Reincorporators

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"Reincorporators"

The Participatory Component

A community’s aspirations become reality when those who live there — women, men, youth and elders — work to make it happen.

Those who gave birth to the city 113 years ago weren’t sitting idly wishing for Miami to happen. They did more than raise their voices to incorporate the city on July 28, 1896. They got up every morning and put in a hard day’s work and sweat to build this city on the mouth of a river.

The public is invited to visit the Incorporation Palm and become “Reincorporators.”

Become a "Reincorporator"

“Reincorporators” are individuals living and/or working in the city of Miami who utilize the Incorporation Palm art piece to commit themselves to building a better city.

The ritual:

To become “Reincorporators,” participants will:

Stand in front of the Incorporation Palm at their respective point (elders stand east side of the palm, youth to it’s south; adult women under 70 y.o to the west, adult men under 70 y.o to the north) and touch it with their right hand.
While touching the palm, the participant will make a personal commitment to better the City of Miami. In so doing, the participant helps “reincorporate” the city, following the direction set by 386 citizens at that very location in 1896.
When the participant removes the palm of his/her hand from the Incorporation Palm, he/she becomes a “Reincorporator” of the City of Miami and can chose to informally build fellowship with other “reincorporators” as a member of one of four “Incorporation Societies” (see below).

Documenting the process:

The participant is invited to take a picture of himself/herself in front of the Incorporation Palm to document the performance.
On a project blog hosted on this website, these Reincorporators will be able to post their Incorporation Palm photo, talk about their commitment to the city, and exchange ideas on how to better Miami.