Businesses are reopening, people are back on the streets, and America is shaking off the COVID-19 blues. After a year of mostly staying inside, tourist by the thousands, arrived onto Miami Beach to enjoy their spring break vacation. Florida, one of the few states in the country that has lifted most COVID-19 restrictions, opened its arms, clubs, and bars for all to come. However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Open-for-Business” policy completely backfired when Miami Beach became overwhelmed with the influx of tourism, having city officials initiate an Emergency Curfew.
However, many Black leaders of the community have criticized Miami Beach City Officials for their response to the poor preparation of the spring break chaos and extreme use of force on the party goers on vacation. “This felt like a total overreaction,” said Stephen Hunter Johnson, chair of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board. He continued saying, “of course their job is to make sure people are safe and to deal with unruly behavior, but why do they handle Black tourists so aggressively?” The City of Miami Beach has been accused of racism before in its handling of large Black crowds, particularly during Memorial Day weekends over the years.
South Padre Island in Texas, another famous spring break location for many looking to have fun during spring break has been featured on the news recently with their turnout this year. Thousands of tourist have arrived on the beaches to enjoy their vacation with very little social distancing or mask wearing. However, no reports of police crackdown have occurred at South Padre Island as Texas declare themselves open-for-business, unlike Florida. The difference, as set out by Mr. Johnson, is that many who attended South Padre Island are white tourist instead of the black tourist experienced in Miami Beach.
Nationwide, people are advocating for policymakers to focus on solutions when it comes to the reduction of police violence. Projects such as Campaign Zero, supports the analysis of policing practices across the country, conducts research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, and provides technical assistance to organizers leading police accountability campaigns. Also, the campaign sets out the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide, which have been created in recent times to address such issues plaguing the United States. A Berenson Strategy Group conducted a poll which stated that 81% of all Americans support police funds going to “de-escalation” training for police officers. De-escalation training teaches officers to slow down, create space, and use communication techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations. Such training gives officers strategies to more calmly deal with people who are experiencing mental and emotional crises.
Daniella Pierre, president of the Miami-Dade N.A.A.C.P., suggests that the city needed to find alternative strategies for spring break crowds, such as providing cultural programming to keep visitors occupied and projecting a more welcoming attitude toward Black visitors, many of whom have complained in the past about excessive policing and hostility from some businesses. This is not the first time Miami Beach has been under fire due to their excessive policing. In 2011, During memorial day weekend, police fired hundreds of rounds at a fleeing car, killing the driver and wounding multiple bystanders. Many police departments around the country have commenced addressing such issues of race and the law by implementing racial bias training and de-escalation training to help their officers in the issues of excessive force and enforcing minorities. Miami Beach Police Department currently does not have such programs in place, but in wake of the media pressure and ongoing racial tension around the country, it seems the Miami Beach Police Department should move forward in implementing such programs.
As the State of Florida continues to lift restrictions on COVID-19 with the increasing numbers of vaccination and the governor’s promise to keep Florida open, only time will tell if Miami Beach will be well equipped to handle majority African American crowds with Memorial Day Weekend coming up in the month of May.