Miami has a large and vibrant culture. It has influenced people all over the right. It is culture that young people and people of diverse ages and backgrounds have embraced. Many people have called the city of Capital of Latin America. Also, Miami is in the tropical zone of the environment. One major aspect of Miami culture has been its role in the film industry and the entertainment world. For example, Miami has been the setting of many films and television shows like Bad Boys, Miami Vice, CSI: Miami, The Golden Girls, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Ballers, Scarface, Burn Notice, etc. Many video games are set in the city like the Grand Theft Auto series, etc. Miami's The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (being home to the Florida Grand Opera) is the second largest performing arts center in the United States of America. The city is also home to many entertainment venues like theaters, museums, parks, and other performing arts centers. By 2020, Miami will have the first boat in movie theater opened for the public. There is the annual Calle Ocho Festival to celebrate Latin music culture, which has been running since 1978. There is the Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) that was created in 1996. It has been an annual celebration that relates to films outlining Jewish history and culture. It has awards too. Miami is home to fashion shows and events like the annual Miami Fashion Week and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, held in the Wynwood Art District. There is the Frost Art Museum, and other museums like the Perez Art Museum, Lowe Art Museum, etc. African American, Caribbean, Latin American, and Jewish cuisine are found all over Miami. There is Floribbean cuisine too. People eat the Cuban sandwich, croquetas, and drink the Cuban espresso. Miami is the headquarters of restaurant chains like Burger King and Benihana. Miami is home to five major sports teams, like the Inter Miami of Major League Soccer (MLS), the Miami Marlins of the Major Baseball League (MLB), the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). The Miami Open has tennis tournaments annually. There are golf courses, sports racing like the Grand Prix of Miami, and other sporting events. Miami has the Metrorail and the Tri-Rail to go from Miami to the suburbs. Famous actors, actresses, directors, and musicians are from Miami like Esther Baxter, Noah Centineo, Eva Mendes, Vivian Nixon, Berry Jenkins, Mariah Angeliq, Savannah Cristina, Debbie Harry, Pitbull, Ella Washington, Trina, etc.
There is a lot of information about my paternal 1st cousin Daniel Kelly (b. 1883). He lived in Virginia. He married his first wife, Lizzie Upshur (b. 1887), on November 27, 1904, at Northampton, Virginia. Their daughter was Hazel Kelly (b. 1906). He later married Ada Collins (b. 1893) on December 20, 1911, in Northampton County, Virginia (in the Eastern Shore, Virginia). Their children are Marvin Wilmer Kelley (1913-1990), Colvon Kelly Sr. (b. 1919-1968), Ada V. Kelley (b. 1923), and Olivia Kelly (b. 1925). Colvon Kelley Sr. married Della Victoria Walker (1921-2014) on December 2, 1943, at Nook, Virginia. Their children are Colvon Kelley Jr., Codella Kelly (1964-2024), and Al Walker. Marvin Wilmer Kelley and Ethel M. Kelley (b. 1913) had a son named Earvin D. Kelley (1939-2014). Earvin D. Kelley had the 2 daughters of Pandora K. Daniels (b. 1958) and Michelle Kelley. Earvin Kelley lived in Milford, Delaware, and he was born in Nassawadox, Virginia. Earvin graduated from W.C. Jason Comprehensive High School in Georgetown, which is now Del-Tech. He attended Delaware State College for some years. Earvin was dynamic at playing football and baseball. He would have been drafted to play for the Major League Baseball teams, but his dad put a stop to it, he said Earvin had to finish school. In 2010, he was inducted into the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame. Earvin held down several jobs such as: Doxie's Clam factory in Lewes, shucked oysters (also for private parties), cooker at restaurants, Mountaire and Paramount Poultry plants just to name a few. Earvin retired from the City of Rehoboth, Delaware after many years of service. He loved his big hats. He loved to cook and taught her daughter, Pandora to cook too. Pandora is married to Vance G. Daniels, Jr. of Lincoln, and Michelle Kelley of Raleigh, North Carolina, has blessings too. Earvin has six grandchildren, Antron Hazzard of Georgetown, Reginald (Brittany) Hazzard of Millsboro, Marcus Hazzard of Magnolia, Jahmon Lunan of Raleigh, N.C., Vance Daniels, III of Lincoln, and Vanasha Daniels of Lincoln; one great-granddaughter, Majesty Hazzard of Dover.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, everything changed in Miami from the Civil Rights Movement to the 1959 Cuban revolution. By this time, many black Americans fought for civil rights in America. Also, the Cuban Revolution happened. The Cuban revolution involved many Communists overthrowing the dictator Batista and allowing Fidel Castro to go into power. America at first supported Castro, and later America opposed him. Later, many middle-class and upper-class Cubans moved to Florida en masse, taking few possessions with them. Fidel Castro was a controversial human being. Castro was right to oppose Batista, as Batista was a far-right dictator with ties to the Mafia and multinational corporations with harm done to the people of Cuba. Castro was wrong in some of his anti-civil liberty policies in Cuba once he got into power. Some Miamians were upset about this. Some African Americans, who believed that the Cuban workers were taking their jobs. We should not generalize. The vast majority of African Americans and the vast majority of Cubans want peace, justice, and equality to be clear. In addition, the school systems struggled to educate the thousands of Spanish-speaking Cuban children. Many Miamians, fearing that the Cold War would become World War III, left the city, while others started building bomb shelters and stocking up on food and bottled water. Many of Miami's Cuban refugees realized for the first time that it would be a long time before they would get back to Cuba. In 1965 alone, 100,000 Cubans packed into the twice daily "freedom flights" from Havana to Miami. Most of the exiles settled into the Riverside neighborhood, which began to take on the new name of "Little Havana." This area emerged as a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, and Spanish speakers elsewhere in the city could conduct most of their daily business in their native tongue. By the end of the 1960s, more than four hundred thousand Cuban refugees were living in Dade County.