Several documentaries I’ve screened recently have a common theme: African Americans being displaced from land they’ve occupied for generations, as land formerly considered undesirable now has some trait that makes it undesirable. In Silver Dollar Road, swampland acquired by freed slaves became valuable to developers as waterfront property for vacation homes. In The Smell of Money, rural black homes became an obstacle to industrial hog farms located nearby. In Razing Liberty Square, inland Miami real estate originally considered second-rate became attractive due to the threats posed by climate change.
The beaches of Miami are a draw for tourists and residents alike, which explains why it’s expensive to live near them. Historically, African American residents were shunted into less valuable land, originally in an area called “Colored Town” (now called Overtown) totally lacking in beach views. Then a segregated public housing project called Liberty Square was built further north (and even further from the beach), and the Liberty City neighborhood grew up around it. To calm the fears of white Americans living nearby, a wall was built between the African American and white communities (this was not the only segregation-enforcing wall built in Miami).
Liberty City thrived into the 1940s and 1950s—it was home to African American middle-class and working-class families, and celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald stayed there when performing in Miami—as did Liberty Square. Things changed in the 1960s, as the construction of Interstate 95 reduced the neighborhood’s appeal and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it possible for African American families to buy homes elsewhere. In Liberty Square, living conditions also deteriorated because the city did not do proper maintenance, offering another reason for people who could to move out.
So far, this is a story you’ve heard before (remember Pruit-Igoe?). But there’s an additional twist: thanks to global warming, rising sea levels and increasingly violent tropical storms pose a threat to beachfront properties, making Liberty Square (elevation: 12 feet above sea level) attractive to commercial developers. Calling their plans “neighborhood revitalization” is not sufficient to allay the fears of residents, who suspect the real plan is to force them to move elsewhere so richer people can move in. They’re not being paranoid: that sort of thing has happened often enough that it has its own name: climate gentrification.
Katja Esson’s Razing Liberty Square covers five years in the lives of the residents of Liberty Square, beginning in 2017 as the first homes are demolished. Displaced residents are offered the choice of taking Section 8 vouchers (housing subsidies) to move elsewhere, or moving into a vacant unit and then into one of the new buildings as they are completed. Hundreds took the vouchers, creating a loss of community, and those who remained found themselves living in a new reality, with a private management company, lots of intrusive rules, and security cameras everywhere.
Several stories are highlighted in Razing Liberty Square, providing characters to focus on within a story that illuminates the vast network of political and economic forces behind this one particular historical occurrence. One is Sam Kenley, a single mother with seven children who has lived her entire life in public housing. Another is Samantha Quarterman, principal of an alternative school within Liberty Square, who is appalled to learn that land she wanted to use for a new school building has been granted instead to a business that is a perfect metaphor for the displacement taking place. Aaron McKinney has ambivalent feelings about working for the developer, while activist Valencia Gunder is doing her best to educate the community about climate justice. The conclusion to this story is not yet written, because the process is ongoing, but Razing Liberty Square does a great job illuminating the issues and power struggles involved. | Sarah Boslaugh
Razing Liberty Square will be broadcast on PBS on Jan. 29 as part of the Independent Lens Series.
