Miami-Dade sorely needs mayor’s push to bring equity, inclusion to Black residents | Opinion
In a county enamored with rags-to-riches stories, not everyone acknowledges the economic aid — and the Democratic “welcome to the USA” policies — that led to prosperity and success for many early immigrants to Miami-Dade.
The triumphant narrative that prevails is that hard work alone made the man or the woman.
But it’s time to acknowledge that, besides federal aid and privileged immigration status, the whiteness of the early Cuban exodus in a deep-South state also played a role in opening the road to achievement.
If you don’t think so, ask a Black Cuban millionaire or billionaire businessman in town. Can’t find one? Neither could I.
You won’t find many African-American millionaires, either.
While Miami’s Blacks were among the region’s first settlers, they were largely left behind as modern Miami rose. Now, new leadership in county government is promising a concerted effort to bring equity and inclusion to the forefront — and end the historic “separate and unequal” treatment of Blacks.
County mayor & racial disparity
It’s time to acknowledge that, in 2021, we have to do more than just talk about race and racism. We need long-overdue policies with teeth at every level to ensure that, whether it’s a business opportunity, decent affordable housing or a shot of COVID-19 vaccine in the arm, they’re available to everyone.
To that end, the new County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has taken a first step in the right direction by creating the Department of Equity and Inclusion, funded with $375,000 and led by an energetic African-American professional from South Dade, director Jason T. Smith.
As he put it, Smith knows what a $1 million county investment in working-class Goulds yields, as opposed to say, well-to-do Pinecrest, in terms of equity.
Knowing the history of broken promises, I’m skeptical, but also hopeful after talking with Smith and Rahel Weldeyesus, senior adviser to the mayor in charge of another new department, Innovation & Performance, which will work hand in hand with Smith.
In my 40 years of reporting, I’ve heard a lot of promises made to the African-American community. Few have been kept.
But I don’t recall a mayor making it a priority, and three months into her term, addressing issues of inequity and discrimination by taking vast, multilayered action to lift barriers to opportunity.
County contracts & procurement
On the table for review: contentious county contracts and procurement procedures that so often only favor the politically connected. Smith’s office will study where they stand in terms of the inclusion of Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ communities. And women and people with disabilities, too.
“We will be data driven,” Smith says. “A dashboard of metrics will establish where we are now and set some real goals as to where we want to go.”
A community survey is being circulated to some 950,000 residents asking for input on what people need from county government and “civic weekends,” now in virtual form because of COVID but coming up in outdoor “tent” gatherings are being planned to target hard-to-reach populations.
“True change happens from the bottom up, among the people,” Smith says. “It’s important to hear from the community so that the county can take the lead from the community.”
What a change from the top-down leadership of former Mayor Carlos Gimenez, whose family, friends and campaign workers seemed to be first in line for county contracts.
Minority-owned mom-and-pop businesses and entrepreneurs will get information on how to become a county vendor, how to connect with capital funding, and on how to follow the path of success of others.
Smith, 42, points to the story of a Black developer who got his start installing drywall at a church but was able to grow his business after he was tapped to work in a county-funded senior housing project in Richmond Heights that, unbelievably so, had no minority participation.
Promoting stories of success will also be Smith’s job.
The mayor’s effort isn’t just politically correct diversity talk, but action directed at eliminating systemic racist barriers to success.
Policy to ensure there’s diversity in county-funded projects “needs to be baked into the system,” Smith says. “And that’s something my office can champion and say, ‘There is a path here and it can be done’.”
All of the members of the County Commission should get behind Levine Cava’s plan. County investment in Black prosperity benefits all of Miami-Dade.
Commissioners should not shy away from the racial-disparity conversation, but welcome it. For far too long, they’ve been part of a system that should have — but didn’t — grant county contracts to a bigger share of minority contractors.
“We have systemic racism in county government,” Levine Cava said on the campaign trail — and it wasn’t lip service.
Kudos to Madame Mayor for making good on a campaign promise that has the power to bring real change and prosperity to people left behind.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
