MIAMI: RIOTS OF THE 1980S

THE MIAMI RIOTS OF THE 1980’S:

MCDUFFIE RIOTS, NEVEL JOHNSON INCIDENT, & LOZANO INCIDENT

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will learn about the 1980s riots of Miami, FL.

Students will identify the causes, consequences, and effects of the Miami riots.

Students will analyze human behavior and historical processes.

FLORIDA STANDARDS:

SS. 912. A. 1.2 Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to identify author, historical significance, audience, and authenticity to understand a historical period.

SS. 912. A. 1.3: Utilize timelines to identify the time sequence of historical data.

SS.912. A.1.4:  Analyze how images, symbols, objects, cartoons, graphs, charts, maps, and artwork may be used to interpret the significance of time periods and events from the past.

SS.912. A.3.13  Examine key events and people in Florida history as they relate to United States History.

BEST ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS:

ELA.12. C.1.2  Write complex narratives using appropriate techniques to establish multiple perspectives and convey universal themes.

ELA.912. R.3.2 Paraphrase content from grade-level texts.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION(s):

• What significant events occurred in Miami, FL. During the late 1970’s and the 1980’s?

• How did these events impact black people living in Miami, FL.? What changes were made within the City of Miami due to these events?

• What were the political, social, and economic effects of the riots of the 1980’s?

KEY TERMS:

Riots, Police Brutality, Civil Disobedience

KEY PEOPLE:

Arthur McDuffie, Nevel Johnson, William Lozano, Clement Anthony Lloyd, Alan Blanchard

MATERIALS:

COMPOSTION NOTEBOOK

ATTACHMENT A:  Event Timeline of Miami 1980’s Riots with question

ATTACHMENT B: Primary Source: Newspaper Article of McDuffie Decision

ATTACHMENT C:  ​​​​  Teaching with Primary Sources Worksheet

ATTACHMENT D: Nevel Johnson Incident 1982

ATTACHMENT E: The Lozano Incident 1989

OVERVIEW:

This lesson provides information and resources for students to gain an understanding of Miami’s dark history. Because the events and issues at the center of this exploration are complex and disturbing, an essential first step is to create a safe and reflective classroom where students feel they can speak honestly about difficult issues without being judged or shut down by others, where they develop listening skills and the ability to hear perspectives different from their own, and where they learn to have civil discourse and not debate. Students are then given the opportunity to express and process their initial emotional reactions to the Miami 1980’s Riots as they develop a common understanding of the basic events.

LESSON SEQUENCE:

LESSON OPENING: Introduce students to the lesson by opening the topic with the following questions. (Allowing students to responded without bias)

• Throughout history, how has the black community responded to their local police?

• How has history played a role in this response?

Tells students they will learn of the 1980’s Riots of Miami. They will also learn of the events that took place during the late 1970’s that led up to the events of the 1980’s. Explain that Miami, though considered a Tropical Paradise by many, has had a dark past as it relates to its policing system and its relations with the black communities of Miami, FL.

QIUCK WRITE ACTIVITY: Present students with the 1980’s Miami Riots Historical Timeline of Events ATTACHMENT A. Once the image has been presented, allow students a moment to analyze the timeline. After about two minutes, allow students the opportunity to respond to the following questions in their composition books, “Based on the information provided within the timeline, what is a common trend that you notice within the timeline?” Allow students to share out their ideas.

• ACTIVITY ONE:

  • Allow students a few moments to discuss within their group, what the key terms mean to them and then as a group associate those terms with an event and explain how those terms are associated with the event. Each group will share out.

• ACTIVITY TWO:

  • Present students with a copy of the newspaper article (primary source) of the McDuffie Decision - ATTACHMENT B, which they will read to gain insight on the final verdict of the trial. Secondly, present students with a copy of the Teaching with Primary Sources worksheet, ATTACHMENT C. Inform student that they will utilize this document along with the article and several images to respond to the following Investigative Question: Investigative Question: What was the final verdict of the McDuffie Trials?

• ACTIVITY THREE:

  • Provide students with the Reading text for both the Nevel Johnson Incident, Attachment D and the 1989 Lozano Incident, Attachment E. Have students read both text and then respond to the following questions:

    • What were the events surrounding the Nevel Johnson Incident?

    • What were the events surrounding the Lozano Incident?

    • What are your thoughts on both events? What are some common patterns that you notice between both events?

    • What role did the community play in these events during this time?

    • What are your thoughts on the final verdict of both events?

  • Have students conduct further research, if necessary, to gain further insight to both events presented in Attachment D and Attachment E.

LESSON CLOSURE/EXIT SLIP: Ask students to reflect on the information they have gathered from the three 1980s Riots of Miami. Ask students to then respond to the following question: What was the political, social, and economic effects of the 1980’s Miami Riots? Do you believe that events like these in Miami during the 1980’s are exhibited today in other communities? Explain.

ASSESSMENT: ​​ Teacher observation of independent or group work. Evaluation of oral presentation and written product.

