Dear City of Miami, Civil Service Board,

Instead of resting this holiday season, we, the community of Litle Haiti, find ourselves, yet again, advocating against the injustices that continue to plague our community. 

Under the principle of UNITY, we are writing to express our grave concern regarding the disciplinary actions and potential removal of Ms. Dasha Saintremy, current Manager of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex (LHCC).

Programmatically, Dasha helped reenergize the Complex through initiatives such as Communal Conversation, the return of free Konpa dance classes during Market Days, and free community concerts. During Miami Art Week, she supported and organized a full week of free programming—seven days, nine programs, six exhibitions, and over thirty artists—with strong attendance throughout. She independently raised $15,000 to support artists and curators during this period. Haitian Heritage Month programming under her leadership was especially successful, with most events free and open to the public and a clear increase in community participation both online and in person. 

Dasha fostered new partnerships with organizations including Miami Sounds Choir, Oolite Arts, Sons of Little Haiti Tutoring, and the First Church of 5th & Biscayne. She also served as a cultural manager and creative visionary, curating La Couronne des Fleurs by Magdala Charles; developing Immigrant Artist at Work in partnership with the Haitian Alliance; envisioning Create Dangerously, a permanent mural initiative in the historic Marché Ayisyen; and activating the mezzanine with the exhibition Foreigner featuring international artists.

This petition is not only in defense of Ms. Saintremy as an individual, but also a call for an honest and transparent examination of the longstanding, systemic failures that have plagued the management structure of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex for too many years. A space that holds tremendous cultural significance deserves proper management and a leader who cares just as much about the community in which this center is placed. 

The LHCC has experienced an unusually high turnover rate in its managerial position, resulting in an enduring pattern of instability, poor employee morale, and eroded trust within the cultural community it was created to serve. Numerous former managers have publicly and privately cited the same underlying issues: lack of institutional support, absence of accountability at higher administrative levels, politically charged decision-making, and a persistent resistance to utilizing the space for genuine community upliftment and culturally rooted programming.

These conditions have contributed to a damaging professional reputation for the LHCC—one that is widely recognized by artists, cultural organizers, and residents alike. To discipline or remove Ms. Saintremy without addressing these structural realities risks perpetuating a cycle in which individual managers are scapegoated for failures rooted in systemic mismanagement.

Ms. Saintremy’s tenure must be evaluated within the context of these institutional constraints. To single her out without conducting a comprehensive review of the governance, oversight, and policy decisions imposed upon the LHCC reflects a lack of procedural fairness and undermines the integrity of civil service protections.

We therefore respectfully petition the Civil Service Board to:

1. Halt any punitive or removal actions against Ms. Dasha Saintremy until a full, independent review of LHCC’s management structure and administrative oversight is conducted.

2. Investigate the repeated managerial turnover at the LHCC as evidence of systemic dysfunction rather than individual failure.

3. Require accountability from senior leadership and governing bodies responsible for decision-making that has historically obstructed community-centered cultural programming.

4. Ensure that disciplinary processes are free from political influence and cultural bias, and aligned with principles of equity, transparency, and due process.

The Little Haiti Cultural Complex was established as a space for cultural preservation, expression, and empowerment. Its continued mismanagement—and the repeated penalization of those placed in untenable leadership roles—betrays that mission.

We urge the Civil Service Board to intervene with integrity and courage, and to treat this matter not as an isolated personnel issue, but as an opportunity to correct deep-rooted systemic failures that continue to harm both the institution and the community it serves.

In solidarity,

Concerns Citizens and Friends of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex