THE HUB Episode 9 | Harlem McBride, Oakland Park, Florida

[00:00:00]Located in the geographic center of eastern Broward County, the area was first known as Florinata in 1925, then later as the city of Oakland Park. The community dates back to the Tquestas, [music] indigenous natives that made up the majority of the South Florida community. Oakland park was mainly rural containing 815 residents, cows, hogs, and wildlife which stray along the city roads to a developing city with residential communities, retail centers, warehouses, [music] and manufacturing plants. In the northwest section, Harlem McBride was the heart and soul of Black Oakland Park. The community filled with homes, shacks, [music] and areas of business.

[00:00:40]The community of Harlem McBride is often not talked about the same way one would hear about Liberia, Pompino, Lauderdale, Carver Ranches, Deerfield, Hlandale, [music] and Dany. But the community has a life of its own. And in this episode of The Hub, we hear the firstirhand stories from the locals that call Harlem McBride home.

[00:01:13]Everybody cared about everybody in Hallmite Bride. And now we have neighbors in here. We don't have our wooden shacks in [music] here.

[00:01:23]We don't have our houses. But it was [music] a to me it was the nicest place to live. It was no hustle and bustle because everybody cared about if [music] you if I was caught down the street, people will say your dad and mama know you you you done left the house, you know. But it was good growing up in Hallomite Bride, even with the dirt roads, the outhouses, the wooden shack.

[00:01:48]My earliest memories when I was around about 6 years old, we were living right here on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street. [music] Had some awesome growing up memories in this in this this city. Um the neighborhood was very very close, very very comfortable. I tell you it was really a village. I remember uh some time ago I uh Miss Ida down the street on [music] on Fifth Avenue, she had a a soda machine, one of the old soda machines where the where the bottle top stick out and I was curious. I grew up that way and a little bit mischievous as well. So I saw those soda bottles out. I went and got a can opener um out of the house, got a cup, went down to Miss Ida's store and I popped that top off the bottle and that orange soda rolled right out of the bottle into my cup.

[00:02:36]But little be known while I was still drinking the soda, Miss Ida came out.

[00:02:41]What an experience. She popped me up a few times, but then she took me to the real judge, my dad. He took over for the next layer of the whipping. But I remember that was a great lesson for me.

[00:02:53]>> [music] [music] >> It was just me and my cousins, you know, running through the neighborhood. We was damn near the only Jits [music] in our generation that was in our, you feel me, in our age group. So, we running behind the older people, [music] hanging at the park right here behind us, you know, just playing football cuz a lot of this was just grass, you know, um fields and woods. [music] So, we playing football in a lot of the fields and stuff like that. That's pretty much what we did growing up. Getting mangoes, climbing trees, like that.

[00:03:27]>> Riding my bikes with my friends around Harlem McBride. And people saying, "Do your mama know you uh out here in the streets." Uh all I'm doing is just riding my bike. But [music] we just, you know, in the neighborhood just playing, just just being kids. Uh playing uh uh kickball in the uh the vacant lot by my house. At the time it was vacant. Um just doing kids stuff, you know what I mean? So that was really cool cool cool time uh to be a kid and um and to [music] enjoy your neighborhood. So >> be in the field from sundown to sundown.

[00:03:55]I didn't come up this the uh soft way.

[00:03:59]We work >> okay >> from night to night. If [music] the wasn't the beans or whatever we was picking up potatoes or [music] uh picking strawberries or whatever it wasn't finished, d turn the car around to the rope and we'll finish it that way. In [music] the present day Harlem McBride, the shacks have been upgraded to new homes. Many of the locals still call Harlem home. But what is the present day Harlem like? How is the identity of present day Harlem like compared to its yester years? [music] How is Harlem coming along in an ever moving county?

[00:04:34]>> Uh-huh. Buck and Mary.

[00:04:36]>> Oh, Buck and Mary.

[00:04:37]>> Uh-huh. And I never knew their real name.

[00:04:40]>> What's your fondest memory of this place? I couldn't come up here.

[00:04:46]I couldn't come. I would go through the side door. The [music] first time I came up here to go through the front door, my brother grabbed me from behind cuz somebody was in there to fight.

[00:04:58]>> Wow.

[00:04:58]>> And I never did go in the front door.

[00:05:01]>> Yeah. [music] Bucks and Mary.

[00:05:02]>> What's that? What What's this now? KJ's.

