Miami Beach Residents And Business Owners Come Together For "Unity In The Community" Talk
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Miami Beach residents and business owners and the NAACP came together for a discussion called "Unity in the Community."
The event is designed for participants to share their thoughts ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Held at The Betsy Hotel, the event was moderated by NAACP Miami-Dade President Ruban Roberts and Commissioner Ricky Arriola.
Panelists included: Betsy Hotel owner Jonathan Plutzik, Miami Beach Police Spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez, Professor of African American History Tameeka Hobbs, Headliner Market Group CEO Mike Gardner, GMCVB Vice President of Multicultural Tourism & Development Connie Kinnard and Miami Beach resident Jeff Feldman.
Last year, some city of Miami Beach officials called for an end to Urban Beach Week following a shooting. Residents have long complained about the traffic and noise the event brings.
The NAACP says they're working on adding a number of programs to make everyone feel welcome.
"What we'd like to see is for the visitors that have traditionally come over that they're welcomed, that we're working on making this an officially sanctioned event. We're working with the city of Miami Beach and the mayor to put programming throughout the city for folks to come over where they'll feel invited, they'll feel welcomed just like you do when you have the Wine and Food Festival or Gay Pride Week, that sort of thing," said Roberts.
Some of the programming they're hoping to include — a poetry event, a basketball event, celebrity basketball event, a fashion show, and economic development talks they say where you can party with a purpose.
