Shortly after an explosion of civil unrest ravaged Miami-Dade inner-city communities in the early 1980s, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission supported what local residents, civic leaders and elected officials consistently maintained as primary causes for the outbursts of displaced aggression and frustration:
Immediately thereafter, City of Miami and Miami-Dade County recognized their roles and collaborated to create a solution to the underlying despair and faltering hope that devastated the local Black community.
As a result, Metro-Miami Action Plan (MMAP) emerged in 1983 (becoming a Trust in 1992) as a solution to such socioeconomic disparities. MMAP currently represents the local government's commitment to stimulating community vitality - a commitment supported by Black, White and Hispanic leaders seeking positive and a peaceful solution to reoccurring problems.
As a result of U.S. Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek legislative efforts, MMAP created The Meek Fund Project to help stimulate economic growth and job development within Overtown. Several businesses received technical assistance and grants for business creation, expansion and retention.
Thanks to Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis Moss, MMAP administered the Moss Plan. The Moss Plan -- designated for stimulating economic vitality in South Dade after the 1992 hurricane -- encompasses a youth entrepreneurial program that has yielded 21 viable micro-businesses and an opportunity to expose hundreds of youths to the idea of entrepreneurship.
The Moss Plan also provided technical and financial assistance to the fruition of four franchise businesses in South Dade: Florida's first Black-owned Denny's Restaurant, ACE America's Cash Express, Almost Heaven and Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.
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