well, i'll probably piss a few more people off with this topic. :D

something has been bothering me for quite awhile. i wonder why we are so quick to leave our neighborhoods. i've lived in my neighborhood for 32 years. moved here at age 5 with my mom. we have lived in the same area during this time. though we don't have rampant crime like in other larger metro areas, we do face similiar problems. poor schools, neglected properties, failing schools, and the other problems seen in black neighborhoods.

the area i live in has a great history. the ronda area in the 60s was know for it's black owned homes and businesses. interstate 94 divided the community. today we celebrated Rondo annually. thing is now, many of us have to come back to the neighborhood to participate in the festival.

we have large victorian style homes in the area; hardwood floors, built in buffet large dining area and bathrooms, basement and attics. we occupied many of these dwelling in my early years. we also had to deal with immigrants being deposited into your neighborhood starting in the middle 70s. in the late 90s, it was africans.

asians have created many businesses in our areas, live in the homes were use to occupy and own, and the neighborhood is going through a revitalization.

and guess what, we're locked out. the white folx also wants this part of th town back. it just minutes from downtown and right in the middle is highway 94 making it easy to travel to twin sister city - Minneapolis.

this is what bothers me. we are quick to holler gentrification, and yes i do believe it exists. however, when we start making more money, moving up the corporate ladder, become middle class we want to move to greener yards, thinking life will be better. we say we are moving away from crime and providing our children with better education. however, soon that place you move starts to see more of the element you thought you moved away from. why? it's a cycle. instead of improving conditions our neighborhoods and schools, we move one. the same people you try to leave, end up living right next door to ya. what i mean, white folx don't want to see us moving next door. one might be okay, but two or more, then they start spacking up and seeking greener yards and higher white picket fences.

now we're mad cuz we can't afford to buy home or pay rent in our old neighborhood. the city has dumped money back into our area. we are just a jump skip and hop away from downtown and the newly renovationed convention center. we had opportunity at one time to seek funds. in too many instances, our black leaders cheated us out of the money.

now we are seeking school vouchers instead of demanding better teaching practices, higher expectations. in most cases the parent chooses a religious school which takes money away from public schools.

a neighborhood and i was recently talking about the schools our children attend. she says her daughter is quite bright and might put her into a exceleration school next year. i asked her why she didn't suggest this to the school her daugher currently attends. i explained that she would not only be doing a service for her daughter, the school, but for other parents and students as well. afterall, she had no other complaints about the school.

we also have the issue of crime. we generally don't trust the police and the justice system. this is not without reason. however, we don't help keep our neighborhoods safe(r).

should we keep moving to hopefully better neighborhoods or stay and fight for better services and neighborhoods?

STAY !!!!!...... why run jump or hop to a place that's just as bad
in da end when u can stay home fight back and seek better
services for our own surely the funds is their as well as better
teachers and bond together to clean up the neighborhood
i feel ya i've been in one place for many years why move !

let me put in my 2 cents...
I was raised in the suburbs in southern CA so I don't have a lot of experience with our "inner city's." When I went to college in Takoma Park, MD and was able to explore Washington DC for myself, I fell in love with the city, yet it seemed like the parts of the city occupied by poor Blacks was run down and dangerous. The parts of the city with mixed residents (Black, white, and other) was clean and nice. It still bothers me that it's that way because if you're proud of what you have you should take care of it, right? I'm not gonna live somewhere where I'm the only one who cares about my stuff and a whole lot of others are just trashing it, whether they're rich or poor Black or white.

Maybe those that leave the area feel that no one else is trying to keep it up, so they need to go to "greener pastures" because they can't do it all themselves. And it's a political thing with all the gentrification going on in major cities nowadays. Some leave so that they can have more space, because let's be real, you can have only so much yard space in the city.

I don't know. I'd live in the city now if I could afford what I want (which happens to be in the mixed area). I'll be honest and say that I'm not going to move into a run down area just to so I can say that I'm living with my people. I'm not saying that all black areas are run down either. Where I want to live is rich with black families and it's so hard to get in there!

Anyway, sorry for running on and on... Gimme feedback. -7:spinstar:

Greetings Thandiwe, I was in a discussion of this very nature with a sister here in Atlanta, that has property in the inner city but lives in the surburbs and is considering going back to the city and building on her property. She said that riding through her old neighborhood where she was raised, brought tears to her eyes while looking at the conditions in which her childhood memories served her as awesome had deteriorated.

She wanted to know what should she do. Should she just sell the property and remain where she was or rebuild? The only answer I could offer was that one must pick their battles in life. If she wanted to return to her childhood home and had the strength, and commitment to constantly fight the power structure that have turned their backs on the prosperity and growth of her neighborhood, then by all means....return and be a warrior that her community needed; but just know that it would not be easy.

Another person suggested that she remained where she was because it wasn't worth the aggravation and frustration she would suffer if she'd returned.