[00:05:04]>> Yeah. I think the people that own this building bought that. [music] >> Okay. Can you tell us about the Oakland Park or Negro? the old Oakland Park Negro School back in they closed us down what 62 [music] 63 I'm not sure but we were the first school in Broward County if I'm not mistaken that um they closed down for integration and um our kids went well we did we went to Oakland Park Elementary, North Andrews Gardens and Lord Estate and our school was called the Oakland Park [music] Negro School. But before they closed us, they named us Carter G.

[00:05:49]Woodson Elementary. [music] >> Hence why the name of the park.

[00:05:54]>> That in the park. I had to fight him to get that name.

[00:05:57]>> Oh, you're the one that got the name.

[00:05:59]>> I had to fight him. I had people signing petitions and we had [music] a I I couldn't find a picture of my brother inside of our little shack where the bathroom and the pavilion is at the park. [music] That's where a little shack used to be. And we used to have a juke jukebox, a pool table, [music] and that's where we used to dance cuz we weren't allowed to go to Bucks and Mary Lee's. But we had a little little club. And I remember me and some friends breaking [music] in that building every Sunday and sitting in the office and pointing in the telephone book and when a woman else say, "Tell your husband meet us where you we were like that right there at the park."

[00:06:42]>> Uh-huh.

[00:06:43]>> But then we they named the park and this is [music] the second time they did the renovations there.

[00:06:50]So, but this is where our school used to be.

[00:06:54]>> Right now, it's a lot of gentrification going on. A lot of people done bought some land and stuff, you know. It's cool. It's making the uh land value go up. But, you know, I still [music] I feel like they need to do more about like the community that been here. They need to like focus on us a little bit more. And you know what I'm saying? The black community cuz this really was the black neighborhood in Oakland Park. For real. This was the only place the blacks could live low key.

[00:07:21]>> Well, now can you share about present day Harlem McBride? What's your take on the present day >> Harlem McBride?

[00:07:28]Really nothing because we was over on this side until we almost got grown. We didn't go [music] on that side until we got grown. We joined uh the church over there and we start going to the church. That's when [music] we start meeting people that lived in Harlem McBride.

[00:07:47]most known was the Edwards >> present day [music] of Harlem McBride uh definitely has changed since the older days. Um we've been able to uh build better relationships uh with across the tracks uh city hall and the staff.

[00:08:02][music] U being a part of that and connecting those dots has really been something that I've been [music] uh it's a step in progress and a progress that is moving forward in the right direction. um over the years it's it's been rough the relationships um and growing those relationships is something that truly has been um a good thing for us to do and connect those dots. So um I'm seeing that happening which is allowing our city to develop. Um we are the city on the move but Harlem Broad is also that neighborhood on the move and we're seeing our our worth is definitely worth them being a part of what we're doing and what's going to be important for this neighborhood for the future.

[00:08:36]The city is growing. Um, we have highrises that are coming up in this city. We have folks of different background, religions, and colors that are piling into this city. [music] Uh, there's a little bit of gerrymandering.

[00:08:48]You know, that is right. So, that means the votes and the political scenes going to be changed. So, we have a whole lot of movements in this community. But one of the bigger better ones is the drug movement has disintegrated in this community. We had a real drug issue in the past where folks were coming from other parts of town town whether it be Pompo or Deep Fort Lauderdale or Plantation or Coral Ridge were coming this area just to purchase drugs and he left a stamp on this city. But God has made it so that this city has come back in a very very strong historical way and our history is still here uh untarnished. So I think that what we're sharing now in this city is an awesome movement. It's a it's it's it's it's it's a it's a blessing to be in the city of Oakland Park.

[00:09:35]>> You're at the site of what was known as Welcome Baptist Church. [music] Uh organized in 1952, but in 2000 [music] uh uh 2020. Uh God called us to revamp the church to a multi-purpose building, the welcome center that now you can rent out the building to have your festivities. Also, we have a youth center [music] upstairs with uh pool tables, air hockey games, basketball, all the fun games for kids can get off of the streets. And uh and also we have our our our new project right here on the site is the welcome center. [music] Uh it's a youth center.

[00:10:13]Uh we partner with Big Children Foundation and our uh our objective is to uh uh help kids that [music] um kids that aged out of foster care get their high school diploma, fitness, health, knowing how to cook for themselves. And this whole site is mainly for education [music] and recreation. The future of Harlem McBride, like many historical communities, new faces add to the story.

