Flashback Miami: the 25th anniversary of Miami’s Black economic boycott

On July 17, 1990, Miami’s Black community, led by attorney H.T. Smith, launched an economic boycott of the local tourism industry after Cuban-American elected officials snubbed South Africa’s leader Nelson Mandela. The boycott was called the “quiet riot.” Smith called for a halt to Black tourism dollars being spent in Miami and Miami Beach. The boycott lasted three years and eventually led to the construction of the first Black-owned hotel on Miami Beach, as well as the hiring and training of Black managers in the city’s lucrative tourist sector. Video by Justin Azpiazu