Black people in Birmingham (Leeds, Moody: university, live, professionals)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Tourian

According to the rules here I can't tell you what to do with your suggestion but here is where you expressed confusion and the inability to understand how to conduct yourself in a civil constructive conversation here without people "complaining." So yeah, asked and answered.

In post #24, raj kapoor noted that some folks from the Atlanta forum act as agitators in this forum as it regards all (or at least some) things Birmingham. So in an attempt to deal with the actual topic here and remove Atlanta from the equation, since its inclusion was regarded as a point of contention, I said that perhaps Atlanta was not the best city for comparison purposes here--especially since the size and growth of its Black middle class in the post-war era is much larger and faster, respectively, than Birmingham's (and most other cities' for that matter). Then, for some reason, you went way left field with this statement and insinuated that I thought that Atlanta was too good to be compared to Birmingham. This was quite puzzling to me since 1) nothing in my post even hinted at such and 2) we have practically no history of dialogue on this forum, so you really have no clue as to what I think about either Atlanta or Birmingham in toto. Then when I attempted to explain my point of view further for clarification purposes, you stated that I was being disingenuous. Again, this was puzzling and at that point, I had no choice but to believe that you were simply stirring the waters for its own sake since you have no factual basis at all upon which to make that statement; it seems that any other reasonable person (and I presume you to be such) would have at least taken the explanation at face value but for some reason you chose not to.

So you can continue to let the insults fly if you choose to do so; just know that my intentions in entering this foray were not malicious. I know you'll choose to believe otherwise and that's your right. Enjoy your weekend.

[Tourian]

Enjoy yours.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by hamanian

To whom it may concern:
Atlanta is not Miami, Washington DC, San Fransisco, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York. Have a good one.

You left out Dallas, Seattle, Boston and several Midwest cities. But the point is clear to all except those who are trapped ITP, and a few OTP.

I believe it to be a cultural thing gone wrong, however some of the people who post from there seem either to be dangerously obsessive (who has the time), and/or Bi-Polar.
My thought is to be as kind as possible and understand that they don't see the world objectively. They don't really understand quality of life issues. There it is all about quantity, and the infrastructure just can't keep up without more quality of life destruction. (endless downward spiral)

Astute post, however, thanks,
raj

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by hamanian

To whom it may concern:
Atlanta is not Miami, Washington DC, San Fransisco, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York. Have a good one.

Atlanta is just Atlanta. It's no other city.

[sleepless in Bham]

How did this become a seven page thread?. Black people in Birmingham of course have it better today than we did 50 years ago, but this metro area still struggles with trying to expand the black middle class, and alot of young black professionals are still leaving the area for Atlanta.

I do think that Birmingham has a chance to turn this around when the economy finally gets back to pre-recession levels. Right now if you black and middle class you can do anything or go anywhere you want in Birmingham.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

You left out Dallas, Seattle, Boston and several Midwest cities. But the point is clear to all except those who are trapped ITP, and a few OTP.

I believe it to be a cultural thing gone wrong, however some of the people who post from there seem either to be dangerously obsessive (who has the time), and/or Bi-Polar.
My thought is to be as kind as possible and understand that they don't see the world objectively. They don't really understand quality of life issues. There it is all about quantity, and the infrastructure just can't keep up without more quality of life destruction. (endless downward spiral)

Astute post, however, thanks,
raj

Every city has its boosters who go overboard, including the other cities mentioned--even more so for some of them. Atlanta is no exception.

But I'm curious about your statement "the infrastructure just can't keep up without more quality of life destruction. (endless downward spiral)." That seems rather odd, since generally infrastructure improvements are done to increase the quality of life--or at the least, to prevent it from substantially decreasing. I don't see how transit expansion, densification, creating more open spaces, etc. are negative things, in Atlanta or anywhere else.

[SouthernBoy205]

I still don't get this thread. I see many blacks and young black professionals all over. Birmingham does (to me) reminds me of Atlanta with its black population even though the black population in Atlanta is more middle class and professional.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

I still don't get this thread. I see many blacks and young black professionals all over. Birmingham does (to me) reminds me of Atlanta with its black population even though the black population in Atlanta is more middle class and professional.

I guess that was what the OP was talking about. I guess.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Every city has its boosters who go overboard, including the other cities mentioned--even more so for some of them. Atlanta is no exception.

But I'm curious about your statement "the infrastructure just can't keep up without more quality of life destruction. (endless downward spiral)." That seems rather odd, since generally infrastructure improvements are done to increase the quality of life--or at the least, to prevent it from substantially decreasing. I don't see how transit expansion, densification, creating more open spaces, etc. are negative things, in Atlanta or anywhere else.

I don't know your age. But that could have something to do with the fact that you don't seem to know that all the things you mentioned in your last sentence destroyed many of buckheads nicest neighborhoods. And destroyed all the neighborhoods in lesser areas.

It is a balancing act that is hard to pull off. Look up the many cities that fought transit through the best areas of their cities. Most found excellent alternatives and left the value the city already had in tact. It does take sensitivity.

raj

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

I don't know your age. But that could have something to do with the fact that you don't seem to know that all the things you mentioned in your last sentence destroyed many of buckheads nicest neighborhoods. And destroyed all the neighborhoods in lesser areas.

I'm aware that new highway construction razed and bisected many (mostly poor) neighborhoods in Atlanta and other cities across the nation, but I decided to do a bit of research on the history of Buckhead and to my surprise, I see that it actually contained several Black neighborhoods at one point; one was razed for a park in the 1940's (using eminent domain and coercion to force residents out) while another was chosen as the site for a MARTA station in the 1980's (and residents were more fairly compensated in that case). Very interesting tidbits there.

But I will say that it appears that this is mostly a thing of the past, as many cities have learned from their mistakes including Atlanta. For instance, the streetcar line hasn't destroyed any part of Sweet Auburn, Edgewood, or parts of downtown; to the contrary, the line's success depends on intact neighborhoods that it will run through. The same goes for the Beltline and the parks and future rail that are a part of that project. Centennial Olympic Park was built on the site of a largely derelict warehouse district downtown in the early 90's in preparation of the Olympic Games of '96.

It is a balancing act that is hard to pull off. Look up the many cities that fought transit through the best areas of their cities. Most found excellent alternatives and left the value the city already had in tact. It does take sensitivity.

Indeed. All cities had casualties when it came to this, and most often it was those who lacked the resources and political clout to mount any significant challenge to their cities' plans, which is most unfortunate. Thankfully the era of smart growth we now live in largely discourages similar decisions from being made. This benefits cities like Birmingham immensely that didn't experience the big post-war boom but could still experience a significant growth spurt in the future.