Sushma Sheth on Liberty City

Partial Transcript: Sushma introduces herself. She is the director of the Miami Workers Center, MWC. Sushma outlines what the Center does in the community. They have been working in the black and Latino low income community for 9 years.

Keywords: black and Latino; low income; Miami Workers Center

Subjects: Sushma and the Miami Workers Center.

Partial Transcript: Sushma talks about the incredible housing boom in Miami. Overtown was the center of this boom. 92 thousand condos were scheduled to be built in 3 years. This changed the face of many surrounding areas.

Keywords: Housing boom; Overtown

Subjects: The affect the housing boom had on the face of Miami.

Partial Transcript: Sushma talks about how the building boom and then the building bust affected Miami. Foreclosures and evictions are a huge problem for Overtown and many historic communities in the area. This is a trickled-down effect of poor real estate planning. People in affordable homes and low-income properties are no longer able to keep their homes. Banks are becoming landlords. Buildings are being purged and more and more properties are standing vacant.

Keywords: building bust; foreclosures; trickledown effect; Building boom

Subjects: The affect the building boom and bust in Miami had on Overtown and many black historic areas.

Partial Transcript: Sushma talks about new building projects. She explains the definition of affordable housing and the rules to get into these homes. These homes are not meeting the needs of the low-income community. They are getting harder and harder to find.

Keywords: affordable housing

Subjects: The Problems with so called affordable housing.

Partial Transcript: Sushma talks about what the housing crisis means to the community. People can no longer find homes. Homes are becoming over crowded. People are doubling up and tripling up just to afford the rent. They are considered the invisible community.

Keywords: overcrowding

Subjects: How people are coping with the housing crisis

Partial Transcript: Sushma discusses the fact that the African American
community has been displaced many times. She talks about the history of the area and how the people have been displaced by different projects. Many of the people from Overtown, which was called Colored City at one time, moved to Liberty City. Liberty City is where Scott Carver Homes were built. These were federally funded public housing, which were considered “Top of the Line” homes at the time. These homes became the heart of this very vibrant community.

Keywords: Colored City; Liberty City; Scott Carver Homes; African Americans

Subjects: The creation of Liberty City.

Partial Transcript: Sushma talks about the county government applying for Federal Funds in 1999 for a project called Hope Six. This project was to redevelop Liberty City. It did not redevelop the area and the homes it wiped out homes displacing the community again. Over 900 families were displaced. The homes were demolished and the land was turned over to private developers.

Keywords: Hope Six; Liberty City

Subjects: The affect Hope Six had on Liberty City.

Partial Transcript: Sushma describes how the Miami Workers Center organized the community through an organization called LIFFT, Low-Income Families Fighting Together, to inform them of what was at stake. They were able to delay the process but they eventually lost. Now there is a wasteland where a vibrant community stood at one time.

Keywords: LIFFT, Low Income Families Fighting Together,; Miami Workers Center

Subjects: Fighting to delay the process

Partial Transcript: Sushma retells the story of displacement of Overtown. This is history repeating itself. Communities were displaced back in the 70s. The interstate, I-90, displaced Overtown into Liberty City. Downtown developers wanted to take over more land in the 30s kicking Overtown residents out and that was the creation of Liberty City. Scott Carver Homes were built with Federal monies. These were “Top of the Line” homes. About 10 years ago these homes were slated for demo under a program called Hope Six. They wanted to remove over 1000 families close to 4000 people for the new redevelopment using over 100 million dollars they had raised in Federal money. The Miami Workers Center through the LIFFT, Low Income Families Fighting Together, organized the residents and explained what was at stake. They were able to put the project off for years. 4 years ago Hope Six was successful in being able to kick the people out of their neighborhood.

Keywords: Hope Six program; Scott Carver Homes; the interstate; Overtown

Subjects: The history of the displacement of the Black low income residents from Overtown and Liberty City.

Partial Transcript: Sushma describes the area where she is standing. It is a wasteland and over 1000 families were displaced. Over the years Miami Workers Center has worked with civil rights organizations and the Miami Herald to investigate what happened to the money that was supposed to be used for development. In 2006 a historic story hit the Herald. It was called House of Lies. It was a 40-piece series unveiling the truth of what had happened. The series won a Pulitzer Prize. Because of this series, in 2007 many of the residents, Scott Carver home owners were able to come and demand restitution. The demand was for over 900 homes to be replaced.

Keywords: House of Lies,; Miami Herald; Pulitzer Prize; restitution; Miami Workers Center

Subjects: How the residents of the Scott Carver homes got restitution.

Partial Transcript: Sushma explains that restoring the homes and completing the last units of affordable housing is in negotiations. They have had the housing director fired twice and gotten a new administration for the Housing Development Commission. Many of the Scott Carver residents who had been homeless are now in homes.

Keywords: new administration; affordable housing

Subjects: What it took to restore the Scott Carver Home residents.

Partial Transcript: Sushma says the fight for communities like Overtown and Liberty City still continues. There are a number of vacant and dilapidated private homes. The residents of Overtown and Liberty City have joined together to form the Miami Renters Union. They are part of a national movement to take back communities by fighting Gentrification. It is called The Right to the City. They are working to take back control of the housing situation.

Keywords: Miami Renters Union; take back communities; Communities

Subjects: What communities are doing now to take back control.