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ACLU Meets with Miami City Officials to Iron Out Details on Cuban
Exile Protest During Latin Grammy Awards
August 17, 2001
Click here to read the ACLU statement on loss of Latin Grammys
MIAMI ? The American Civil Liberties Union, its clients ? a coalition of more than 60 Cuban exile groups and organizations of former political prisoners ? City of Miami officials and representatives of the Latin Grammy Awards will meet in an emergency session this evening at City Hall because the ACLU and the exile groups want to ensure that the Latin Grammy Awards stay in Miami, and that the constitutional rights of protestors are respected.
Concerned about possible constitutional violations in connection with the City of Miami plan to corral the upcoming Grammy Award protest, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is representing Bloque Presidio Politico Cubano ? a coalition of more than 60 Cuban exile groups and organizations of former political prisoners.
The group and its ACLU lawyers will meet with city officials at 6 p.m. today in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, in Coconut Grove. They plan to iron out details relating to a demonstration permit that sets a "security zone" around the American Airlines Arena, the location where the event is schedule to be held on September 11.
In letters sent today to city officials, ACLU of Florida Legal Director Randall Marshall warned that the "security zone" around the Arena would "effectively prohibit demonstrators from being within a reasonable distance of the Arena in order to be seen and heard." The letters were addressed to Miami City Commissioners, Mayor Carollo, City Manager Carlos Gimenez and Miami Police Chief Raul Martinez.
"Miami is not a First Amendment free zone," added Marshall of the ACLU. "It seems to me the city is trying to sanitize the protest by effectively distancing protestors from the Arena to a point where they won't be able to effectively share their concerns with those attending the Grammys."
Citing the county's former Cuba Ordinance, Miami-Dade officials rebuffed the Latin Grammy Awards last year, effectively losing a projected $40 million in economic revenue to Los Angeles, where the award ceremony was last held.
The ACLU, however, cleared the way to bring the Latin Grammy Awards back to Miami by successfully challenging the Miami-Dade County "Cuba Ordinance," which prohibited the use of county facilities by anyone doing business with Cuba.
In July of last year, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno issued a permanent injunction barring Miami-Dade County from enforcing the ordinance, finding, among other things, that the federal government has exclusive authority to set foreign policy and regulate foreign commerce. He cited the June 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that unanimously declared unconstitutional a Massachusetts law restricting purchases from companies that do business with Myanmar.
"This is an invaluable lesson on First Amendment values for our community," said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, president of the Greater Miami Chapter of the ACLU of Florida. "The First Amendment protects everyone regardless of their point of view. We initially challenged the First Amendment restrictions that kept the Latin Grammys out of Miami. Now we're fighting to protect the rights of people in Miami to protest the possible appearance of Cuban artists at the event."