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Attorney General's authority was used to grant parole, or special permission, to allow Cubans to enter the country. However, parole only allows an individual permission to enter the country, not to stay permanently. To allow these immigrants to stay, the Cuban Adjustment Act was passed in 1966. This act provides that the immigration status of any Cuban who arrived since 1959 who has been physically present in the United States for at least a year "may be adjusted by the Attorney General to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence" (green card holder). The individual must be admissible to the United States (i.e., not disqualified on criminal or other grounds). Although Miami is not really considered a major center of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, it did not escape the change that occurred. Miami was a major city in the southern state of Florida, and had always had a substantial African American and black Caribbean population. Black civil rights activists were prominent in Miami, Florida indeed.
On August 7 and 8, 1968, coinciding with the 1968 Republican National Convention, rioting broke out in the black Liberty City neighborhood, which required the Florida National Guard to restore order. Issues were "deplorable housing conditions, economic exploitation, bleak employment prospects, racial discrimination, poor police-community relations, and economic competition with Cuban refugees." This was when Richard Nixon ran for President for the second time. Overcrowding due to the near-destruction of the black Overtown neighborhood was also a factor. The 1970s was a formative period for Miami as the city became a news leader due to several national-headline making events throughout the decade. The year 1972 was particularly pivotal. The Miami Dolphins had their record-breaking undefeated 1972 season. Both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions were held in nearby Miami Beach during the 1972 Presidential Election. Florida International University, the regions' first state university, opened in September 1972. There were also significant advancements in the arts that contributed to the development of Miami's cultural institutions. Later in the decade, a Dade County ordinance was passed in 1977 protecting individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. Opposition to this ordinance, which was repealed, was led by Florida orange juice spokeswoman, Anita Bryant. The mid-1970s were also a period of extensive Cuba-related terrorist activities, with dozens of bombings, leading The Miami News to call Miami the explosion capital of the country.
In December 1979, police officers pursued motorcyclist Arthur McDuffie in a high-speed chase after McDuffie made a provocative gesture towards a police officer. The officers claimed that the chase ended when McDuffie crashed his motorcycle and died, but the coroner's report concluded otherwise. One of the officers testified that McDuffie fell off his bike on an Interstate 95 on-ramp. When the police reached him, he was injured but okay. The officers removed his helmet, beat him to death with their batons, put his helmet back on, and called an ambulance, claiming there had been a motorcycle accident. Eula McDuffie, the victim's mother, said to the Miami Herald a few days later, "They beat my son like a dog. They beat him just because he was riding a motorcycle and because he was black." A jury acquitted the officers after a brief deliberation. After learning of the verdict of the McDuffie case, one of the worst riots in the history of the United States, the Liberty City Riots of 1980, broke out. By the time the rioting ceased three days later, over 850 people had been arrested and at least 18 people had died. Property damage was estimated at around one hundred million dollars. In March 1980, the first black Dade County schools superintendent, Dr. Johnny L. Jones, was convicted on grand theft charges linked to gold-plated plumbing. His conviction was overturned on appeal and, on July 3, 1986, the state attorney Janet Reno announced that Jones would not be retried on these charges. However, in a separate case, he was convicted on misdemeanor charges of soliciting perjury and witness tampering and received a two-year jail sentence
More Cubans migrated to Miami by the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. About 150,000 Cubans came to Miami which was the largest transport in civilian history. These Cuban refugees were poor, and some have been released from prisons or mental institutions. Many white folks left Miami in the act of "white flight." Back in 1960, 90 percent of Miami was non-Hispanic white, and by 1990, only about 10 percent of Miami were non-Hispanic right. In the 1980s, Miami started to see an increase in immigrants from other nations, such as Haiti. As the Haitian population grew in Miami, the area known today as "Little Haiti" emerged, centered on Northeast Second Avenue and 54th Street. In 1985, Xavier Suarez was elected as Mayor of Miami, becoming the first Cuban mayor of a major city. In the 1990s, the presence of Haitians was acknowledged with Haitian Creole language signs in public places and on ballots during voting. During the 1980's, Miami became one of the United States' largest transshipments point for cocaine from Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. The drug industry brought billions of dollars into Miami via front organizations. Luxury car dealerships, five-star hotels, condominium developments, swanky nightclubs, major commercial developments and other signs of prosperity began rising all over the city. As the money arrived, so did a violent crime wave that lasted through the early 1990s. The popular television program Miami Vice, which dealt with counter-narcotics agents in an idyllic upper-class rendition of Miami, spread the city's image as one of the Americas' most glamorous subtropical paradises.
