There was a welcome air of ethnic inclusion at the ceremonial ribbon-cutting event Monday as the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (GMCVB) unveiled a new tourist center at the Little Haiti Caribbean & Multicultural Marketplace.

“This is Haitian Flag Day and Haitian Heritage Month. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to roll this out now,” said GMCVB President Bill Talbert III.

While the ceremony featured brief comments from Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jean Monestime, District 3 Commissioner Audrey Edmonson and city of Miami Vice Chairman Keon Hardemon, the importance of the occasion spoke

to acceptance, growth and progress of the Haitian-American community. The opening featured entertainment.

“May 18, 1803 is the day the original Haitian Flag was sewn together,” said Hardemon. “Little Haiti will never lose its flavor because the people who live here have persevered through so much adversity. Remember that they have so much to offer Miami.”

A part of the bureau’s new Multicultural Tourism Department, the Little Haiti Visitor’s Center joins one already operational in Overtown. Another is planned for Coconut Grove.

The site of the Little Haiti visitor’s center is in the middle of the Multicultural Complex,, which includes the marketplace and Little Haiti Cultural Center, an area that reflects a microcosm of all that Haitian Americans add to the vibrant culture of Miami: art, entertainment, food, clothing and education. Moreover, there is the added benefit of additional revenue and job creation in a growing economic base.

“The opening of the tourist center in Little Haiti is quite an accomplishment for the community,” said Monestime, who was born in Haiti. “The community has come so far. Miami is a diverse community. This speaks to that diversity. It shows the community and Miami is growing. It will help bring tourists here, help generate revenue and jobs.”

Edmonson concurred, and added: “This opens up Miami on a larger tourism scale as a tourist attraction. It’s the second one in my District (Commission District 3). We opened one in Overtown two months ago.

“This includes the Haitian community. It’s a welcome site. It showcases the Haitian community. It’s time people consider the entire Black Diaspora.

I’m extremely proud.”

Edmonson addressed a contentious issue facing Blacks in Miami that other ethnic groups have been accused of exploiting, especially during elections.

The Black population is no longer simply American born Blacks and Bahamian Americans, but it includes viable Haitian American and Jamaican American communities, as well as other Caribbean-born Blacks.

“I think Miami has a lot of untold stories in Black heritage,” said Attorney Marlon Hill, a partner with the law firm of Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel.

“Blacks signed the charter when the city of Miami was incorporated. Blacks came here not only from other states, but the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica and other countries in the Caribbean. Miami needs to have central point for tourists to focus on the Black Diaspora, the multicultural nature of Miami. It can be transformational for both economic and cultural growth.”

The new center will provide visitors and residents with information about attractions and happenings in Little Haiti as well as other heritage and multicultural neighborhoods throughout Greater Miami. It will be open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“This means a lot to Multicultural Complex, the Haitian American community, the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County,” said the Little Haiti Caribbean & Multicultural Marketplace Manager Sandy Dorsainvil. “It means they’re saying this is a tourist attraction for the city of Miami.”

Source: 

http://miamitimesonline.com/news/2015/may/20/little-haiti-gets-visitor-center/