Civil rights activists say large Black crowds prompted spring break restrictions in Miami

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Miami Beach is attempting to scrap spring break, however it’s not yet clear whether spring break will adopt the suggestion.

After three consecutive years of spring break violence, Miami Beach officials are implementing months-long safety measures to curb the chaos, including parking restrictions for non-residents and shutting sidewalk cafes on busy weekends. The city warned visitors to expect curfews, beach bag searches, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints and arrests for drug possession and violence.

But business owners in the world-famous South Beach neighborhood now fear losing money during one among the busiest times of the 12 months, and civil rights activists say the restrictions are an overreaction to large Black crowds.

Many of the town’s restrictions are usually not recent, but in past years they were introduced as emergency measures during an unofficial holiday, somewhat than measures implemented in advance.

“The status quo and what we have seen over the last few years is simply unacceptable and intolerable,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner.

Meiner said despite the police presence, the group couldn’t be controlled. He said the town, which is positioned on a barrier island across the bay from Miami, can only hold so many individuals, and that capability often exceeds safety for each visitors and residents through the break.

Most spring break attractions focus on a 10-block stretch of Ocean Drive, known for its art deco hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.

David Wallack, owner of Mango’s Tropical Cafe, said Miami Beach has all the time thrived on celebration, and the limited access for tourists will turn the bustling, eclectic city right into a retirement community.

“I think we need to create something big, another big thing in March, because March fell off the cliff,” Wallack said.

Wallack and others have proposed holding a large music festival through the third week of spring break – when aimless and unruly crowds often reach their peak – with the hope that participants will disperse the loitering crowd.

Meiner said the town has spent tens of millions of dollars on concert events and other events in the past, which has done little to alleviate violence. He said businesses suffer when violent mobs gather along Ocean Drive force them to shut, and added that the people who find themselves the fundamental causes of the issues don’t spend money in the town anyway.

“They don’t stay in hotels,” Meiner said. “They don’t visit our businesses.”

Some civil rights activists, nonetheless, consider the restrictions are racially motivated.

South Beach became popular with black tourists about twenty years ago when organizers held Urban Beach Week over Memorial Day weekend. Many residents complained of violence and other crimes related to the event, which led to an increased police presence. However, the event’s continued popularity correlates with a rise in black tourism all year long.

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Stephen Hunter Johnson, an attorney and member of Miami-Dade’s Black Advisory Council, said city officials are reacting so harshly because most of the visitors are black.

“Everyone likes the idea that they are free from government interference,” Johnson said. “But surprisingly, if the government interferes with black people, everyone is OK with it.”

The mayor of Miami Beach rejects the notion that the town’s actions have anything to do with race.

“I have a moral obligation to keep people safe, and right now it’s not safe,” Meiner said.

In the Florida Panhandle, Panama City Beach, a longtime spring break destination, has seen an identical spike in violent crime, but Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez attributes it to people having fun with the outside, not actual college students on spring break.

“When you think about spring break, you might think about vacation, school break, maybe fistfights and keg stands,” Talamantez said. “It evolved into shootings, mass riots, rapes and murders.”

Violence in Panama City Beach got here to a head in 2015 when seven people were injured in a shooting at a house party. The city then banned alcohol consumption on the beach and suppressed prohibited events, amongst other things. Local businesses sued the town later that 12 months, claiming the brand new rules unfairly targeted events popular with black visitors, however the suit was dropped a number of months later.

Talamantez said the measures were somewhat effective, but a significant hurricane in late 2018 and COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 disrupted the town’s ability to administer crowds after pandemic restrictions were lifted, resulting in a resurgence violence.

However, renewed crackdowns in 2023 led to a 44% reduction in crime, and the town is introducing similar policies this 12 months. Talamantez said he doubts anything Miami Beach does will likely be more stringent than enforcement measures in Panama City Beach.

“We are simply trying to create an environment where it is said loud and clear, in big, bold letters, that we are a law and order municipality,” Talamantez said. “And law and order doesn’t disappear just because you’re on spring break.”