South Florida man recounts Miami during the 1960s

MIAMI – A South Florida man shared his expertise Tuesday with Local 10 News on what it was prefer to stay in Miami during the 1960s.

If you ask Lonnie Lawrence, he’ll inform you that he is aware of Miami and the way it was lots totally different when he was rising up at the moment.

“There are things you can do now in Miami that you couldn’t do back in the Jim Crow days,” mentioned Lawrence.

As a teen, Lawrence says he was illegally arrested by police after a white lady was assaulted.

“We are talking in the early 60′s and it was a white female who had been assaulted the night before, and I always say, if she turned around and hesitated, I said, ‘Maybe I might not be standing here today talking to you,’” he mentioned.

Lawrence informed Local 10 News reporter Joseph Ojo that he was made to really feel as if individuals who regarded like him weren’t really accepted.

Reliving historical past isn’t straightforward, however Lawrence took Local 10 News for a tour of the Black Precinct in Miami.

“If anything happened to us or with us, we were brought to this building,” he mentioned.

Lawrence says his buddy Arthur McDuffie died at the fingers of law enforcement officials in December 1979 following a visitors cease and chase.

The 4 officers who had been mentioned to have beat him to demise, had been acquitted in May 1980, which result in a number of riots that Lawrence says left the metropolis on fireplace.

“There was a sense of tenseness in the community at the time,” he mentioned. “It was like someone went along and struck a match all over the place.”

Having lived by way of what he referred to as an “interesting” Miami, Lawrence says it’s necessary to share his tales in order that extra will be achieved.

Even although Lawrence says he’s pleased with the adjustments, he looks like extra can actually be achieved.

“I think we have made a lot of progress, but we can’t hide where we came from,” he mentioned.

To study extra about Lawrence’s story, go to the HistoryMiami Museum’s website, the place his story is highlighted together with the tales of different Black leaders.

For extra tales associated to Black History Month, click on right here.