In the documentary , filmmakers highlighted the frustration of residents in one of Miami-Dade鈥檚 historically Black neighborhoods in the face of rampant redevelopment.
The film focused on the Liberty Square apartment project in Liberty City, which is currently being redeveloped by , headquartered in Coconut Grove.
One of the primary subjects of the documentary was Samantha Quarterman, founder and director of the nonprofit in Liberty Square. Her school serves students from K-12th grade who are struggling in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, many of whom are low-income residents of Liberty City.
READ MORE: Broken promises: What happened when climate gentrification came to Liberty City
In Razing Liberty Square, Quarterman talks of broken promises made to her and the community about what Related Urban would be bringing to the development.
She told 港澳天下彩in an interview that Related Urban鈥檚 president, Alberto Milo Jr., verbally promised her a larger building for her school at Liberty Square.
鈥淓verybody was pretty much excited because we wanted this promise that was given to the community. We was promised that we was going to actually have a school. But later on, we realized that they was bringing a school in,鈥� Quarterman said.
She said the promise for a new school was never given to her in writing, and communications broke down. In 2022, Related Urban announced it was bringing in a Mater Academy charter school to the Liberty Square development.
Mater Academy is a large chain of charter schools with locations throughout , and is part of the network of the for-profit charter school company .
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 understand why they was doing it at that time. Why would you bring a school in if we鈥檙e already here? And then we realized maybe it was just to try and phase us out,鈥� Quarterman told WLRN.
The documentary centered on the issue of 鈥� the idea that as sea level rise forces people away from Miami-Dade County's coastline, developers will look to redevelop inland neighborhoods like Liberty City that are predominantly Black or low-income.
Related Group, , was a major donor to former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez 鈥� leading to .
港澳天下彩reached out to Milo over the phone numerous times last week and left messages requesting comment for this story. He did not respond.
Related Urban Development Group has defended its record on the project and contested the film's portrayal. In a letter published around the time of the film's release in January, Milo claimed the documentary was inaccurate.
"Related Urban Development Group (RUDG) is extremely disappointed by the gross misrepresentations and factual inaccuracies in the documentary," he wrote in his Jan. 26, 2024, letter.
Quarterman said the documentary was important for her to shed light on the issues in her community, though it is hard for her to watch.
"When I do get a chance to look at the documentary it's almost triggering. It's almost like it's happening to me all over again. Every day is a fight, and you know, sometimes you just get a little tired, but you got to keep on going."
Touching many lives
MEYGA Learning Center currently has 150 children enrolled. Many of them stay for its after school and summer programs while their parents are working. The school provides three meals a day for every student.
After 20 years in operation, Quarterman said she鈥檚 seen her students graduate and become nurses, police officers and military service members.
鈥淵ou just don't realize how many lives you have really touched,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are still there and we are serving the people. It's not really about bringing new developers and developments in. It's about the people in the community and who's going to be here to stand up for them.鈥�
Quarterman said she is in talks with Miami-Dade County to find a suitable location for a larger school building. For now, she said she is not at immediate risk of losing MEYGA鈥檚 current property.
