The Miami Police Department and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez have come under fire after unveiling a cruiser this week with African-themed images to kick off Black History Month.
The red, green, yellow and blue vehicle includes a black fist raised in protest, as well as an outline of Africa. Officer Chiara Delva, a spokesperson for the department, said at the unveiling ceremony that the design was meant to honor the history and legacy of the Black Police Station and the officers who served there.
The unveiling took place Thursday at the Black Police Headquarters and Courthouse Museum, which at one time served as a separate police station and municipal courthouse for black police officers, judges and defendants — until it closed in 1963.
Miami Police Department via Storyful
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales spoke at to celebratehonoring the first black men to join the department in 1944 – Officers Clyde Lee, Muddy Hall, Edward Kimball, John Milledge and Ralph White.
“They stood against all odds,” he said, “not only against those in the community who wanted to stop them, but against members of their own department who wanted to stand in their way.”
Suarez, who was also at the event, called it “a beautiful collaboration to commemorate black history.”
Miami Police Department via Storyful
However, the unveiling prompted a backlash on social media, with some black leaders expressing disdain.
Sherene Ifill, former chair of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, took to Twitter, writing“This cannot be!”
MSNBC Legal Analyst Charles F. Coleman Jr. chirp that “it’s this kind of deafening performative tone that sparks a ‘wake-up war’ when we’re forced to accept the unacceptable”.
Karen Attia, Washington Post columnist chirp“I clap.”
CBS News has reached out to Suarez’s office and Miami police for comment, but did not immediately respond. Miami police held a Press Conference The Friday Morales joined, along with leaders of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (MCPBA) — an organization of black officers in the city — they tried to explain the reasons behind the move.
Sgt. MCPBA President Stanley Jean Boykes said his organization paid for the design, adding that “no tax money was spent on it.”
“This was something for us to honor everyone,” said Miami Police Deputy Chief Lt. Ramon Carr, MCPBA Deputy Chief Lt. Ramon Carr. “This has nothing to do with disrespect and shame. That was something, like, a source of pride for us, and still is. We know people are going to have their say on anything, but it’s something that we and the president have been able to work on.”
Morales reiterated at the press conference that “This is our way of honoring the first five officers, in 1944, who suffered injustice, prejudice and resistance and responded to the call and were able to cross that line.”
Miami Police wasn’t the only agency launching a cruiser to celebrate Black History Month. The Columbus, Ohio Police Department also issued a design to “celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans and acknowledge their roles in our history.”
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