community meetings<\/a> where the project\u2019s development plans were discussed.<\/p>\nCoffee and memories<\/p>\n
![\"Keon](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c96cca330.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Roy Hardemon’s nephew, shared memories about his uncle at the funeral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Gregory Reed)<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Roy\u2019s nephew, recalls a childhood car accident and his uncle rushing to stop his bleeding mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember what it felt like to have a man care for me in that moment,\u201d Keon told the crowd. \u201cThat didn\u2019t come often in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others shared memories that displayed a different side to Roy Hardemon: not just the fighter at public meetings, but the man who found joy in a simple cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as the boy got a cup of coffee, he got some stuff to talk,\u201d joked Broadway Harewood, a childhood friend who grew up with Hardemon in Liberty City.<\/p>\n
Hardemon\u2019s cousin Ali Rappsodi described plans to honor the ritual by creating a space known as Roy\u2019s Inn. In this small restaurant, neighbors could gather, sip coffee, and remember the community builders who shaped Miami\u2019s Black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
On Hardemon\u2019s shoulders<\/p>\n
As tributes filled the weekend, one question hung over the crowd: What will happen to his work now?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve lost most of the Model City board,\u201d said community advocate Renita Holmes. \u201cFor those who fight for us at the bottom, they make a big sacrifice. That man was good. He knew legislation, but he knew lingo too. He was a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor and Maestre said the family intends to push for the projects their father championed to be seen through.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c9c17221e.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ebonie Taylor and Florida state Rep. Roy Hardemon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Ebonie Taylor)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he would want us to make sure the inner city gets what it deserves,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cHe would want us to keep love in our hearts and push to keep anybody, whatever culture it is, fighting for tradition, fighting for what we can say is the heart of what we believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to try our best,\u201d Maestre added. \u201cBecause nobody can fill his shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harewood, who credits Hardemon with inspiring his own work revitalizing the Broadway Art District along Northwest 18th Avenue, echoed that sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I wanted to give up, he\u2019d say, \u2018Nah, we can\u2019t. They got the money, they need to share it,\u2019\u201d Harewood said. \u201cAt the end of the day, I feel compelled to work harder now, so when he looks down, he\u2019ll say, \u2019About damn time, Broadway.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A mural honoring Hardemon, painted by Marvin Weeks, was unveiled Sunday in that same district.<\/p>\n
Taylor, still processing the loss, said the weekend\u2019s services were \u201chumbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear everybody and the gestures and the flowers and things that he did get, amongst the community he served in \u2014 it made me feel whole,\u201d she said. \u201cIt made me feel like he really was loved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Longtime friend Nathaniel Joseph said Hardemon\u2019s legacy will always be remembered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember him as a fighter for the community, the person who loved his community and wanted to make sure his community was taken care of, in any way, from jobs to housing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the Liberty City community, former State Rep. Roy Hardemon was a fierce and passionate Miami lawmaker, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[37012,37002,36999,36992,37010,36993,37005,37011,37004,36988,36991,225,227,226,37006,36998,36986,37007,37009,37003,36987,36996,37008,36995,36997,37014,36994,37013,36990,36989,36985,37000,37001],"class_list":{"0":"post-61316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-billy-hardemon-on-community-sacrifice","9":"tag-black-equity-advocacy-liberty-city","10":"tag-broadway-art-district-mural-marvin-weeks","11":"tag-christine-king-miami-commission-memories","12":"tag-community-tributes-to-roy-hardemon","13":"tag-daniella-levine-cava-on-roy-hardemon","14":"tag-expungement-reform-florida-legislature","15":"tag-family-memories-gloria-maestre-ebonie-taylor","16":"tag-florida-appropriations-for-youth-programs","17":"tag-florida-house-district-108-representative","18":"tag-friendship-missionary-baptist-church-tribute","19":"tag-hialeah","20":"tag-hialeah-headlines","21":"tag-hialeah-news","22":"tag-housing-and-jobs-advocacy-miami-dade","23":"tag-keon-hardemon-tribute-to-uncle","24":"tag-liberty-city-community-advocate","25":"tag-liberty-city-public-service-history","26":"tag-local-activism-after-legislature-2018","27":"tag-miami-grassroots-political-activism","28":"tag-miami-lawmaker-roy-hardemon-legacy","29":"tag-miami-northwestern-graduate-roy-hardemon","30":"tag-miami-dade-county-hall-activism","31":"tag-model-city-community-advisory-committee","32":"tag-moonlight-film-resolution-florida-house","33":"tag-nathaniel-joseph-on-roy-hardemon-legacy","34":"tag-poinciana-industrial-park-project","35":"tag-renita-holmes-community-advocacy","36":"tag-richardson-funeral-home-service","37":"tag-roy-hardemon-funeral-miami","38":"tag-roy-hardemon-obituary-2025","39":"tag-roys-inn-liberty-city-coffee-tribute","40":"tag-united-community-activism-miami-dade"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c6b9ab9c1.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c7055b5da.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c75c3be38.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6926c8423945b.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n