TECHNOLOGY

• DR. MARVIN DUNN, Dunn History: A History of Florida Through Black Eyes. https://dunnhistory.com/

• FLORIDA MEMORY, State Library and Archives of Florida: https://www.floridamemory.com/

SUGGESTED READINGS:

Dunn, M. (1997). Part Three: Race Riots and Civil Disturbances (1968-1995), Riots of the 1980s. In Black Miami in the Twentieth Century (pp.267-314). essay, University Press of Florida.

Attachment A:

1980’s Miami Riots Historical Timeline of Events

Based on the information provided within the timeline, what is a common trend that you notice within the timeline?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Attachment B

Primary Source: Newspaper Article

Attachment C

Teaching with Primary Sources Worksheet

Investigative Question: What was the final verdict of the McDuffie Trials?

Primary Sources	In what way (s) dies this primary source help us answer the Investigative Question?	What evidence in this source is the most helpful in answering the question?	How does this fit in with your knowledge about the topic?
1 (document):
2 (non-text): https://dunnhistory.com/media-gallery/
3 (non-text):
What do the non-text primary sources (2 & 3) tell you that the document (1) does not?

What is your full and final answer to the Investigative Question?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ATTACHMENT D

THE NEVEL JOHNSON INCIDENT (1982)

On December 28, 1982, Nevel Johnson Jr., a twenty-year-old black male, was playing a video game at a popular local recreation establishment in Overtown. Two uniformed officers entered the game room, and shortly afterward, a shot was fired, and Johnson lay motionless on the floor.

An officer noticed what appeared to be a gun under Johnson’s clothing. The officer placed his left hand on the bulge and drew his weapon with his right hand. Several witnesses at the scene had different versions of what happened. Some stated Johnson was not armed, and others claim he did. Nevertheless, all agreed Johnson was shot without provocation and without making a threatening movement. More importantly, the gun was never located when homicide investigators arrived.

Immediately after the shooting, Overtown erupted into a riot. Police cruisers were set ablaze, shot at, and stores were looted. The video arcade employees kept back the angry crowd to protect the establishment and the officers trapped inside.

Meanwhile, members of the Ku Klux Klan gathered on Brickell Avenue and Southeast Twenty-fifth Road to pass out literature supporting the police and advocating the rights of white people. Community activists argue that what happened to Johnson and the rioting was predictable given the economic and social conditions in the city.

The officers' trial began on January 18, 1984, to an all-white jury, including five non-Hispanic whites and one Hispanic. The trial lasted nearly two months; it took the jury only two hours to reach a verdict of not guilty. Immediately after the verdict, outbursts of violence and looting reoccurred.

In 1984, Miami city commissioners approved a $460,000 settlement with Johnson’s parents. The settlement, part in cash and part annuity, brought the family amount $1.1 million.

Dunn, M. (1997). Part Three: Race Riots and Civil Disturbances (1968-1995). In Black Miami In The Twentieth Century (pp. 299-304). essay, University Press of Florida.

Modified for learners, Grades 9-12

ATTACHMENT E

THE LOZANO INCIDENT (1989)

On January 16, 1989, Officer Lozano and his partner were handling a domestic dispute at an apartment near Northwest Third Avenue and Sixteenth Street. He radio a nearby police cruiser for assistance with a report when Lozano heard about a chase, and then heard the roaring of a motorcycle driving by Clement Lloyd coming his way. Seconds later, Lozano stepped into the street with weapon drawn and fatally shot Lloyd and seriously injured his passenger, Allan Blanchard, who died the next day.

Soon after the motorcycle crashed, a crowd of about two hundred residents took to the streets throwing rocks and bottles at police officers. By night, a caravan of police cruisers circled the area, carrying officers with guns pointed out of the back doors in an effort to discourage rioters. Nevertheless, looting began and fires set.

Violence spread from Overtown into Liberty City and Coconut Grove as Miami entered its second night of rioting.

The violence started to wind down on January 20, 1989. The disturbances left one dead, 11 injured, and 372 arrested. At least thirteen buildings were burned and damages were estimated at $1 million.

Officer Lozano was charged with two counts of manslaughter with a firearm and found guilty on December 7, 1989. Lozano appealed the verdict and was retired. In May 1993, he was found not guilty.

In April 1991, the City of Miami agreed to pay $500,000 each to the families of Clement Lloyd and Allan Blanchard. Under the agreement, the city acknowledges no legal responsibility for the deaths. The structured settlement included a cash payment with the balance in an annuity.

As a result of the 1980s rioting, Metro-Dade and Miami police increased the percentage of black officers on the force. A team police program was established to patrol Dade’s housing projects, and mini-precincts were built in Liberty City and Overtown. As the forces became more reflective of the community’s diversity, the public complained less about police misconduct.

Dunn, M. (1997). Part Three: Race Riots and Civil Disturbances (1968-1995). In Black Miami In The Twentieth Century (pp. 299-304). essay, University Press of Florida.

Modified for learners, Grades 9-12.