Special note from the author: The following are excerpts from an upcoming Children’s Book on The Settlement and History of Little Haiti as a preview for Lakay Magazine. The children’s book will be released soon and will be announced in Lakay Magazine as well as through other media. There will also be a full version historical book followed by a documentary video on the history of Little Haiti and Miami’s Haitian Community.
Little Haiti, Then and Now
By David C. Brown, MAAs you look around the neighborhood you may get the feeling that you have stepped into a beautiful, color painting. The streets are filled with the sounds of Compas and Rasin music that will make anybody want to dance. Once you step inside the restaurants, you may see people eating Haitian food like diri ak pwa (rice and beans), griot (fried pork) and banan peze (fried plantains).
The first Haitian families settled in Little Haiti in the mid 1960s. During that time, the area was still known as Lemon City. The name “Little Haiti” was given in 1974 by Mr. Vitor Juste, one of the area’s early pioneers and businessmen.
During the late 1970s and early1980s tens of thousands of refugees fled Haiti; most came to Miami by boat. In 1981, the Archdiocese of Greater Miami built the Notre Dame D’ Haiti Church to serve the ever growing Haitian population.
In the earliest years, there were no Haitian organizations in Miami to help the newcomers. Now, there are over 60 agencies serving the Haitian community such as SANTLA- Haitian Neighborhood Center, and Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc (FANM).
Today, there are thousands of Haitian professionals working within the Greater Miami community, including: doctors, lawyers, engineers, realtors, government and school administrators, educators, business owners, artists and much more. Now, there are also several Haitian elected officials.
The oldest building in Little Haiti is the DuPuis building, located at 6045 NE 2nd Avenue, built in 1902. It is the oldest cement structure north of Flagler Street. This used to be the office of Doctor DuPuis and then it became the Lemon City Post Office. Miami Edison Middle School, located at NW 2nd Avenue and 62nd Street, was built in 1928.
Tourists like to come to Little Haiti to learn about the Haitian culture. Visitors love to taste the Haitian ice cream, paté and cola. There are many interesting places to visit like the botanicas, music stores, galleries and book store. Kids love to Little Haiti because it is a fun place with many things to do. For further information, Email: Sustainavillage @aol.com.