Comments (0) Best Activist - 2007

"Flash," manager and coordinator of the Wallflower Gallery

He responds only to "Flash," and like the nickname implies, he is all about speed and light. Speed: to continually schedule a new and interesting slate of events, meetings, and benefit concerts. And light: to shed upon often overlooked issues that affect our city. The man who hides behind the mysterious nickname isn't the most gregarious dude, but his passion becomes immediately evident when he's asked about upcoming events at the Wallflower Gallery (10 NE Third St., Miami). Flash has worked hard to convert the downtown sanctuary from a funky spoken-word spot and art gallery into the epicenter of Miami's progressive, socially active hipsters. "If you check our MySpace calendar [at www.myspace.com/wallflowergallery], you'll see that we've scheduled a bunch of different series throughout the whole year now," he explains. "That includes a progressive vegetarian social the last Sunday of the month, and activist leadership training the first Sunday of the month. We're doing the Voice of the Voiceless meetings here on the third Sunday of the month, and I'm sure I'll come up with something to do on the second Sunday of the month sometime soon." Besides playing host to that dazzling array of events, Flash's gallery hosts Emerge Miami and regular Green Party meetings. The concept of upcoming Critical Mass events comes from here; recently the ragtag group of cyclists has successfully executed jaunts down South Dixie Highway, and has scheduled a trip through Calle Ocho. Flash is also the man behind the annual Everglades Awareness and Medical Marijuana Benefit concerts at Tobacco Road. Despite his seemingly superhuman efforts to bring creative minds together, raise awareness, and generate fundraising efforts for our local environmental causes, Flash remains modest about his efforts and reluctant to bask in the spotlight. "I'm just trying to keep the circus rolling," he demurs. More and more people are joining him every day.