I’m From Little Haiti, the Part of Miami Tourists Never See

Isaiah Grimes, 22, a public‑housing resident from Miami, draws a sharp line between the glossy, tourist version of the city and the neighborhoods like his — Little Haiti — where people actually grow up, struggle, and face violence. For him, “real” Miami lives far from the beach: in the courts, on the blocks, and in the sense that if you want to understand this place, you have to come into the city and see what residents endure and protect every day.

This account has been condensed and edited for clarity.

I was born and raised in Miami, and what people call Miami most of the time is not really where I’m from. When people say they’re coming to Miami, they go to the beach or Hollywood, but that’s not Miami to me. That’s like Los Angeles, all the lights and everything. Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Hollywood Beach — that’s their Los Angeles. Where you’re standing here, this is the hood of Miami. This is actually Miami, Florida, where people grow up and struggle and you see the violence and everything. When I see people in videos saying they’re in Miami and they’re on the beach, I know they’re not in Miami. You got to come in the city to see what it’s like to be a part of Miami and to see what we go through.

I started out over here in Edison Courts [public housing complex], then we had to do an emergency move. It got that bad that the police had to be involved, the FBI was involved, and they said the best thing was an emergency move and we were out in 24 hours. We went to Apopka thinking it was a safe location, but it was worse than over here — every day, every day, every day something was happening. Now when you go to Apopka, you can say it’s like a new police department, all types of patrol cars, the colors of the cars changed. It’s ridiculous. When we came back to Edison, it was quieter. I won’t say it’s safe, but you can at least come outside and enjoy the nature, compared to when it was real hectic and helicopters followed us to school.

I live in public housing now. You apply through the Miami‑Dade website, and from what my mom told me, you have to have kids so they know how many bedrooms you need. They separate boys and girls — if it’s the mom, a son, and a daughter, it’s going to be a three‑bedroom, because they don’t want the son sleeping in the same room as the daughter. If it’s just the mom and the son, it’s two bedrooms. Around here it’s gotten harder. The corner store went up on snacks after someone got arrested. Prices just went up, and it’s been kind of hard over here.

To me, Miami is starting to feel like an attraction city now. A lot of people come here thinking it’s okay to disrespect us, mainly people from the beach who think they can come over and take over. The rules on the beach are different from the rules in the city of Miami. You will get your ass whooped and sent back to the beach. I feel like they’re coming in to see what’s going on, going back to report it, and then moving forward from there to move us out and move in here.

If anybody wants to know what Miami is really like, they need to come in Miami, not the beach. Come in the city and see it for yourself.