27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
The 44 Percent: Black teachers, Liberty City housing, Mia Love and more
When's the last time you thanked a teacher? I thought about that when I saw Academy- and Grammy-award winning performer Will Smith at his street-naming ceremony in Philadelphia this week, where he thanked his 10th grade teacher Ms. Brown, who played a part in giving him his 'Fresh Prince' moniker.
Teachers have a way of seeing things in us we hadn't recognized, or reaffirming what we already knew was there. In some cases, like my late physics teacher Mr. Sanders, they instill discipline (or occasionally fear). Mr. Sanders' reputation at Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta preceded him. As a child, I knew of him when my best friend's siblings took his classes but didn't grasp his firmness until I was in his ninth grade physics class. He was tough and stood on business when he failed a student (and many failed), but he was honest and found the wittiest ways to tell you that you were going to summer school.
But that strictness built character and resilience for a post-graduate career. Black teachers like Mr. Sanders or a Ms. Brown help mold young Black minds into the people they're meant to become, even if they can't visualize their future yet. They prepare you for a world that isn't quite ready for your greatness and success.
School may be out for spring break this week for Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but I hope a young Black mind reading this remembers to thank a Black teacher who saw them when it felt like no one else did.
INSIDE THE 305:
Affordable homes hang in the balance as Miami-Dade commissioner, nonprofits squabble
Liberty City residents who are waiting on affordable homes to be built are caught in the crosshairs of a feud between nonprofit Neighbors and Neighbors Association Executive Director Leroy Jones and Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
South Florida congressional reps react to Trump ending humanitarian parole program
South Florida's congressional members are concerned about the threat of deportation for their residents now that the Trump administration is ending a program that gave more than 500,000 immigrants a temporary legal pathway into the United States, Miami Herald state government and politics reporter Ana Ceballos reported.
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who represents residents in Little River, North Miami Beach, North Miami and Miami Gardens, expressed her concern. As she told Ceballos: 'For many, being sent back isn't just about crossing a border — it's a death sentence. It means living under brutal dictatorships like in Cuba or facing life-threatening violence like in Haiti. Ending parole overnight isn't just heartless — it's dangerous. It will rip families apart, shatter livelihoods and change the very fabric of South Florida.'
OUTSIDE THE 305:
Mia Love, child of immigrants and first Haitian American in Congress, has died
Mia Love died after a long battle with cancer earlier this week. She was 49. Love was a rising star in politics, becoming the first Haitian American in Congress. The daughter of immigrants, Love represented Utah as a two-term Republican lawmaker.
Federal workers fired in anti-DEI purge say it was because they're not white men
Federal employees at several government agencies who were fired amid anti-DEI efforts have filed a complaint alleging they were fired because they were not white men, NBC BLK reported.
According to the complaint, the Trump administration 'fired employees it perceived as being associated with DEI, including those who were not involved in any DEI-related activities or whose only DEI-related activity was involvement in a training or employee resource group,' the outlet reported.
HIGH CULTURE: Youth Film Program offered in Fort Lauderdale
The 1st Take Youth Film Program is offering a chance for young filmmakers to get mentorship from seasoned filmmakers and actors Allen Maldonado (of 'The Last O.G.' and 'Wonder Years') and Kamal Ani-Bello (of 'Moonlight'). Aspiring filmmakers ages 13 to 18 can get hands-on learning experience in writing, producing, editing and marketing. The program takes place from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center at 2650 Sistrunk Blvd.
