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Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida has an alternative to the ‘patriotism' pushed by book banners
Florida patriots Dr. Marvin Dunn sat beneath what he called the Black History Learning Tree next to FIU's Green Library on the 45th anniversary of the McDuffie Riots and swayed to Ray Charles' rendition of 'America the Beautiful.' Dunn wanted the program on the history of the riots to begin with that song 'because of the lie that professors like me are telling students to hate their country. Teaching that our country is the worst place in the world. I was out here [teaching at FIU] 36 years; I never heard a professor say 'hate your country.'' Flanked by Shanreka Perry, who was 10 when she lost her leg in the riot, and Bea Hines, the legendary Pulitzer-nominated reporter for the Miami Herald, and surrounded by scores of American flags, Dunn wanted everyone to know that 'I'm an American that spent six years in the Navy defending our country. This is our country too.' I thought about why Dunn needed to start his presentation defending his patriotism while reading Mary Anna Mancuso's May 23 op-ed, 'Florida ranks low on patriotism? I don't believe it.' She wrote, 'I have found Republicans to be more openly patriotic than Democrats.' I do not know if Dunn or Hines are Democrats, but I do know that 43 years ago this Memorial Day, Hines was chastised as being unpatriotic for opining in the Herald that she preferred 'America the Beautiful' over 'The Star Spangled Banner.' Dunn feels the Black History Learning Tree series (the next is Juneteenth) is needed because 'patriotic' Floridians now in control of the state have been banning books they don't like, deporting students at schools — including FIU — who may say something they don't agree with and forcing courses to be rewritten so they downplay Florida's violent racial history. Is that patriotic? Philip Cardella, Miami Parks leader Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's decision to replace County Parks Director Maria Nardi with a staffer from the elections department is a ridiculous proposition that will undoubtedly harm our county's award-winning parks. During her tenure, Nardi has done a fantastic job. Miami-Dade County Parks are among the highest rated in the state and nation. It makes no sense to replace a successful leader with someone who has absolutely no experience in the field. This is apparently a short-sighted decision by Levine Cava, who has a desire to help a political ally rather than prioritize the county's parks. Political affiliation should not result in a job. Replacing Nardi with an elections official will not keep Miami-Dade Parks growing. Howard J. Tendrich, Palmetto Bay College heads Gov. Ron DeSantis' apparent goal is to affix ultra-right conservative presidents at the helms of all of Florida's universities and colleges. This education take-over is shameful and goes against everything that America represents. His latest ploy is to install or have the University of West Florida Board of Trustees to 'decide' the appointment of Manny Diaz, Jr., Florida's education commissioner, as the the next leader of UWF. Some of the newly appointed DeSantis trustees are connected to ultra-right think tanks, including one who is a fellow of the Heritage Foundation. The Foundation is the mastermind behind the cruel, inhumane and anti-American Project 2025, which eliminates all diverse, inclusive and equitable programs and classes in our universities. DEI is who we are as Americans. We are all immigrants with diverse and rich nationalities, cultures, languages and religions. A university president must embrace all students, professors and majors. On-campus organizations must include all political, social and educational beliefs. Installing Diaz as the next UWF president is a recipe for disaster on all levels. A university president who will only represent an ultra-right wing agenda is anti-American. Mayade Ersoff, Palmetto Bay Safety hazard A waste transfer station is being proposed near Venezia Lakes, Three Lakes and surrounding West Kendall communities within the Miami Executive Airport's critical approach zone. The proposed site would create serious aircraft safety hazards due to birds attracted by waste; expose 18 schools within a five-mile radius to harmful pollutants; risk contaminating the Three Lakes and endangering local wildlife; cause severe property value declines in well-established neighborhoods and increase the risk of fires (recent fires occurred near the proposed dump location). Most concerning, this proposal was suddenly introduced without proper notification to residents who have lived in the area for more than 20 years. Our communities are urgently mobilizing to oppose this inappropriate development. We would appreciate coverage in the Miami Herald of this important local issue affecting so many Miami-Dade families. Sebastian Espinosa, West Kendall Cat people Even people who cringe at the thought of stray cats agree: fewer are better. County residents created Miami-Dade's stray cat problem by not spaying or neutering their pet cats and letting them roam outside to reproduce. Cats didn't choose to be born outside. I thank the Herald for highlighting Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the only accepted strategy to reduce their population. Feeding bans fail because they disrupt managed colonies where caregivers feed, monitor and trap for TNR; vaccinated stray cats prevent rabies transmission to pets, but hungry, thirsty and potentially sick strays will roam, spreading disease; dispersed cats are extremely difficult to trap and sterilize; feeders crucial to Miami-Dade's TNR programs are deterred, yet retailers profit from pet products and ignore stray cat abandonment. However, PetSmart Charities and Petco Love fund TNR. Bans also discourage caregivers, spurring more unaltered cat abandonment and don't stop reproduction. Stray cats are a reality we can't erase. The choice is simple: manage them humanely or let them suffer unmanaged. Danna Stillman, Animal Welfare Committee, Miami Beach Limp responses The response from our elected officials