[sloth777]

Harrison is in an area of Arkansas that has ALWAYS been mostly, if not, all white. That doesn't make those people racist.

[jaada]

Originally Posted by adysmom

I don't blame you a bit, We moved from the Los Angeles area and a white town is the best. you may be surprised how low crime rates are in a white area compared to a place like California. it is so nice to be able too go out for a walk and feel safe at a park or walking on the streets.
I don't believe we are any more racist than the people we are trying to separate are selves from.

so if a black family moved in next to you then what? there goes the neighborhood? wth? i can honestly tell you i have seen some really bad white trash in my time who have brought down the neighborhood more than any black family could have.

[adysmom]

Originally Posted by jaada

so if a black family moved in next to you then what? there goes the neighborhood? wth? i can honestly tell you i have seen some really bad white trash in my time who have brought down the neighborhood more than any black family could have.

Yes, I understand where you are coming from with you being black and all,

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by sloth777

Harrison is in an area of Arkansas that has ALWAYS been mostly, if not, all white. That doesn't make those people racist.

Not everyone in that area is racist, but it did have a racist policy as a sundown town for many years. That policy is gone now, but the fact that the policy was in place to begin with might have an influence on things.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by jaada

so if a black family moved in next to you then what? there goes the neighborhood? wth? i can honestly tell you i have seen some really bad white trash in my time who have brought down the neighborhood more than any black family could have.

and you are so right, there are white neighborhoods, mixed and black. Inter-city might play a part but the color of the neighborhood has nothing to do with the crime rate or very little anyway. It is hard for me to believe, in our day and age anyone could make a statement like the poster before you..

Many areas I lived in in the 40s and 50s had the "no blacks after dark" allowed as well. Thank God those days are gone. By the way, I was raised in So California.

Nita

[sbernard]

Guys, I'd just like to say that there really are differences between races just like there really are differences between men and women. I think that nationwide, and yes that includes Harrison, attitudes have moderated over my lifetime. I'm fifty years old and in that time Harrison has never had any kind of 'sundown thing'.

While there aren't any black families here that I'm aware of, there are several black children in local schools...don't know why, but I've never heard of them being discriminated against or mistreated. We have had a lot of Mexican nationals come here. They typically own businesses or work for Tyson's, and they have filled in void in the labor force. They can be a little defensive at first, but if you smile and say 'hi' when you see them in Wal-Mart I think you'll find they're some really good people just trying to make a living...you know, just like the rest of us.

Before we become 'more diverse', we're going to have to grow a bit and develop more of a job market. With the ecomony being what it is, I'd say Harrison is going to stay 'white' a while longer.

[strumpeace]

Harrison (like most of North-Central Arkansas and Southwest Missouri) is largely white for historic reasons.

1) Slavery was virtually non-existent in those areas. Unlike South Arkansas and the Deep South, where the number of slaves rivaled the white population pre-Civil War, NCA and SWM never had the need for slaves. For the most part, African-Americans who are descendants of slaves (which is most African-Americans) have remained in the general area where their ancestors lived. That's why Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina have such large African-American populations.

2) Throughout the 20th century, many African-Americans migrated to cities for work. That's why the African-American populations in cities in non-slave areas such as Detroit, Gary, Chicago, and St. Louis grew by leaps and bounds. NCA and SWM lack significantly-sized cities. (Springfield is a small city, but it has never offered the kind of work opportunities that many other cities have.)

Harrison is not alone in not having African-Americans. Drive through Iowa. Or South Dakota. Or Wyoming. Or Appalachia. Those were non-slave areas, and they all lack major cities with manufacturing opportunities.

I know that some folks in Harrison are hostile to the very idea of African-Americans living in their community -- but the fact is, for reasons listed above, there are probably very few African-Americans who would want to live there anyway.

[marmac]

I don't believe that color of one's skin determines crime rate.

However, in researching areas of the south to re-locate to-------I type a town's name into city-data and read the report.

Early in the report is the racial brekdown of that town.
Quite a ways farther down the report is the crime index.

On the vast majority of the hundreds and hundreds of relocation places in the south I have checked, the --racial breakdown---already clued me in to what to expect in the crime index.

Rural vs urban
southern part of a state vs northern part of a state
below poverty vs above poverty

The most frequnt common denominator that over ruled all 3 of the above examples in finding a common denominator to crime was--------racial statistics

why is this ?

[Stormcrow73]

MOD NOTE: In keeping with what has transpired in other threads, lets keep this about racial issues in Harrison and when directly relevant, surrounding areas. I'm not against generic discussions on this topic but to keep things fair and balanced with precedents set, I don't feel this thread is the appropriate place. I honestly dislike clamping down on OT (it's very easy to go OT) but sometimes it runs amok, as happened over the Duggar family thread so for the time being, lets do our best to stay on target.

[ridicter]

Originally Posted by sloth777

Harrison is in an area of Arkansas that has ALWAYS been mostly, if not, all white. That doesn't make those people racist.

No one said that.