  Throughout the ceremony, a small squadron of frigate birds were literally floating over the circle of people on the warm winds blowing to the north.  Frigate birds are normally seen only by ships and, when the ceremony ended, they flew away.

*To read the printed version of this article, please click on this urlink. 

Coverage of Westview Homeowners versus Developers Story Expands

@jose_3_perez #NoWarehouses Don't miss an exclusive story about Westview land use battle, airing 7/3 on Local10 at 11:00pm! Retweet it!
— Golf Park Homeowners (@GPHomeowners) July 2, 2013