regarding the Trump administration's revocation of Temporary Protected Status for our immigrant neighbors is a disgrace. Rep. Maria Salazar said she was 'deeply disappointed.' Rep. Carlos Gimenez has 'concerns' about the revocation. Sen. Rick Scott said that, 'President Trump has full authority to take action.' That is pathetic. Where is the outrage? Where is the fight? Shame on them for their tepid responses while the lives of their constituents are in peril. Arnie Gellman, Miami Unhealthy It is ironic and hypocritical that Publix is recalling a brand of baby food from all stores because it might be contaminated with elevated levels of lead. Yet, at any grocery store, pharmacy, or convenience store, one can purchase a product that, according to the World Health Organization, causes 480,000 deaths in the United States annually and kills more than 7 million people globally each year: tobacco. If eating cantaloupe killed 480,000 people a year in the United States, the FDA would ban it immediately, yet Big Tobacco in the U.S. seems untouchable. Roger Hammer, Homestead Hold the water Recent research reveals bottled water contains far more plastic particles than previously believed — up to 240,000 per liter, mostly as tiny nanoplastics from the bottles and bottling process. While the long-term health impacts remain uncertain, microplastics are linked to inflammation, immune disruption and exposure to harmful chemicals. Contrary to popular belief, bottled water isn't necessarily safer or purer than tap water. In the U.S., tap water is regulated more strictly and tested more frequently for contaminants. Opting for tap water not only protects your health but also reduces plastic waste and saves money. If you're concerned about taste or local water quality, affordable home filtration systems can provide added peace of mind. By making informed choices and supporting stronger regulations, we can protect our health and the environment. Let's move past the myth of 'pure' bottled water and confidently turn to the tap. Paul Howard, Naples
Miami Herald
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
The 44 Percent: Marvin Dunn, Cory Booker, Black-owned steakhouse in Miami Beach
Under the shade of a tree on Florida International University's campus, historian and activist Marvin Dunn led a crowd of about 30 people on a journey through some of Florida's Black history. These were stories some hadn't learned in their formal schooling, or had only heard of but knew very little about. On the same night Dunn sought to educate FIU students and visitors about Florida's little discussed Black history, Cory Booker broke the record for longest speech on the Senate floor – a record held by Storm Thurmond in 1957 when he spoke against the Civil Rights Act. Booker detailed his criticisms of the Trump administration's policies and the Department of Government Efficiency, a department that was not approved by Congress, which is supposed vote to create new governmental departments. I'm certain Booker understood the weight and necessity of that moment The core mission of Booker and Dunn's actions is resistance to institutions that have systemically told Black people they do not belong. In a terse political climate in which legislation has been crafted to erase or limit Black history, it is important that we take up space and assert ourselves. Submission only gives people permission to treat us the way they think we deserve, but vocally combating the narrative that we're undeserving forces us to reclaim our place in America. INSIDE THE 305: 'Telling our history correctly': Activist hosts Black history class under a tree at FIU On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of writing about Marvin Dunn's Black History Learning Tree on FIU's campus. Dunn, a historian and former professor of the campus, designated the tree as a place where he will share Florida's Black history. Dunn is doing this without the permission of FIU officials while asserting that the idea that diversity, equity, and inclusion isn't dead. He plans to host more of his unauthorized, but much needed Black history lessons, including one today. From France to Washington Avenue: How this Black-owned steakhouse came to life Kathia Joseph's journey ton becoming a restaurateur started well before she owned Casa Matilda in Miami Beach. Born in Haiti, Joseph lived in France where she did translations for Disney shows before coming to South Florida and building her budding restaurant empire. Minority business reporter Michael Butler details Joseph's story from expert translator to savvy businesswoman. OUTSIDE THE 305: At Black Colleges, A Stubborn Gender Gap Continues Black male enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities continues to decline, the New York Times reported this week. Black men comprise 26% of the population at HBCUs, down from 38% in 1976, according to data from the American Institute for Boys and Men. 'There are now about as many non-Black students attending H.B.C.U.s as there are Black men,' the news outlet reported. The revelation that made Sheryl Lee Ralph cry on 'Finding Your Roots' Truthfully, I can't recall the last time I watched an episode of 'Finding Our Roots' with Henry Louis Gates. But the story of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph's legacy is intriguing. Ralph, known for her roles on 'Moesha' and 'Abbott Elementary,' learned that one of her ancestors was a free man. She talks about learning her history with the TODAY show, but the full episode can be seen on HIGH CULTURE: Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. April 4 marks 57 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On Friday, residents can commemorate him at the 20th annual Reclaim The Dream Candlelight Memorial and Gospel Concert. The event, held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, will begin at 6:01 p.m. – the time King was shot and killed at The Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The event will include a candlelight vigil and musical performances by Hezekiah Walker and The Clark Sisters. Where does 'The 44 Percent' name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter's title.
