Portrait of a Street
Miami's 27th Avenue stretches for 17.5 miles through some of Dade County's most culturally rich neighborhoods. Although the street was officially renamed "Unity Boulevard" more than 20 years ago, Robert Samuels of the Miami Herald shows us that these neighborhoods remain far from united. His "27th Avenue: Voices from Unity Blvd" takes us to different spots along the street such at Little Havana, the primarily African-American Liberty City and the mostly white Coconut Grove, describing the people and businesses that make them distinct. Here Samuels visits a strip mall in Miami Gardens that houses six churches for the neighborhood's Caribbean residents:
A reggae beat pounds from one storefront. Inside, barefoot Pastor Jean Burke leads 15 worshippers at Praise and Evangelism Miracle Ministries.
She has inserted a CD into a boombox. The crowd shakes tambourines and maracas and sings along to lyrics projected onto peach walls.
"I'm calling to Your name on high, Your presence I cannot deny, I'd tell everybody if I could, 'cause I know Lord you've been so good."
Next door, 30 worshippers have filed into God of Deliverance Christian Center. They sit before a large altar and a heart-shaped chair for the pastor. They stand and sing to a strumming guitar in Creole, then French, then English:
"God will make a way, He will make a way, He works in ways we cannot see."
Each story in this excellent multimedia project comes with a video, audio slideshow and a fact box about the neighborhood. The main page includes a helpful map. Full disclosure: Samuels is a 2006 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, where I teach, although I didn't have the honor of having him in one of my classes. www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/27avenue/index.html
Have other descriptions of neighborhoods or communities impressed you? If so, leave us a comment and let us know.