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