Although segregation laws prohibited black Americans from resting and residing in popular Miami Beach, service establishment and resorts such as the Hampton House Motel and Villas catered to and entertained the likes of notables such as Martin Luther King Jr., Althea Gibson, and even whites such as Mickey Mantle.

Construction of Interstate 95 in Florida in Overtown and declining use of restrictive covenants in the wake of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 dramatically altered the neighborhood into the 1960s.

Crime grew prevalent in the increasingly poverty-stricken area[clarification needed] in the immediate post–civil rights movement era of the 1960s and 1970s.

The ensuing problems of the poor and disenfranchised grew most apparent and notable in race riots that occurred in Liberty City in August 1968 during the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, and in May 1980 following the acquittal of police officers charged with the killing of Arthur McDuffie.

The plight of inner-city black Miamians increasingly came to be highlighted in national press into the 1980s as the University of Miami Hurricanes football team won several national college football championships led by players recruited mostly from black, lower-income neighborhoods such as Liberty City and Overtown.

Into the 1990s and 2000s, music grew to reflect the area, with locals such as Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew pioneering the Miami bass genre, which dominated Southern hip hop during the decade.

[3] Miami neighborhoods with higher elevations such as Liberty City are experiencing increasing real estate values.