City of Hope, City of Rage gives a fascinating account of three turbulent and transformative decades in the history of Miami. Marked by mass immigration, racially motivated uprisings, economic inequity, rising crime, and social change, Miami’s history from 1968 to 1994 saw the city evolve rapidly from a predominantly white southern city and vacation spot into a global, Hispanic-majority metropolis with an international tourist base. And yet Miami remains highly segregated today.
Exploring beyond the clichés of the Magic City as a bastion of hope for immigrants, a fantasy of beaches and art deco architecture, or a hotbed of drugs and crime, historian Seth A. Weitz reveals the social, political, and cultural shifts that transformed the city. Utilizing archival research and personal stories to reveal the diverse experiences of Miami’s Black, Latinx, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ communities, Weitz explores the struggles for social justice, the rise of the drug trade, and the ongoing fight to mold Miami’s image.
A Miami native, Weitz challenges simplistic narratives about the city, revealing a place defined by hope, rage, and struggle for identity. Illuminating the way Miami is defined and who gets to define it, City of Hope, City of Rage offers a fresh perspective on this vibrant and complex city, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in Miami’s unique history.
‘Weitz invites the reader to locate themselves in these pages as well as to learn more and to become invested in this ‘Magic City.’ He does this by showing myriad examples of diverse communities and individuals from all walks of life who have left their indelible mark on Miami’s history. . . . Compelling.’ —Melanie Shell-Weiss, author of Coming to Miami: A Social History
Seth A. Weitz is professor of history at Dalton State College. He is coeditor, with Jonathan C. Sheppard, of A Forgotten Front: Florida during the Civil War Era and author of numerous chapters and articles on Florida, southern, and Black history.
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. 1968, a Year of Triumph, Change, and Pain
Chapter 2. A Self-Proclaimed Moral Crusade
Chapter 3. A City Confronts the Past
Chapter 4. Miami, the Promised Land
Chapter 5. Miami Riot Syndrome
Chapter 6. A City Defined by Football
Chapter 7. Drugs, Skyscrapers, and Another White Flight
Chapter 8. Nasty and Banned
Chapter 9. Can Sports Save a City?
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
If It Takes All Summer
Martin Luther King, the KKK, and States' Rights in St. Augustine, 1964
By Dan R. Warren; Foreword by Morris Dees
A Forgotten Front
Florida during the Civil War Era
Edited by Seth A. Weitz and Jonathan C. Sheppard; Introduction by Seth A. Weitz
Florida and the Mariel Boatlift of 1980
The First Twenty Days
By Kathleen Dupes Hawk, Ron Villella, and Adolfo Leyva de Varona; Edited by Kristen Cifers; Foreword by Bob Graham
Uprooted
Race, Public Housing, and the Archaeology of Four Lost New Orleans Neighborhoods
By D. Ryan Gray
