What is the American Cities Project?

The American Cities Project is a documentary series blending African-American history with the history of the modern American city. The project will tell the stories of three South Florida communities that have undergone dramatic highs and lows over the last 100 years:

*Overtown -- once known as the "Harlem of the South" and the second oldest Black community in Florida;

*Opa-Locka -- a city built as a fantasy testament to the book "1001 Arabian Knights" by a legendary Florida aviation pioneer and developer, but which now is one of Miami-Dade County's poorest communities; and

*the greater Fort Lauderdale area in Broward County, where Black settlers flocked during the booming years of the early 20th Century, to fill jobs building Henry Flagler's railroads, and where segregation created an alternate universe in affluent Miami for those living "across the tracks."

Their stories will be told through oral histories, archival footage and photographs, contemporaneous music, art and expert testimonies. The result will be three 60-minute documentaries -- one for each city -- tracing their histories from founding to the present.

Stay tuned to this blog for more updates.