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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-06-29/news/9002220508_1_blacks-and-cubans-mayor-xavier-suarez-protesters
Miami snubbed Nelson Mandela on Thursday, refusing to extend him an official welcome and giving him a taste of America`s own racial problems.
It was the first time Mandela had received anything less than red-carpet treatment on what has otherwise been a triumphant U.S. tour to promote support for opposition to South Africa`s apartheid.
No one met Mandela at the airport. Mayor Xavier Suarez, a Cuban-American, boycotted the visit to protest Mandela`s remarks that Cuban President Fidel Castro was a ``brother in arms`` because Castro supported his African National Congress.
And hundreds of Cubans demonstrated on Thursday outside the Miami Beach convention center where Mandela was addressing labor leaders, waving banners proclaiming Mandela a ``terrorist`` and saying he wasn`t welcome in America. They also chanted slogans at blacks who had turned out to greet Mandela, creating a tense atmosphere in a city with a history of strained Hispanic-black relations.
Santiago Gonzalez, a Cuban demonstrator, predicted heightened ill-feeling between blacks and Cubans in Miami, and he blamed Mandela.
``He shouldn`t have come here. He knew he wasn`t welcome,`` Gonzalez said. ``If he supports communism, his place is back in Africa, in prison.``
Police successfully kept the two sides apart but there were scuffles when a small group of Mandela supporters accidentally strayed into the area cordoned off for the protesters.
Although those protesting Mandela`s visit were outnumbered by thousands of enthusiastic well-wishers, the demonstration marred the celebratory spirit that has surrounded of Mandela`s other U.S. appearances.
Mandela had to enter the convention center by a back entrance to avoid protesters, disappointing thousands who had waited hours in front of the building hoping for a glimpse of him.
``I`m angry, I`m angry as hell,`` said Jean Brandt, who said she had been waiting since 6 a.m. to see Mandela. ``I`m a native Miamian, born and raised in this city. But today I`m ashamed even to be in Miami.``
Max Castro of Greater Miami United, a multiracial group dedicated to improving Miami`s race relations, said the mayor`s snub to Mandela will not be forgotten by black Miamians.
He said Suarez was apparently trying appease the Cubans who deserted Suarez during the last mayoral election.
``But I think it was a very unwise move,`` he said. ``This is going to be an event of major significance in the history of relations between the two races.``
Instead of a formal welcoming proclamation, like those Mandela received from New York, Boston, Washington and Atlanta, the mayor and members of the City Council issued a statement declaring Mandela`s behavior ``unacceptable.`` Miami is not the first U.S. city with race problems Mandela has visited. But elsewhere, racial differences were buried by the rush of enthusiasm to greet him.
In Miami, the debate over his views on Castro highlighted the gulf between the city`s two main communities.
Blacks said they sympathized with the Cubans` position but felt they had misunderstood Mandela.
``They have their right to protest. However, I think they`re being unfair,`` said Vanessa Kerr, a businesswoman. ``When black South Africans were drowning and the rest of the world was ignoring them, Castro threw them a lifeline. Those people weren`t doing anything about apartheid then, so what right do they have to complain now?``
The Cubans, however, said they were hurt and angry that Miami`s blacks seemed more concerned about apartheid in faraway South Africa than about abuses in nearby Cuba.
``We don`t want them (the blacks) to think we support apartheid,`` said Pedro Cabrera of the Independent Cuban Party. ``We want human rights for South African people and also for Cuban people, but Mr. Mandela doesn`t seem to care about Cubans.``
Mandela flew to Detroit after addressing the union leaders. He made no public appearances in Miami, and a planned rally in the black neighborhood of Liberty City was called off on the advice of security officials.
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i will not let finite disappointment undermine infinite hope
- Cory Booker
Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end the Germans always win
- Gary Lineker
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