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Local Black leaders feel 'disrespected' after Miami commission removes every member of Virginia Key Beach Park Trust - WPLG Local 10

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With questions rising about the future of historic Virginia Key after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez refused to veto the city’s takeover of the board of trustees, many Black local leaders are now angered by the decision.

Patrick Range, II. is the now-former chairman of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, a group of volunteers that oversaw the area’s preservation and restoration.

Suarez’s decision to remove the members of the Trust was supposed to be a discussion item at Thursday’s city commission meeting, however, Range said it ended up being a “personal appearance.”

“Shame on you, city commission -- you dropped the ball, you missed the mark,” he said. “You have insulted and disrespected the community. Provide a passive park experience for the citizens that live in this great city -- we deserve better.”

Virginia Key Beach was once the only beach accessible to Black Miami during times of segregation.

“That was the beach that we could go to recreate, to celebrate,” Range said.

But in a 4-1 vote in October, the Miami City Commission chose to take control of it, ousting every existing member of the majority Black trust and making Commissioner Cristine King its chair along with 2 appointees.

“Since you have disrespected us, we will not let this go with (the) approaching MLK holiday this Monday,” Range said in the commission meeting. “We have been accused wrongly of many things and we have not received any apology -- not even a thank you for the time and years the volunteers come forward.”

Among their issues with the trust, the commission cited slow progress on plans for a Miami Black History Museum at Virginia Key Beach Park.

“Part of that has been because of the lack of political will and structure and support,” Range said.

After the vote, a group of local Black community stakeholders penned a letter to Suarez, urging him to use his veto power.

He did not, leading to the commission take over.

Range said he believes Miami’s city commissioners can still do the right thing for the people.

“You have the chance to do right and believe you can do right -- the citizens will deserve this,” he said.

Local 10 News contacted the offices of Miami Commissioners Joe Carollo and Alex Diaz De La Portilla for comment on Range’s remarks but have not heard back.

In the latest development, King chose Bonita Jones-Peabody and Vincent Brown as her two appointees on Thursday.

Jones-Peabody, is an assistant public defender and Brown is a former Opa-locka city attorney.

The seven-member board has one vacancy currently, that is because there is currently no District 2 commissioner following Ken Russel’s departure. A special election in that district is happening in February.

In an interview, King said she plans to organize a community forum to hear what the community wants at Virginia Beach, Miami’s historically black beach.

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