Miami was host to many dignitaries and notable people throughout the 1980s and '90s. Pope John Paul II visited in September 1987 and held an open-air mass for 150,000 people in Tamiami Park. Queen Elizabeth II and three United States presidents also visited Miami. Among them is Ronald Reagan, who has a street named after him in Little Havana. Nelson Mandela's 1989 visit to the city was marked by ethnic tensions. Mandela had praised Cuban leader Fidel Castro for his anti-apartheid support on ABC News' Nightline. Because of this, the city withdrew its official greeting, and no high-ranking official welcomed him. This led to a boycott by the local African American community of all Miami tourist and convention facilities until Mandela received an official greeting. However, all efforts to resolve it failed for months, resulting in an estimated loss of over US$10 million.
Another major Cuban exodus occurred in 1994. To prevent it from becoming another Mariel Boatlift, the Clinton Administration announced a significant change in U.S. policy. In a controversial action, the administration announced that Cubans interdicted at sea would not be brought to the United States but instead would be taken by the Coast Guard to U.S. military installations at Guantanamo Bay or to Panama. During an eight-month period beginning in the summer of 1994, over 30,000 Cubans and more than 20,000 Haitians were interdicted and sent to live in camps outside the United States.
During the 1990s, Hurricane Andrew destroyed areas just south of the Miami-Dade area. Miami had to deal with debt and economic issues. Manny Diaz was elected Mayor of Miami in 2001.
On September 9, 1994, the United States and Cuba agreed to normalize migration between the two countries. The agreement codified the new U.S. policy of placing Cuban refugees in safe havens outside the United States, while obtaining a commitment from Cuba to discourage Cubans from sailing to America. In addition, the United States committed to admitting a minimum of 20,000 Cuban immigrants per year. That number is in addition to the admission of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. More European immigrants came to Miami too.
In 2000, the Elián González affair was an immigration battle in the Miami area. The controversy concerned six-year-old Elián González who was rescued from the waters off the coast of Miami. The U.S. and the Cuban governments, his father Juan Miguel González, his Miami relatives, and the Cuban-American community of Miami were all involved. The climactic stage of this prolonged battle was the April 22, 2000, seizure of Elián by federal agents, which drew the criticism of many in the Cuban-American community. During the controversy, Alex Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County at the time, vowed that he would do nothing to assist the Bill Clinton administration and federal authorities in their bid to return the six-year-old boy to Cuba. Tens of thousands of protesters, many of whom were outraged at the raid, poured out into the streets of Little Havana and demonstrated. Car horns blared, demonstrators turned over signs, trash cans, and newspaper racks, and some small fires were started. Rioters jammed a 10-block area of Little Havana. Shortly afterwards, many Miami businesses closed, as their owners and managers participated in a short, one-day boycott against the city, attempting to affect its tourism industry. Employees of airlines, cruise lines, hotels, car rental companies, and major retailers participated in the boycott. Elián González returned to Cuba with his father on June 28, 2000.
In 2003, the controversial Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiation occurred. It was a proposed agreement to reduce trade barriers while increasing intellectual property rights. During the 2003 meeting in Miami, the Free Trade Area of the Americas was met by heavy opposition from anti-corporatization and anti-globalization protests.
In the latter half of the 2000s and 2010s, Miami experienced an extensive boom in high-rise architecture, dubbed a "Miami Manhattanization" wave. This included the construction of many of the tallest buildings in Miami, with nearly 20 of the city's tallest 25 buildings finished after 2005. This boom transformed the look of downtown Miami, which is now considered to have one of the largest skylines in the United States, ranked behind New York City and Chicago. This boom slowed due to the Great Recession and some projects were delayed but recovered from 2013 to the present day. The Port Miami Tunnel connecting Watson Island to PortMiami on Dodge Island, which cost $700 million, was opened in 2014, directly connecting PortMiami to the Interstate Highway system and Miami International Airport via Interstate 395.
