The Urban League of Greater Miami cut the ribbon on its new Empowerment Center in Liberty City on Oct. 29, planting a hub for job training, small-business classes and youth programming at 798 NW 62nd St. President and CEO Dr. Makeda Johnson and board chair Bernadine Bush cut the ribbon together at the opening ceremony, marking a new chapter for an organization that has owned apartment complexes in the neighborhood for years.
According to The Miami Times, the center will host workforce development, financial empowerment and youth programming, entrepreneurship classes through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, and the organization's crime prevention and intervention programming, known as CP&I. Schools can use the space for professional development, and community members can request to hold events there. The Urban League is also hiring a workforce development director to staff the center Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with additional hours during events.
Why Liberty City, Why Now
Johnson, who assumed leadership of the affiliate in August 2025 and became the first woman to lead it, said the Liberty City address reflects the organization's longstanding relationship with the neighborhood. She said she visited neighboring organizations before the opening to learn about their services and to explain what the center would do. Her goal, she said, is collaboration rather than overlap: “We're not here to duplicate services or do what you're doing. We want to work together.”
Johnson described the center's mission in practical terms, aiming to equip residents with skills that travel beyond a single employer or industry. “We are here to make sure that we have transferable, workable, stackable credentials for you,” she said, adding that opportunities at the center won't be limited by residents' zip codes — a notable point in a neighborhood that includes ZIP code 33147. She also said the center belongs to both the organization and the community, and that residents should judge it by its programming, its follow-through, and whether it acts as a genuine neighbor and partner.
A Separate Project From the Planned Headquarters
The Empowerment Center is distinct from a permanent headquarters the Urban League is developing near its Villages apartment properties, also in Liberty City. The organization's current headquarters will remain in Wynwood while that larger project continues, the report notes. Johnson is also considering a future youth or teen empowerment center, though no details on timing or location were included.
The neighborhood has seen other efforts aimed at economic lift in recent years. Back in June 2017, the Urban League launched the We Rise Education Village, a coalition of nonprofits, churches and education institutions, including the Miami-Dade school district, built to support the efforts of Liberty City's 13 schools, according to the Miami Herald. More recently, the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce announced it is receiving $850,000 in federal Community Project Funding to establish the Liberty Square Launchpad, a small-business incubator that, under the chamber's proposed five-year plan, would target low- and moderate-income microenterprise owners with five or fewer employees as well as people actively developing new ventures, per WLRN.
The Economic Backdrop
That incubator push follows a 2017 University of Miami/Florida International University study cited by WLRN, which found that 87% of all Liberty City businesses employ fewer than 20 people and that the area's businesses collectively generated $12 billion in annual sales. Separately, Miami-Dade County's Liberty City Rising initiative is projected to create an estimated 2,290 jobs, and the county established the Employ Miami-Dade program to train and assist in hiring residents from ZIP codes 33142 and 33147, according to Miami-Dade County — though that job figure comes from a limited public summary and should be read with that caveat.
Elders, Art and a Young Professionals Push
Programming at the center already extends beyond job training. The inaugural Convening of the Elders, described as a monthly gathering intended to preserve community history and connect generations, featured Bea L. Hines, who became the Miami Herald's first Black female reporter in 1970, in conversation with Urban League education director Kristian Luciano. Hines, who entered the newsroom that June as a new reporter assigned to cover community riots and became a reporter at age 32, discussed Miami's changing landscape and the importance of protecting Black history. She also recalled advocating for Overtown to be named Overtown rather than the Central Negro District, and told young people to keep sharing their ideas despite rejection. Johnson said elders' experience and wisdom can guide the community, and that she hopes the center ultimately provides connections, chances, mentors and confidence for residents.
The opening ceremony also featured a performance by the American Music Initiative and an art installation created by C.J. Lattimore. The center has additional activities planned for December. Separately, the Urban League is building out WAVE Miami — which stands for We Are Visionaries and Empowered — described as the organization's first young professionals auxiliary, serving members ages 21 to 40 across all career fields and backgrounds and inviting founding members to help shape its work. Sabrina Charles, the National Urban League's vice president of affiliate services and strategic partnerships, said the young professionals' service makes a difference for young people who receive guidance and support. The national young professionals network, which launched in 1999, now includes more than 60 chapters and 6,000 members nationwide, with members supporting communities through mentoring, volunteer service, civic engagement and civil rights advocacy. The Urban League movement overall directly serves 3.8 million people nationally, according to its 2025 impact report. The Miami affiliate is also planning a gala for October 2027, which would be its first in 52 years.
