though one white man was arrested on suspicion of
murdering a black rioter, the evidence was insuffi-
cient to result in a formal charge.
A federal grand jury indicted one of the officers
for violating McDuffie’s civil rights, but the trial re-
sulted in an acquittal. McDuffie’s family filed a civil
suit against the city for $25 million but agreed to ac-
cept a settlement of $1.1 million, of which half
was paid to the lawyers and the remainder went to
McDuffie’s mother and two daughters.
Impact The massive destruction of businesses and
property greatly increased the unemployment and
poverty rates of the African American community in
Miami. The riot underscored the need to improve
relations between African Americans and the urban
police. Miami and other cities responded by institut-
ing a number of reforms, including stricter guide-
lines for the police in using force, the training of
officers in race relations, and the establishment of
citizen oversight committees. Some scholars have
suggested that these reforms were one of the reasons
that the 1980’s did not see a wave of violent riots simi-
lar to those of the 1960’s.
Further Reading
Dunn, Marvin.Black Miami in the Twentieth Centur y.
Tallahassee: University of Florida Press, 1997. Ex-
cellent analysis that puts the 1980 incident within
its broader social and historical context.
Fyfe, James, and Jerome Skolnick.Above the Law: Po-
lice and the Excessive Use of Force. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1992. Historical analysis of police abuses,
arguing that the Miami Riot resulted in positive
reforms—a view disputed by other scholars.
Porter, Bruce, and Marvin Dunn.Miami Riot of 1980:
Crossing the Bounds. New York: Simon & Schuster,
- First-rate work of historical sociology, filled
with statistics, information about individual per-
sons, and perceptive interpretations. Highly rec-
ommended.
Stepick, Alex, and Alejandro Portes.City on the Edge:
The Transformation of Miami. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1994. Includes much informa-
tion about African Americans and Hispanics, with
an interesting summary of the riot.
Thomas Tandy Lewis
See also African Americans;Do the Right Thing;
Howard Beach incident; Latinos; Mariel boatlift; Ra-
cial discrimination.
Miami Vice
Identification Television series
Producers Michael Mann (1943- ) and
Anthony Yerkovich (1950- )
Date Aired from September 28, 1984, to June 28,
1989
Miami Vicefeatured a bold and distinctive look, both in its
cinematography and in its costume design. The show had a
significant influence on fashion trends of the 1980’s, as
well as on popular music, and it was one of several shows of
the decade to demonstrate the possibilities of giving prime-
time series their own specific look and feel.
For many people, the 1980’s conjure images of pink
flamingos, turquoise water, and white sports jackets,
graced by an auditory background of drums and syn-
thesizers. Many of these representations are rooted
in a highly influential drama that premiered on
the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in the
fall of 1984. The show was produced by Anthony
Yerkovich and up-and-coming director Michael
Mann, both of whom had worked as writers on the
1970’s buddy-cop showStarsky and Hutch, which simi-
larly featured hip undercover cops in a fast car.Mi-
ami Vicebroke new ground in television cinematog-
raphy by using innovative camera angles, evocative
lighting, and aggressively fast-paced editing. The
show was more carefully directed than much of the
fare being offered in cinema theaters at the time.
The sound track was equally innovative and carefully
designed. It featured heavily synthesized music by
Jan Hammer intermixed with pop hits of the day.
The influence of music videos upon the show’s style
was apparent, lending credence to the rumor that
the series had reportedly been nicknamed “MTV
Cops” while in development. Many episodes included
dance-club scenes that helped facilitate the inclu-
sion of popular music on the sound track.
Beyond the music,Miami Viceshowcased the lat-
est in designer clothing, as well as expensive cars,
watches, firearms, boats, and even aircraft. The pro-
tagonists often posed as wealthy potential clients of
upscale drug dealers, necessitating that they wear
and drive equipment they could never afford to own
on police salaries. Several of the show’s trademark
fashions, particularly wearing solid T-shirts under
light or pastel suits and intentionally cultivating
beard stubble, became popular 1980’s styles. Much
of the series was shot on location in Miami, helping640 Miami Vice The Eighties in America