Overtown deserves justice, not another broken promise. Restore Underdeck funding | Opinion

Historic Overtown is more than just one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods. It is the beating heart of the city’s African American history — a place where Black businesses thrived, jazz and blues legends lit up the night and neighbors built a self-sustaining community despite the challenges of segregation.

That ended abruptly in the 1960s, when the construction of Interstate 95 and the 395/836 interchange cut straight through Overtown. The project displaced thousands, erased more than 300 businesses and reduced a population of over 50,000 to barely 10,000. This was not “progress” — it was devastation, sanctioned by government policy.

In recent years, the Underdeck Greenway was proposed as a symbolic act of restoration. It was not a handout. It was a pledge — a recognition that the people of Overtown had been wronged and that some part of what was taken could be returned. The city of Miami, the S.E. Overtown/Park West CRA, Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida all agreed: This was a step toward justice. As an Overtown small business owner, my co-founders and I respect and applaud their efforts.

However, just days ago, the Trump administration withdrew funding that had already been allocated to the project. The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” is an attack on the poor. This is not a partisan statement, to be clear — the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed this reality: this decision and others within it act like a tax on America’s poorest communities. And once again, Overtown is paying the price.

This isn’t about a political party. It’s about whether promises mean anything — and whether Miami’s leaders will stand up for the people who pioneered and built this city. Every member of our congressional delegation, Democrat or Republican, should be demanding that the funding for the Underdeck Greenway be restored.

Because here’s the truth: Overtown should not be punished for history it did not choose, nor for political outcomes it cannot control. It is not acceptable for a community to be wronged twice — first by displacement and now by the erasure of a long-overdue repair.

When we talk about “revitalization” or “investment,” we often forget the human stories behind the numbers. In Overtown, there are still elders who remember the block-by-block vibrancy before the highway came. There are still families who carry the memory of a home taken and a neighborhood fractured. The Underdeck Greenway was meant to reconnect what was broken — physically, socially and symbolically.

I would encourage federal officials to visit the exhibition “Sepia Vernacular: Overtown’s Photographic Journey, 1920-1950” at the Thomas Law Office Building in Historic Overtown. This exhibition offers a wonderful opportunity for them to educate themselves and explore the rich history and vibrant character of the Overtown neighborhood. It presents valuable archives from Miami’s Planning Department, including tax cards and planning sketches, along with over 80 striking photographs by the esteemed photographer Max Waldman.

These images beautifully capture the everyday lives and landscapes of the community during the first half of the 20th century, providing important insights into its cultural heritage. After witnessing the vibrant community that once thrived in Overtown, I hope federal officials will acknowledge their mistake in cutting funding for the Underdeck project.

If we allow this funding cut to stand, we send a clear message: The suffering of Overtown’s past does not matter, and the promises for its future are negotiable. That is not the Miami I believe in.

It is time for our leaders — local, state and federal — to demonstrate that when they pledge to right a wrong, they truly mean it. The Underdeck Greenway must be fully funded and carried out without delay.

A city that forgets its history is doomed to repeat it, and a city that refuses to heal the wounds it has caused can never truly recover.

Christopher Norwood is the founder and curator of Hampton Art Lovers at the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery, an Overtown business owner and art gallerist.