Miami Herald
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Telling our history correctly': Activist hosts Black history class under a tree at FIU
The Rosewood Massacre was just a short paragraph in one of Stephanie Borden's textbooks when she was in grade school. 'I did not get taught a lot of Black history from school,' the marine biology student at Florida International University, 27, told the Miami Herald. Slavery, Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves, Martin Luther King Jr. and his assassination, and Barack Obama's presidency were the highlights of the Black history she learned in school. 'My learning of Black history came from my family,' she said. But on Tuesday, as she sat by the newly christened Black History Learning Tree on Florida International University's campus, the little morsel of history she learned of the Rosewood Massacre morphed into a full fledged lesson from historian and former professor Marvin Dunn. On a March 17 Instagram post, Dunn announced he was going to host a free class to anyone who wanted to learn Black history under a tree by the Steven and Dorothea Green Library. And he did it without the permission of FIU officials, he said. 'It's important now to stand up. It's important now to resist this attack on our democracy,' Dunn said. 'Most of my colleagues, if not all of them at FIU, are vulnerable. I don't expect any of them to sit under that tree with me, and I don't blame them. I'm sure there'll be photographs taken of who is there and reports given to the new president about who is who under that tree.' In February, former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez was appointed interim president of FIU. Her appointment was the latest in a wave of conservative, well-connected politicians taking over presidencies at state universities under Gov. Ron DeSantis. RELATED: FIU's new president in her own words: A Q&A with former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez Dunn's Black history lesson comes at a time when the state has limited how Black history is taught in school, a trend seen nationally as the Trump administration has signed executive orders to eliminate what they consider diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and threatening to withhold funding from schools that they find ideologically out of line. At the same time, FIU and the rest of the state's universities have had to weed out general education courses that include 'theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.' Dunn, who spent his academic career at FIU, chose the tree as a way of institutionalizing Black history on the campus and designating a place where Black history will be taught, he said. Dunn said Black people have often used trees as a gathering spot, when in Africa elders gathered to make decisions and pass on oral history. 'I don't know of a single Black community that does not have a tree where usually Black men gather to socialize, tell stories, play the dozen, get drunk sometimes, but mainly to pass on our history,' he said. 'That's the tradition from which I come and I'm hoping that other universities will establish Black History Learning Trees as well as a model of protecting our history on those campuses.' Dunn's voice fought against the din in the open plaza as he noted the importance of telling such history before the assembled class of about 30 people: 'There's a temptation to sometimes not recognize the depths of the problems of Black people. We have to make sure we're telling our history correctly.' Today's lesson dove into the story of the Rosewood Massacre, describing the burning of a predominantly Black Florida town after a white woman, Fannie Taylor, lied about a Black man beating her, which incited a violent white mob. Dunn owns five acres of land in Rosewood. One of his neighbors in the small gulf coast town launched a racially-motivated attack against Dunn and was convicted of hate crimes. Dunn famously forgave his attacker, asking for lenience at his federal trial. 'I was raised in the church and my parents taught me to forgive, at least once,' he responded to a question asking why he forgave his neighbor. 'That was the motivation for that, but I did catch some heat for it.' Dunn also recounted the lynching of Willie James Howard, a 15-year-old boy in Live Oak, Florida, who sent Christmas cards to all his co-workers, including a white girl named Cynthia Golf. Howard later sent her a letter, which her father found. Golf's father and two other white men took the boy from his home, tied him up, drove him to the Suwannee River, gave him the choice between being shot or drowned. He would jump into the river as his father watched. Onlookers passed by and listened in while Dunn continued a few more stories of Florida's Black history, teaching about what constitutes a lynching and the history of Kingsley plantation. Students also received free copies of 'The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story' by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This is the kind of history FIU student Abigail Costello, 19, said she's afraid will be erased. She said she had noticed how certain terms were now being used incorrectly. For instance, she said that teachers in high school had started using the term 'indentured servitude' instead of 'slavery' when referring to American slavery. Indentured servitude involves a labor contract in which a person agrees to work for a set number of years with the promise of freedom. 'There's a lot that I didn't learn from school that I'm excited to learn outside of school in this space,' she said. 'It was just a lot of information to take in, and now I know I got to bring a notepad next time.' Borden echoed those sentiments, saying that she feels that there has been a push to remove professors who teach certain subjects and efforts to inaccurately teach history. 'Black history is American history,' Borden said. 'It all goes together. I'm sorry if you feel bad, because your history might be a little tainted,' she said, ' but that is where we are as a nation.' Dunn said he plans to continue the Black history lessons weekly and has already lined up two guest speakers including Shanreka Perry, whose leg was amputated when she was 12 during the Miami riots in the 1980s. Dunn encouraged people to follow his social media for when the next lesson will take place. 'It was important to me to make a presence, to make a beginning statement on this campus that DEI is not dead, and we will be here again and again and again,' he said. 'That's not a one off.' Dunn plans to tell more stories in other parts of Miami-Dade as well. On Wednesday afternoon, he posted on Instagram about the Overtown Black History Learning Tree, located in the Teach the Truth Garden at 901 NW Third Avenue. A date was not announced. As for Borden, she will make it as often as she can. 'I've learned so much and it [was] only an hour and a half,' Borden said. 'Whatever I have to do, come hell or high water, I'm going to be back.'
