To many in the Caribbean, Florida is considered an honorary member of the region. The sheer concentration of Caribbean culture found in the state is tremendous, with approximately 40 percent of Caribbean immigrants calling it home. Arguably one of the top cities in Florida that exemplifies this phenomenon is the city of Miramar.
Boasting a majority Black and brown population, the city of Miramar stands proud with just around 150,000 citizens. This wasn’t always the case, according to Miramar’s Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis. She notes that the city began as a worker’s town for Italian laborers. It was only as recently as 1992 that an influx of people of color forever changed the demographic, she explains. Today, Miramar has the largest concentration of minority citizens in the already ultra-diverse Broward County. The 2020 census revealed that Black and/or Hispanic people make up just under 83% of Miramar’s population.
Commissioner Davis is one member of a team of elected officials of Jamaican descent – either have been born and immigrated to the United States or born to Jamaican parents. This is the only such suite of elected officials in the country. She believes this unique aspect of local government provides unrivaled, first-hand insight into the people’s wants and needs.
In 2003, Commissioner Davis created a non-profit organization called Caribefest, Inc to foster further diversity, tolerance, and unity in Miramar’s ever-growing Caribbean population. In 2019, those efforts culminated in the Afro-Carib festival – a celebration of Caribbean, African, and Latin American culture. This year’s event was headlined by Jamaican Grammy Award-winning reggae singer, Koffee, but also featured Nigerian superstar Tekno, Haitian hitmaker J. Perry, and the Cuban icon Jacob Forever. “In a festival like we just had recently you can get the taste of the various foods, hear the music, the sounds, mix with people, and learn about each other,” shared Commissioner Davis. The 2023 edition of the Afro-Carib Festival experienced a record turnout.
The Commissioner hopes that the wider US can learn from the ways the disparate cultures in Miramar find common ground and live harmoniously, “We relish our diversity because we can learn from each other regardless of nationality or culture,” the Commissioner said.
