Miami: Melting Pot or Miami-Mart?
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Even a tourist could attest to the diversity of this great city. We are by no means culturally homogeneous. Miami moves in harmony with people from all walks of life. We have a large Cuban community on Calle Ocho, Haitians on the north side, even a substantial American-Jewish population in Pinecrest. Still, our being quite the multifaceted group does not necessarily make us a mixed one. Miami is less of a melting pot and more of a supermarket. While many flavors and “brands” are available, they are kept separate by their designated isles, each one nestled in their habitat based on their country of production, and their cost.
Having lived here since I was four, I consider myself to be quite the expert on Miami’s culture. I can map out the city in my head, from Homestead all the way up to Ft. Lauderdale. And I’ve lived all over. In Kendall, West Miami, Palmetto Bay, even in the Gables for a short while. While this might as well be greek for the out-of-towner, a native can identify the dominant ethnicity of the fore mentioned
neighborhoods almost instantly. Miami is diverse but fragmented, you see. The various ethnicities that reside here don’t live amongst one another. In practically every neighborhood, the given majority ethnicity dominates heavily, and it is rare to find a corner of Miami that is comprised of multiple ethnicities in equal parts.
My K-12 years first exposed me to the segregation of the city. I have attended a total of 6 different schools since I’ve lived here, all of them in different parts of Miami, and each one distinctly categorized by ethnicity, level of education, and income. And with every change of school, the scenery remained the same. Granted, my West Miami elementary schools were far more heavily populated by hispanic/ latino students than my Jewish influenced Pinecrest middle school and African-American Kendall high school. But they were always divided. Each with their own kind, for the most part. When I was younger, I assumed that this was the natural law of cliques and immaturity at hand. Growing older, and maturing with the development and progress of the city, I am saddened by the same reflection mirrored in the different “isles” of the “Miami-Mart”.
Pinecrest, FL (image source here)
Condense your perception of Miami into a supermarket metaphor. The most popular and culturally accepted foods get the best locations, and the less culturally shared, or “ethnic” foods, have little space to flourish, and require more money to be profitable items in the supermarket. Miami is no different. Our geographic location has made us an enticing spot for immigration, but the vast differences in culture and economic status have kept us on different shelves. How many people who aren’t black live in Liberty City? Are there a large number of people in Pinecrest who aren’t Jewish? What percentage of the people who live in Miami Shores or Morningside are Haitian? The fringe neighborhood which bleeds into Little Haiti doesn’t count, and how many people in that live in that neighborhood are from anywhere other that Haiti? Probably the same number of people living in Little Havana that aren’t Cuban. Slim and nil quite suitably answer the questions.
Liberty City, FL (image source here)
This is not necessarily a negative thing. How many places in the country have Cuban people at all? Or Haitians? Or Asians? When compared to the total population, the numbers are still slim and nil. While our varied local culture does not make it a “melting pot” per se, it does represent the potential for a more beautiful range of culture in Miami, by the power of immigration. But how do the realities of practicing natural immigration integration affect the idea of immigration itself? Taking all of this into account, do the benefits of diversity and needs of immigrants make immigration a civil right, or not?
Immigrants who have legally come into this country deserve their civil rights, just like any other American. But individuals from around the world don’t necessarily have a civil right to migrate to our country. This is a sad reality, but truthful nonetheless. Who of any of us has control over what country they were born into? I am not without sympathy for those grieving in a less fortunate country, and it is precisely why I support legal immigration. However, there is simply not enough room, nor resources to let everyone in. To what extent is America responsible for assuming the burden of what other countries are failing to do, especially with neighborhoods like Liberty City bleeding in it’s own backyard? Those who have become a part of our country legally should be privileged to absolutely every resource the next American is given. It is incumbent upon all Americans who value the ideologies from which this nation was created, to embrace the people from different countries who make our own that much more diverse, and special. But those who come illegally, and impose on American opportunities, not only put themselves in positions to be exploited for labor, but insult those who are suffering, too far away to sneak in. How many in the Middle East, or South America can finagle their way into America with those in countries closer to us crowding their slots? It is important to remember that while members of any country should make contributions for the common welfare of their people, it is also important to enforce accountability in the individual.
Miami might not embody the utopian ideals of a melting pot society just yet, but it does serve as a starting point for one. The immigrants who built this country long ago live on in cities like this one where diversity is flourishing and ideas of togetherness can thrive. Hopefully, the energy of legal immigration will continue to be an infectious one, and allow for social boundaries to melt, and the American Dream to prosper feverishly.
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