Marjorie Aloni, Community Relations Manager at Vi Aventura, was recently sworn in to serve on the Miami Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB). Ms. Aloni is an atlarge board member, nominated by an ad hoc nominating committee designated by the CRB.
Since 1963, the Miami Dade County Community Relations Board has worked to foster mutual understanding, tolerance and respect among all economic, social, religious and ethnic groups in the county. CRB members today must possess the same level of community pride, interest, integrity, responsibility and commitment to intergroup relations as those who served so well in the past.
Aloni states “the primary mission of the Community Relations Board is to intervene and contain community tensions, as quickly as possible. The secondary mission of the Community Relations Board is to work proactively to identify and relieve intergroup conflicts before crises arise; to develop bridges of understanding and support programs in the community; to foster understanding, communication and mutual respect; to develop and support local or city based Community Relations Boards throughout the county; and to assure that resources are in place to respond to community crisis.”
The CRB serves as an advisor to the Mayor, Board of County Commissioners and the County administration on issues impacting intergroup relations. The thirty members are prominent community leaders who work to bring together diverse population groups and interests to create a cohesive community where all people are valued and respected.
Marjorie Aloni has worked as Community Relations Manager at Vi Aventura, a continuing care retirement community, for the past four years. Prior to that, she was Community Relations Director for the Jewish Federation of Broward for ten years. Ms. Aloni also currently serves on the City of Aventura Community Services Advisory Board.
There will NEVER be any trust between any of the communities. Simply because of the hatred, discrimination, arrogance and corruption that has consumed our county. I doubt if even if God himself was on the CRB no change would occur. As a Latino who has been discriminated, and treated like a second class citizen,even though I was born in the US, I see no change. After the May 17th,1980 McDuffie Riot, I learned that us Latinos are hated by blacks. The ironic thing about the riot is that I had nothing to do with it's causes. In fact, I wasn't even living in Dade when Mr. McDuffie was killed by the Police, and I had just moved here from New York City, prior to the riot! The black community has a lot of hatred and resentment towards us Latinos,and ALWAYS blame us for their problems. Not all of us Latinos are perfect. There are good and bad in our community. So for them to generalize us is an example of pure hatred, ignorance and lack of tolerance,on their part.