She later said that she was going to return...but she had a plan. It was a great plan. I believe she was going to rebuild a shelter of some sort on the property that would serve the community (or something to that effect). I applaude her. Perhaps if I was faced with that situation in the neighborhood where I was raised, I would too do something similar as her. But for me to go into a depressed community without any historical attachments is something that I don't think I would have enough resolve to do.

Wildflower7's comments closely reflect mind's in a lot of ways. However, if this was my childhood community...I might have a differing opinion.

Thandi, I thought you said you lived in Meneapolis? Because my understanding of the famous Rondo neighborhood was associated with St. Paul, not Minneapolis?

nope E'man, i'm in St. Paul - capitol city! i live in the Ronda neighborhood. have for the 32 years i've lived here in Minnesota. So you know about the ronda community? well there is also great association of the railroad business here.

wildflower and zerogravity, i 'm not talking about going into a depressed area, i'm talking about how we let this condition exists without working to make changes. instead we just moved away to what we think are greener yard. btw, we do have lawns/yards here. i may have stated that we are not the large metro-like areas of new york.

i heard one of the leaders of our community (and relative of Gordon Parks who lived in the ronda neighborhood i speak of.). he stated that when we started getting people from chicago, detroit, indiana, LA coming in we didn't stand up and let them know, have them adjust to the standards and expectations we had. we didn't demand that the landlords take action and/or improvement their properties. for a while the property in the area could be bought for pennies. we didn't buy and improve these properties, didn't know of the money available to help rebuild. our black leaders who were there to help and adminster "community block associations" gave it to themselves, friends and family. point blank, they stole it. now others are taking advantage but now the properties are worth a couple HUNDRED thousand now. people who grew up in this neighborhood now find affordable homes to buy in the area they once didn't want us.



my mom and her generations of black folx thought the world would be theirs once they got a degree, got a good paying job, move to another neighborhood

OK, Thandi, I cannot tell a lie ---- I looked it up.

it don't change we change thinking for better living when it's
already within ....now i know that da move is sweet in ways
yet the rain can pour very sour inside the new living i've been
here for many years and saw the cost go down , run down and
come back up again so why move stay !
no job or degree can make anyone any better
it's not the area it's us whom in it....

tru dat, Kemetstry... "Kem for mayor!"

Keme so many run once they wealth become upgrade
they seem to go for higher grounds
i too wonder why we can't stay put and build on da
hood which one came from
is it that they feel harm by the under class ?
hummmm!!
i can't see why they run but they do..

I heard on the news about a mother in New York City who refuses to send her boy back to school because he was attacked and assaulted and she is fearful for his safety and welfare. This mother is sure 'nough ready to run. What are you going to tell her?

did the mother press charges?

we spend millions and millions of dollars every year. yet our dollars only circulate maybe 1 or 2 times. when we get our hair done and when buying drugs.

No, the mother did not press charges because identification of the assailants was not made yet.

another problem we have in our communities. recently a young black girl, 11 was shot and kill while doing homework at her kitchen table. it was reported to be gang related. many times we do do our civic duty in reporting crimes and criminals.

we have let the bad elements flourish in our communities. we just keep moving away. but it just follows. so at some point, we are gonna have to stop running. otherwise we are just running in circles.

DESEGREGATION! That’s where it all started! Yes what we won in the courts we lost in culture! When we were segregated we all lived in the same area no matter how prosperous we were. Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, Undertakers, School teachers, Preachers, Business shop owners, Rail Road workers, Factory workers, Porters, Maids and on and on. Yes there was a lil social structure within the community but we all lived in the same neighborhood. It kept the neighborhood stable and there were plenty of role models around during the 30’s 40’s and 50’s. Our black communities were booming bustling, but the 60’s and 70’s changed all that! The government trying to stifle the black movement allowed our communities to be flooded with drugs in hope of sedating us in to the coma of contentment. That’s when the Pimps Drug Dealers and street Hustlers be came prominent people moving next door to our other prominent people.


The cream started moving away and thus began the moving on up trend! Those of us that could not afford to move were left to watch the neighborhood detiriate and start to be taken over by other ethnic groups. When we had no place else to go we went no place else! And this trend will never change until those of us that have means come back and rescue those who don’t and start investing in our communities, move back into the hood. Its starting in Harlem NY but guess who is also coming to dinner (former Pres Clinton wasn’t forced to put his office in Harlem he chose to, and you would be surprised at how many white folks have followed, buying up all the brownstones) back in the 30’s and 40’s anybody who was anybody and black lived in Harlem on Sugar Hill.

