Liberty City is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, United States. The area is roughly bound by NW 79th Street to the north, NW 27th Avenue to the west, the Airport Expressway to the South, and

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

to the east. The neighborhood is home to one of the largest concentrations of African Americans in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, as of the 2000 census. Although it was often known as "Model City" both historically and by the City of Miami government, residents more commonly call it Liberty City. It is serviced by the

Miami Metrorail Metrorail is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only ra ...

at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza and Brownsville stations along NW 27th Avenue.

History

Once part of the sparsely populated outskirts of northern Miami, what became Liberty City developed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s when President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

authorized the construction of the Liberty Square housing project in 1933, the first of its kind in the Southern United States. Built as a response to the deteriorating housing conditions in densely populated and covenant-restricted slums of Overtown, construction on the initial housing project began in 1934 and it opened in 1937. Into the 1940s and 1950s, the growing Liberty City and adjacent Brownsville thrived as a middle-income

black American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

community, hosting several churches, hospitals, and

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

s. The area served as home to prominent figures such as Kelsey Pharr,

M. Athalie Range M. Athalie Range (born ''Mary Athalie Wilkinson''; November 7, 1915 in Key West, Florida – November 14, 2006 in Miami, Florida) was a Bahamian American civil rights activist and politician who was the first African-American to serve on the Miam ...

(the first black American elected to serve on the Miami city commission) and boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

. Although segregation laws prohibited black Americans from resting and residing in popular

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

, service establishment and resorts such as the Hampton House Motel and Villas catered to and entertained the likes of notables such as Martin Luther King Jr., Althea Gibson, and even whites such as

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

. Construction of Interstate 95 in Florida in Overtown and declining use of restrictive covenants in the wake of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

dramatically altered the neighborhood into the 1960s. Increasing numbers of lower-income elderly and welfare-dependent families migrated to Liberty City after their displacement primarily from inner city Overtown, turning the area into a dangerous ghetto, leading to large-scale black flight of middle- and higher-income blacks and other blacks like

West Indian American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...

s largely to suburban areas like

Florida City Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. Florida City is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area. As of the 2020 census, it h ...

and Miami Gardens in southern and northern Dade County, respectively. Crime grew prevalent in the increasingly poverty-stricken area in the immediate post–

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

era of the 1960s and 1970s. The ensuing problems of the poor and disenfranchised grew most apparent and notable in

race riot This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700s� ...

s that occurred in Liberty City in August 1968 during the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in Miami Beach, and in May 1980 following the acquittal of police officers charged with the killing of Arthur McDuffie The plight of inner-city black Miamians increasingly came to be highlighted in national press into the 1980s as the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Hurricanes football team won several national college football championships led by players recruited mostly from black, lower-income neighborhoods such as Liberty City and Overtown. National exposure continued with the popularity of nationally broadcast programs such as the NBC crime drama ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'', which brought the deteriorating conditions of the area to greater prominence. Into the 1990s and 2000s, music grew to reflect the area, with locals such as Luther Campbell of

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...

pioneering the

Miami bass Miami bass (booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit l ...

genre, which dominated Southern hip hop during the decade. Other music and sports talents rose to national prominence from the area such as rappers

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

and Trick Daddy and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

players Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson, Antonio Brown, and Willis McGahee.

Gentrification

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

is affecting the value of

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

-prone real estate in Miami. Miami neighborhoods with higher elevations such as Liberty City are experiencing increasing real estate values. By 2017, Liberty City, along with

Little Haiti Little Haiti (french: La Petite Haïti, ht, Ti Ayiti), is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is known historically as Lemon City, Little River and Edison. It is home to Haitian immigrant residents, as well as residents from the ...

, started becoming more attractive to investors. A community land trust is planned to maintain affordability for current residents. Home prices appreciated more slowly in 2018 in

and lower-elevation areas of

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Demographics

In 2000, Liberty City had a population of 23,009 and 43,054 residents, with 7,772 households, and 5,428 families residing in the neighborhood. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $18,809.87. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 94.69%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 3.04%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any nationality, 1.68% Other races (non-Hispanic), and 0.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. The zip codes for the Liberty City include 33127, 33142, 33147, and 33150. The area covers . In 2000, there were 19,286 males and 23,768 females. The median age for males was 25.9 years, while the median age for females was 30.3 years. The average household size had 3.1 people, while the average family size had 3.7 members. The percentage of married-couple families (among all households) was 20.3%, while the percentage of married-couple families with children (among all households) was 9.1%, and the percentage of single-mother households (among all households) was 33.1%. The percentage of never-married males 15 years old and over was 21.9%, while the percentage of never-married females 15 years old and over was 29.7%. In 2000, 2.7% of the population spoke little to no English. The percentage of residents born in Florida was 74.5%, the percentage of people born in another U.S. state was 16.7%, and the percentage of native residents but born outside the U.S. was 0.8%, while the percentage of foreign born residents was 7.9%.

Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools:

Public Schools

Elementary schools

*Lillie C. Evans K-8 Center *Poinciana Park Elementary School *Liberty City Elementary School *Holmes Elementary School *Charles R. Drew K-8 Center *Agenoria S. Paschal/Olinda Elementary School *Orchard Villa Elementary School *Lenora Braynon Smith Elementary School *Kelsey L. Pharr Elementary School *Earlington Heights Elementary School *Shadowlawn Elementary School *Thena B. Crowder Elementary School

Middle schools

*Brownsville Middle School *Charles R. Drew K-8 Center *Lillie C. Evans K-8 Center

High schools

* Miami Northwestern Senior High School * Miami Central Senior High School

Colleges

* Miami Dade College

Libraries

Miami-Dade Public Library operates area public libraries: *Model City Library

Transportation

The

services the neighborhood at the following stations: *

Earlington Heights Earlington Heights station is a station on the Metrorail rapid transit system in Brownsville, Florida. This station is located at the intersection of Northwest 21st Avenue and the Airport Expressway (SR 112). The Metrorail Orange Line creatio ...

( Airport Expressway and West 22nd Avenue) * Brownsville (North 52nd Street and West 27th Avenue) * Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza (North 62nd Street/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and West 27th Avenue)

Notable people

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film ''Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Indep ...

* Ian Richards *

Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. (May 11, 1938 – June 9, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as well as serving on the Florida Third ...

Leslie C. Brown Leslie Calvin Brown (born February 17, 1945) is an American politician and motivational speaker. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981. Early life Brown was born with his twin brother, Wesley, in Liberty Ci ...

, motivational speaker * Carrie P. Meek * Luther Campbell *

Ky-mani Marley Ky-Mani Marley (born 26 February 1976) is a Jamaican singer and musician. His name is of East African origin, and means "Adventurous Traveler". He is the only child of Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion. In 2001 ...

Darlyne Chauve Darlyne Chauve is an artist working with paint (especially known for her large works), photography, and video installations. Has a studio, Warehouse NOW, at 745 NW 54 Street in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, FL Miami ( ), officially ...

* Udonis Haslem * Mickey Rourke *

Tarell Alvin McCraney Tarell Alvin McCraney (born October 17, 1980) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. He co-wrote the 2016 film ''Moonlight ( ...

, playwright * Montel Vontavious Porter * Trick Daddy *

*JT, member of American rap duo

City Girls City Girls is an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami (Caresha Romeka Brownlee; born February 1994) and JT (Jatavia Shakara Johnson; born December 1992). The duo originate from Miami, Florida, and garnered attention after making an un ...

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

, NFL wide receiver * Bershawn Jackson *

Rakeem Cato Rakeem Cato (born March 28, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Fayetteville Mustangs of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Marshall and was the Thundering Herd's starting quarterback from 2011 to 2014. ...

Jacki-O Angela Brookins-Gillispie (born November 24, 1971), better known as Jacki-O, is an American rapper who is now signed to her own label Virtuous Woman Entertainment. Born in Florida, she got her first break in 2003 with the sex rap "P (Real Good)" ...

Darnell Jenkins Darnell Jenkins (born December 31, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Miami. Jenkins was also a member of the Cleveland Browns, ...

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

Marcus Forston Marcus Forston (born September 28, 1989) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. Forston was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football for the University of ...

Jacory Harris Jacory Sherrod Harris (born May 12, 1990) is a former Canadian football quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and a current firefighter in Miami for the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Harris started ...

Sean Spence Sean Ryan Christopher Spence (born June 7, 1990) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami, where he was na ...

, NFL linebacker * Teddy Bridgewater, NFL quarterback * John Marks, Mayor of Tallahassee * DJ Uncle Al *

George Jung George Jacob Jung (August 6, 1942 – May 5, 2021), nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, was an American drug trafficker and smuggler. He was a major figure in the United States cocaine trade during the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung and his ...

-lived in Liberty City in 1987 which was shown in the movie ''

Blow Blow commonly refers to: *Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blow ...

'' *

, CFL quarterback * Elvis Dumervil, linebacker for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

of the

* Antonio Brown, NFL wide receiver * Artie Burns, NFL cornerback for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

* Amari Cooper, NFL wide receiver for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Eli Rogers Eli Lamar Rogers (born December 23, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent i ...

, NFL wide receiver for the

T. Y. Hilton Eugene Marquis "T. Y." Hilton (born November 14, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at FIU, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the th ...

, NFL wide receiver for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Devonta Freeman Devonta Cornellius Freeman ( ; born March 15, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High ...

, NFL Running back

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

* Purvis Young, self-taught visual artist

References

External links

"Photo Essay: Fitting Tribute by Hank Willis Thomas"
''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'', May 2007 {{coord, 25.831801, -80.224829, display=title 1930s establishments in Florida African-American history in Miami Neighborhoods in Miami Populated places established in the 1930s