‘State of Black Miami’ forum at Caleb Center draws few

Poorly promoted event of concern to community activists

By Samantha Morell

On October 3, 2023

Miami-Dade County’s Black Affairs Advisory Board held its “State of Black Miami” forum on Saturday at the Joseph Caleb Center in Brownsville to address topics affecting the Black community, including mental health, generational wealth and the state of education. 

Residents were disappointed, however, by public turnout at the event. A half-full audience mainly consisted of government staff and representatives, although attendance would waver throughout the day due to competing events, including one related to a future museum on Virginia Key Beach. 

“I want to know why this place is not full … This is the State of Black Miami, and there’s no one here. What the hell is going on?” said community member Akua Scott. 

Mental health 

Board chair Pierre Rutledge initiated the event by facilitating a conversation on mental health in the Black community, where, he said, Black children are twice as likely to commit suicide than their white peers. 

Marcken Volmy, a licensed medical health counselor with Bedrock Counseling, said there needs to be a “cultural change” in the Black community, where preventative therapy and mental health care are destigmatized and normalized across the board. 

“It’s a holistic care,” said Volmy. “Mommy and Daddy need to address their emotional health. The child needs to address theirs, and hopefully break that generational trauma that continues to unravel in our communities.” 

Ashley Moten Bradley, a mental health counselor with Inspire4Purpose, said that process has to occur not only in the household, but publicly as well. 

“Why are we not having these panels in the school?” she asked. 

Ruben Roberts, CEO and founder of RER consulting, said parents must also be mindful of what their children are consuming on social media. 

Generational wealth 

Board member Jihad Rashid set the stage for a conversation on generational wealth by reminding audience members that Black people have historically been robbed of their economic foundations due to slavery and Jim Crow laws. 

Eric Johnson, housing program administrator at the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust, advised people to work toward owning a home as a form of equity that they can pass down to future generations, despite the struggles currently riddling South Florida’s housing market. 

“Start with something small,” he said. “If you can’t afford the single-family house or dwelling, buy a condo, buy a duplex.” 

Johnson also recommended learning financial literacy, which includes accumulating interest through savings and building credit. 

“When you get your paycheck or your income, pay yourself first. Establish a budget. Part of your budget should be putting some money aside for you and your family,” Johnson said. 

N. Patrick Range III, who operates Range Funeral Home, added that people must devise a plan on how to distribute those assets once they die. That includes creating a trust and writing a will. 

“We don’t want to talk about (death),” he said. “We don’t want to hear about it, no. But that puts us at a disadvantage. It puts our families at a disadvantage. If our children don’t even know what we have, how could they preserve it?”

The state of education 

Rev. Richard Dunn, MDEAT youth services administrator Marcus Bright and Daniella Pierre, Miami-Dade County NAACP president, served as panelists for the conversation on education. Pierre’s main message was for residents to get involved. 

“Our Jewish brothers and sisters who helped found the NAACP are serious about preserving their history and legacy,” she said. “We have to be the same. While we advocate for our policy at the state level, we need you locally at the school board meetings.” 

That message became especially relevant once residents spoke up about a proposed charter school in Liberty Square, which they oppose. 

“That item had to go before our school board,” said Pierre. “Now were we there to say we don’t want it? Who was there?” 

Public participation 

Resident participation became a controversial topic at the event when members of the audience expressed disappointment in the limited time afforded them to speak. After each of the first two panels, only a couple of audience members were able to get a comment or question in before being cut off due to time constraints. 

“You’re told this is the state of Black Miami, and you sit there and you have all of our people in here,” said Sharon Frazier, a Liberty City activist, who stormed out temporarily in frustration. “We could’ve been at Virginia Key … And then when you want to open up the panel for people to speak, they can’t.” 

Frazier also felt it was a waste to speak of youth mental health without inviting Black children to join and listen in. She said the event should have been promoted across the community. 

“A lot of times they’ll do things like this and then they’ll come on record and say, ‘We came to the community. The community wasn’t there.’ Because you didn’t share it. They never share anything. We have to do our own research, and by the time we find it, it’s almost too late and we have to scramble just to get there,” said resident Marion K. Brown. 

The Black Affairs Advisory Board promoted the event on its Facebook page one day before the event took place. 

Board member Stephen Hunter Johnson noted that the event was also livestreamed and posted to its Facebook page to create a record of the conversation, which would later be relayed back to the Board of County Commissioners. 

“It’s not that everybody was here,” he said. “It’s that what was said was said.” 

Admittedly, Johnson added, social media promotion for the event faltered and could be remedied in the future with additional funding from the county. 

‘This is our first year out in the open coming out of the pandemic,” he said. “So is it perfect? No, but it’s never perfect. It’s always going to get done though.”

This piece was republished from The Miami Times.