Artificial intelligence is controversial, and new technologies involving it have come about all of the time. We now have multimodal AI or the integration of integrating text, image, and voice. There is Agnetic AI or using autonomous, goal-oriented systems. These systems are used in apps every day. We have the GPT-5 and Google's Gemini that deals with complex reasoning, creativity (with video generation with Sora), personalized services, and automated workflows (in finance, healthcare, and logistics). We are still debating its usage, as there are ethical considerations and more human/robot collaboration. Veo 3 can now create more realistic videos. Gemini 1.5 Pro offers advanced reasoning for coding, science, and complex problem-solving. Many people utilize AI in businesses such as Disney, Roblox, and banking for faster content creation, workflow automation, marketing, and data analytics. In our time, we have Edge AI or processing data directly on devices like robots for faster responses (this is seen in Amazon's warehouse robots learning tasks without constant human programming. There is Quantum AI, which utilizes quantum mechanics for complex computations. AI is controversial. Its defenders say that AI can power drug companies to personalize treatment plans, have automated financial services, create entertainment, and create better robots. Critics of AI say that AI can ruin many jobs in America plus the world, stifle human individual creativity, and could possibly ruin society as we know it. The truth is that artificial intelligence is in its early stages, and A.I. must have regulations. Trump wants A.I. to have nearly no regulations, and I disagree with this view. We should invent new technologies to help humanity, but we should also allow people economic opportunities, as A.I. is not superior to humanity. Humanity is still humanity.
Many people have predicted the future of A.I. technologies. Many researchers mention the rise of AI Agents to plan, reason, and show complex tasks without much human oversight. They can work in HR or even customer service. More clouds and AI are being placed more frequently in smartphones, airports, and other places. Unfortunately, there will be unfortunately more job displacements in data entry, customer service in some places, and some coding. There will be the development of more humanoid-like robots in the near future by 2030. Futurists predict that thousands of robots can be deployed in homes, factories, warehouses, etc. Space technology definitely will use AI technology as scientists want humans to travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Many researchers believe that the development of AGI or Artificial General Intelligence will match or exceed human cognitive abilities between 2029 and 2040. Some futurists like the controversial Ray Kurzweil believe that humans can merge with AI via brain implants or enhanced intelligence by 2045. Ray believes in the concept of transhumanism or humans merging with machines to be "perfected." Obviously, I reject the agenda and philosophy of transhumanism because of the obvious reason.
The influence of artificial intelligence is everywhere now. A long time ago, people were inventors and scholars who worked in mathematics, science, and other spheres of human endeavor. Many of the ancients were very intelligent human beings who developed algebra, calculus, and other scientific methods to create architecture, improve medicine, and raise the standard of living among the human race. Now, we live in a new time in the 21st century. Human beings now can go into space, create international communication via the Internet, Sype, Zoom, etc. We can also use 3D printing to manufacture items in a shorter period of time than centuries and millennia ago. Today, we have artificial intelligence. It has been talked about and theorized for thousands of years. Now, with the computing services growing since after the end of World War II, A.I. has grown in leaps and bounds. A.I. has been controversial. Its opponents view it as job crushing, as being the heralding of the Mark of the Beast (among many religious people) and having a crippling effect on individual human creativity. Those, who support artificial intelligence view as it way to improve health, increase economic productivity, and being used to increase the power of analytics in the world. What is necessary is to realize that technology evolving in generation in inevitable. That is how world history and human nature works. For example, we went from the Gutenberg movable type to emails. We went from the horse and carriage to planes and jets. Likewise, we have to realize that we need legitimate regulations on artificial intelligence. Nihilism is not an option. Regulations that are used in the proper way can protect human lives and improve our societies in general.
There are tons of exhibits, artifacts, and digital images found in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum has the camera used by Rev. Henry Clay Anderson during the 1960s to record African Americans living their lives in Greensville, Mississippi. The museum has the famous Croix de Guerre award that was placed on Corporal Lawrence McVey of the 368th Infantry. That was an African American regiment known as the Harlem Hellfighters that fought the fascist Axis enemy during World War II. There is the old 19th century Bible that was possibly read by Nat Turner found in the NMAAHC too. The first edition of African American poet Phillis Wheatley has been placed in the museum. She wrote many verses while she was enslaved. The pottery of the slave Dave the Potter of the 1800s is found in the location. The famous eight by four bill poster of June 1863 to encourage black people to fight for the Union during the American Civil War (which was signed by Frederick Douglas and 33 other people) is found in the museum. The museum has portraits of Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, Union solider Corporal Prince Shorts of the 25th Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry, and Pauline Cookman (who served in the Women's Army Corps, a U.S. Army branch created in World War II. It was segregated until 1950).
By Timothy
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