Harlem is making a come back folks wanna live "UPTOWNE”! People like Magic Johnson have invested big money in Harlem (Hold UP! I gotta give big ups to Magic JOHNSON, this man has singled handedly started a trend all over the nation to revive our homesteads, and he is convincing large corporations to invest Magic has pointed out to them (like KEM said) that we are a 600 billion $ market (and they better recognize) Those of us who have remained there must hold it down until the cavalry comes! I like you Thandiwe I am staying! My family was one of the first to integrate back in the 60's. We were the 1st black family on the block! When I started my own family I moved back to be with my people and I am helping to return the hood back to the glory days. Now I can move if I chose I am far from stuck! I am one of the prominent people of this community. But after growing up in those white schools with white neighbors and dealing with all that hatred and racism being the only one and the first I discovered what Dorothy was saying "THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME"!!!!HOME"!!!!

I live in Brooklyn, NY, in between Flatbush and Crown Heights.

My neighborhood isn't the best neighborhood, but you know what I've noticed? Not many on my block even CARE.

I'm coming from Dallas (I've only been in NY for a year and 6 mos.) where I'm used to caring about the neighborhood I live in. So, when the heat's off in my 4-story apt building, I call the management. When the hot water's off or my radiator's broken, I call. When there's a horrible, unidentifiable stench in my hallway, I call.

What do they (the realtors) do? Nothing. Hardly anything at all! I'm calling the Housing Authority Every week with a hundred complaints.

You know why it's so hard to get the realtors to do something for us? They're so used to the other people in my building being complacent and passive, they think there's not a problem.

If there's a problem in the neighborhood, it should be reported. It's the only way to keep the place... livable. We can't stand by and just let things happen. It makes the place unhappy and then we all want to move out and find a better place.

But if my family is the only one that cares, then what more can I do than what I'm already doing??

.....hol up, I'll be back in a few......

One reason our communities have gotten so bad is because the neighbors won't turn in "Leroy" down the street who is a drug dealer . They say, "Leroy is doing his best. The white man won't give him a job, so that's why he does what he does". No excuses!

I agree we have tolerated too much wrong in our neighborhood which have gone unchecked. We left our neighborhoods in search of the "American Dream" never realizing white America did not have all the answers.

We must maintain our standards. We should've kept our communities intact and thriving. As my Grandmom often stated, there is no white way or black way, just the right way!

these are all the responses i've been looking for. Uptowne, i applaud you for not running away. as i said before, the crime, drugs, etc just keep moving with us.

this is not a new phenomenon, and i to believe it started with desegregation. we were so happy to be able to move to so-called greener pastures and white pickets fences than to try to maintain and improve our own neighborhoods.

dreamgyrl, perhaps you should try to start a tenant's union. i guess the other tenants have gotten tired of complaining because the owners have been able to get awy with making repairs and improvements. but i guess with the housing situation in ny, many may be afraid to speak in fear of losing a place to live.

keep fighting and reporting to subsubstandards to the proper authorities. it is worth the fight. even if it doesn't sometimes seem that way. but it would definitely be easier if you had other tenants to help support your efforts.

~~~~

hey, john's son. ((hugs and kisses, haven't seen you in a while))

Hehehehehe

kemestry, that exactly why i ask, "why do we keep running?" leroy, pookie, and t-bone end up living right next door to those who think they were leaving the "hood" behind. as i stated, the cycle just starts right over again.

Can you blame him? He made a smart move.

Before integration, when Blacks of all economic backgrounds and educational backgrounds lived together, certain behavior was less tolerated. Reputation and character were important.

In the words of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly...

Running away...
We need some rejuvenation
Running away...
Leaving a bad situation

ummmmm REGINA I SAID THAT OR DIDN"T YOU READ WHAT I WROTE? "When we were segregated we all lived in the same area no matter how prosperous we were. Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, Undertakers, School teachers, Preachers, Business shop owners, Rail Road workers, Factory workers, Porters, Maids and on and on. Yes there was a lil social structure within the community but we all lived in the same neighborhood. It kept the neighborhood stable and there were plenty of role models around during the 30’s 40’s and 50’s. Our black communities were booming bustling," "When we had no place else to go we went no place else! "

leroy moves down the street from you and regina asks, what do you expect. so he can help create the situation but not willing to live in it. this is what i'm talking about, the same people some try to move away, assimilate into the white power structure, and leroy and pooh-pooh move right next door.

someone asked the question, why do you complain about the schit white folx do to us but say nothing about the drug dealers right on our own blocks?

Thandiwe,
Some Blacks don't want to be the person to "bring another brother down". That's why they don't report their illegal activity. It's wrong but some people think that way...

And the same brother they don't report will rob them and sell drugs to their kids...

again exactly my point. why do we continue to let it hurt our communities when we know the damage that will be done?

in my city attention has been paid to two killings. late last year a young girl sitting at her kitchen table was killed by a bullet that was meant for someone else. she was INSIDE her house, a place where you should feel comfortable and safe.

a few years ago a little girl was killed at a gas station. she and her other siblings were waiting for you mother who pulledinto the station to get gas. it took them quite a few years to arrest the suspects. people wouldn't come forward.

these crimes were "gang-related".