By: Elgin Jones
Source: South Florida Times
A historic motel that served as a haven for black entertainers during segregation is now at the center of a racial-discrimination protest.
The Hampton House Motel, in Miami’s predominantly black Brownsville section, was one of the places where famous black recording artists stayed during segregation after performing for all-white audiences on the beach. The performers were not allowed to stay in predominantly white hotels.
Miami-Dade County is restoring and renovating Hampton House after it fell into disrepair over the years. But ironically, the construction work on the black historic site does not include any black contractors, subcontractors or laborers.
“Jobs for blacks in Miami are becoming an endangered species,” said Ken Knight, an activist and president of the Hadley Park/Model Cities Homeowners Association in the Brownsville community. “The Hampton House belongs to the black community, and the black community should be the people who rebuild that particular site. This is our heritage.”
Knight is leading a battle to get blacks hired to perform work on the restoration of the historic black motel and nightclub, work that is being mostly performed with the use of tax dollars.
“He has a point,’’ said County Commissioner Audrey Edmondson, in whose district the project is located. “He has a legitimate point, on some things I would like to see changed, however I don’t think we would look too kindly on it if the Hispanic community would say they don’t want blacks working in their communities.”
Activist protests lack of black workers on historic Hampton House project
