Before it officially became Miami Gardens in 2003, that area of South Florida was home to a large West Indian community. Many of them are Jamaicans.
On August 7, from 3 pm to 7 pm, the city pays homage to Jamaicans and their contribution to Miami Gardens’ development with Reggae Summer Splash, a free event at Bunche Park celebrating Jamaica’s 59th year of independence.
Shannan Ighodaro, Councilwoman for City Council Seat 3, brought a resolution for the event earlier this year which passed 4-3. The inaugural show, she said, is “The first step in the right direction.”
Ighdaro, who is from Nassau, is the first Bahamian on the city council. Miami Gardens has just over 115,000 residents, half of whom were either born in the Caribbean or who have Caribbean heritage.
Though Reggae Summer Splash will have live entertainment in the form of Mykal Roze and Red Rat, she said it is Jamaican stalwarts who take pride of place. Among those to be honored are Lavern Deer, known for her fight against human trafficking; community activist Basil Cole and Hortense McGillvery, a pillar of the city’s Crime Stop movement.
The Jamaican presence in Miami Gardens is strong. There are numerous thriving businesses operated by Jamaicans including Golden Krust Restaurant and Taste Rite Bakery.
Shannan Ighodaro first came to South Florida from The Bahamas as a 23 year-old to attend Florida A&M University, the only Historically Black College in the state. She credits living in Miami Gardens for “helping to nurture my development” and is determined to acknowledge the Caribbean contribution to the city’s growth with events like Reggae Summer Splash which she hopes to be annual.
“We are like a nice, hot cup of soup so we still have our different flavors and uniqueness. For Jamaicans, we have reggae, for Bahamians we have Jonkanoo, for Trinis (Trinidadians) there is Carnival,” she said.
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