[00:10:37][music] New styles and cultural dynamics add to the community's legacy. And with these new changes, how do we maintain the historical significance, [music] the historical DNA that made the community what it was? How do we incorporate the historical DNA from the past into the future with where the community is going?

[00:10:55]>> If they keep their promise by doing what they say they would going to do, well, how are they going to do the things [music] in H Hallmike Bride? the city, the h the the the partnership is great now. It's [music] better than what it used to be because I used to feel that the city of Oakland Park didn't want us in annexed [music] into their city. And if I'm not mistaken, I think it was back in the 70s when we became annexed into the city of Oakland Park. So, we have a new city manager and they they trying.

[00:11:35]I'll say they [music] trying. So, I I think that's great >> to that. [music] Our future of Harlem Broad is definitely I think a positive uh thing that's going on right now. Um we know our worth as some of our neighbors say we are watching but we're watching but that connection with the city um has been something that has been elevated to a whole another level.

[00:11:57]>> [music] >> uh space and expansion of the city and the growth has allowed the impact what's going on here in Harlem Broad to just reach higher potentials for [music] the future. And I see that me being fourth generation, my kids being fifth generation, I can see a great future.

[00:12:11]But that means we got to continue to connect those dots and elevate ourselves in this community to have great relationships with the city um to to a better look for the future. City on the move, Harlem bride on the move as well.

[00:12:23]So [music] I definitely see an awesome awesome future in the making. city is a city on the rise. So, for sure, Oakland Park definitely going up. We've been moving, you know, everything definitely going up.

[00:12:34]>> Harlem, too.

[00:12:35]>> Hell yeah. But I feel like we got to just we got to lock in a little bit better, man. Hold on to what we got. The families that's still here, we got to lock in, grab more property that's around here whenever it open up, like that. And we [music] just got to keep our community strong. Harlem McBride community. But we do that a lot with cookouts and stuff that be here.

[00:12:53]Like last weekend we just had a little reunion. You know what I'm saying? It was just all the original people. What are they? All the original people, you know? Um the original families meet up and link at the park, you know, cuz we all still close. So, it's definitely community here. For real. [music] I believe the city is going to continue to grow futuristically. Um uh I think that commercialization is taking place. We have those warehouses that are right here right at the edge of uh Andrews Avenue and Fifth Avenue. I believe that some of the vacant lots I can see them now being purchased. Folks are coming in and and believe it or not, there's nothing wrong with growth and change.

[00:13:32][music] Some of those folks are bringing in the commercialized businesses.

[00:13:35]They're bringing their kids with all kinds of educational movements. We have STEM um technology that's growing in this community. The elementary schools are growing. the high schools are are are pres providing uh movements within the community. We have our middle school Rickards that's consistently doing some things on its own. But I believe that the that [music] the spiritual community is growing. The churches are growing.

[00:13:58]They're being impact by folks from different communities. So I believe that futuristically this city is going to continue to grow and glow that the empowerment and structure of this city is going to be is going to blow up. I see that the cost of living in other places are changing and also in this city. But I see that the government and the local residents are combining on making affordable housing a real movement in this [music] city like Liberia, Pompeo, Lauderdale, Carver Ranches, Deerfield, Hlandale, and Dany.

[00:14:30]Harlem McBride was [music] another story of legacy in Broward County. Legacy by those who are multiple generations deep.

[00:14:37]There's a Harlem McBride everywhere.

[00:14:39]possibly even [music] in your community or a community that you may know.

[00:14:44]Knowing the history is great, but connecting with [music] the locals who paved the way, whose ancestors paved the way is instrumental [music] in starting the process for creating transformative change in your neighborhood. Harlem McBride [music] is also the last stop for the hub in Broward County. One got a glimpse of the hub, Detroit. [music] Stay tuned for more intergenerational stories on future episodes of The Hub.

[00:15:07]what city will we go to next? [music] You just have to wait and find out.

[00:15:12]>> Just got to keep on pushing and staying positive, staying focused, staying prayed up for those things to really be elevated in the great [music] um aspect of this happening for our future, our Harlem Broad future. [music] People need to see the history to know where we going in the future. For sure, we got to keep it going. [music] >> If you're not saved, get saved cuz Jesus is the answer.

[00:15:32]>> We tend to work closer together. If [music] that continues to to take place, this will become that city.

[00:15:40]>> When you [music] get where you're going, don't forget where you come from. And I'll never forget where I [music] came from.

[00:15:57][music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music]