Experiences

Ok, so I'm pretty comfortable with Liberty City at this point. I can get around, I know all the streets, I know the "city" limits, so to speak.

A couple of weeks ago, our class took a "field trip" to Jumbo's to meet Bobby Flam, the only white business owner who stayed in Liberty City after the infamous riots that brought the neighborhood national infamy. He inherited the place from his father, who bought it in 1955. In the beginning the joint was segregated, like most places in Miami at the time. But when Bobby took over in the late '60s, he decided to integrate. He was the first business owner to do so.

I hitched a ride with my classmate and when we turned the corner on 75th Street, we both looked at the group of big black men on the corner across from the restaurant, hanging around their cars and glancing at the two white girls who pulled up next to them. I think we both thought, "what have we signed up for?" All that fear faded the moment Bobby approached us. He was so welcoming, and when we entered the restaurant, I think just about every employee greeted us with a warm smile and a peppy, "Welcome to Jumbo's!"

This experience was made that much more awesome when we found out that the South Florida Times will be publishing our newspaper as a special section in theirs. This is real! Our work won't just be classwork; now, it can truly and officially make a difference. I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of all of this! Great things are in store....