Liberty City

The walls that divided Miami

Last February, in honor of Black History Month, I watched two different documentaries about Miami’s Black history (and present): “Swing State Florida” and “When Liberty Burns.” Both films made mention of something I had never heard of: a physical wall that separated — and segregated — the Liberty Square housing project in Liberty City from […]

/ January 12, 2023


Beyond ‘Moonlight:’ This Miami filmmaker has more stories to tell in Liberty City

Faren Humes worked on the set of “Moonlight” and now the Miami native is ready to tell her own feature-length story about Liberty City.

/ December 18, 2019


Helping Miamians explore their backyards

Portrait of Martin Luther King Jr., as seen in Liberty City in 2008. Photo by 305mia Miami is a vibrant city filled with equally vibrant neighborhoods that are full of interesting stories to tell. The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau is excited to support that storytelling. The Bureau is tasked with promoting our city […]

/ February 25, 2019


The legacy of Liberty Square

WHAT: The Liberty Square housing project. Created as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal plan, it was the first public housing project in the Southeastern U.S. and provided a new housing option for Overtown’s segregated black residents. WHY IT MATTERS: In the 1960s, Liberty Square became densely populated, living standards declined, and violence increased. And in […]

/ February 25, 2019


Neighborhood Spotlight on Liberty City

Liberty City got its big screen debut in the Academy-award winning film “Moonlight,” but its history dates back to the 1930s, when the Liberty Square Housing Project was built for black residents in segregated Miami. It was an alternative to living in Overtown, which by then had become overcrowded, and attracted middle-class black families. One […]

/ February 25, 2019


Which black Miami pioneers helped shape Liberty City? Here are some names to know

We dug into Miami’s history to find a list of black leaders that helped shape Liberty City’s history.

/ February 15, 2019


Video: Claps for Mr. Yap

People say Mr. Yap is crazy. But ask him, and he’ll tell you he’s just “crazy happy.” George Yap migrated from Jamaica to Miami in 1976 with $50 in his pocket. With the help of family and friends, he founded Leasa Industries in 1977 inside a dilapidated warehouse in Liberty City. Today, his company is […]

/ February 13, 2019


Video: Liberty City’s best kept secret – Conch salad in a nail salon

We didn’t think we’d find Miami’s best conch salad inside a nail salon, but we did. In 1988, Willie Brown took over his dad’s nail salon, Nails by Daddy, and he’s been a household name in Liberty City ever since. They call him “Daddy.” Fourteen years later, after a trip to the Bahamas, he decided […]

/ January 31, 2019