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Last time I checked Africa is the historical home of AAs ancestors...
I'm speaking in a historical and cultural sense, and even in a biological/genetic sense. Most of us can't trace our ancestry back to a specific tribe/clan/nation in Africa due to interbreeding amongst slaves from different ethnic groups in Africa and with slavemasters and Native Americans. Here in the American South, we created a new culture out of necessity. It includes elements of our West African heritage, but also many new local elements both borrowed from Whites and Native Americans and newly created ones.
Actually I thought Africa was the birthplace of ALL mankind?
Africa is a continent.What country(pre-colonial),customs, region,or tribal affiliation from which do you come?Do you know?I dont?I just started tracing my family history on both sides and I can tell you with my grandmothers great grandfather because he was probably white and on the other side my great grandfather was full blooded Choctaw dating back to around 1860.From what I understand is that more than half of blacks in this country are in the same boat.
Way I see it.They(my white ancestors)never intended for blacks to be more than what they were as slaves.Now through blood ,sweat and tears we have claimed what is rightfully ours and i see that work is still not done.Ill never forget that this my home now.It will be the home of my children.Either we work with each other to make it better or we all perish.If that happens then we deserve what we get.Let it be a lesson for people who come after us.
You were wrong..Only blackfolk have origin in the Motherland...but that's irrelevant...Claiming Dixie as the ancestral home of African Americans not only neglects a significant and the most important part of African American heritage but sugarcoats the abuse African Americans ancestors experienced in the the South...
Moderator cut: off-topic/personal, substitute "Who" would proudly claim a region in which their forefathers/mothers were brought to by force as thier ancestral home least of all when their ancestors were treated like animals and were in bondage.
Another reason is historical; the South is the ancestral homeland of African Americans. So for some of us, the reverse migration is "coming home" in a sense.
If you are your most recent descendents never lived in the South I don't personally know how you could consider it home. Now granted I was born and raised in New York City with parents from South Carolina and Georgia. I NEVER considered the South my home. It's a completely different culture and lifestyle than living in the Northeast. Not that is bad thing from some people.
If you are your most recent descendents never lived in the South I don't personally know how you could consider it home. Now granted I was born and raised in New York City with parents from South Carolina and Georgia. I NEVER considered the South my home. It's a completely different culture and lifestyle than living in the Northeast. Not that is bad thing from some people.
No self respecting black would feel a bond with the South just cause his ancestors were kidnapped and resettled there as slaves...Moderator cut: off topic/personal
I'm born and bred here and could give a rat's ass about this region or country for that matter..
Everything in the North hasn't exactly aged gracefully, if you haven't noticed.
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You have to ask yourself what will some Sun Belt cities look like 30 or 40 years from now. Right now these cities are building boom due to economic growth but realistically how long is that going to continue. One thing about buildings in the Northeast and Midwest is that they are built to last. Many 19th century buildings are still viable structures in the Northeast and Midwest. Are commerical and residential structures in the South and Southwest build that way.
I can tell you that from experiences of livng in the Dallas, Texas area there seems to be a throw away mentality when comes to residential and commerical structure. Once a building gets to be 20 to 30 years old it's "old" same as houses. If it's a house it suddenly becomes in some cases unfashsionable to live there this is especially true in the suburbs where most of the growth is taking place. Commericial building are often torn down and build. Houston tend to be the same way. You tend to very little sense of character or history in large segments of these areas.
If you are your most recent descendents never lived in the South I don't personally know how you could consider it home. Now granted I was born and raised in New York City with parents from South Carolina and Georgia. I NEVER considered the South my home. It's a completely different culture and lifestyle than living in the Northeast. Not that is bad thing from some people.
Note that I said ancestral homeland. That brings it home for people who might be a generation or two removed from their Southern roots such as yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JazzyTallGuy
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You have to ask yourself what will some Sun Belt cities look like 30 or 40 years from now. Right now these cities are building boom due to economic growth but realistically how long is that going to continue. One thing about buildings in the Northeast and Midwest is that they are built to last. Many 19th century buildings are still viable structures in the Northeast and Midwest. Are commerical and residential structures in the South and Southwest build that way.
I can tell you that from experiences of livng in the Dallas, Texas area there seems to be a throw away mentality when comes to residential and commerical structure. Once a building gets to be 20 to 30 years old it's "old" same as houses. If it's a house it suddenly becomes in some cases unfashsionable to live there this is especially true in the suburbs where most of the growth is taking place. Commericial building are often torn down and build. Houston tend to be the same way. You tend to very little sense of character or history in large segments of these areas.
My statement was in direct response to the statement, "After the South stops being brand new....its going to be in the less valued stage while the older North will go up in value for its 'classic' appeal." The South has its issues for sure, but that doesn't mean that the situation is ideal in the North. Look at the urban decay in cities like Detroit, Youngstown, St. Louis, etc. and many of their "built to last" buildings that have to be torn down due to neglect over the years because people are fleeing left and right. Personally, I don't think one can hold up a city that's a rotting shell of its former self over another that has more new construction and growth simply because of its regional location.
If you are your most recent descendents never lived in the South I don't personally know how you could consider it home. Now granted I was born and raised in New York City with parents from South Carolina and Georgia. I NEVER considered the South my home. It's a completely different culture and lifestyle than living in the Northeast. Not that is bad thing from some people.
My family was split at different periods.I had whole sections of my family in Philadelphia born and bread while I also have the roots in the South.When I go to Philly it feels as much as home as when I go to the South or rural Georgia home of my mothers side.It could be that my upbringing gave me a opportunity to travel north frequently as a youngster.
Note that I said ancestral homeland. That brings it home for people who might be a generation or two removed from their Southern roots such as yourself.
My statement was in direct response to the statement, "After the South stops being brand new....its going to be in the less valued stage while the older North will go up in value for its 'classic' appeal." The South has its issues for sure, but that doesn't mean that the situation is ideal in the North. Look at the urban decay in cities like Detroit, Youngstown, St. Louis, etc. and many of their "built to last" buildings that have to be torn down due to neglect over the years because people are fleeing left and right. Personally, I don't think one can hold up a city that's a rotting shell of its former self over another that has more new construction and growth simply because of its regional location.
I think that people tend to think of the North as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philly, etc. You are posting from the City of Charlotte. Indianapolis, Columbus Ohio, Milwaukee are some metros with the same population of Charlotte. The truth is that the North is not simply defined by those huge metros. The decay in Detroit is certainly not a microcosm of the region. However, despite the decay and the loss of over half its population, the city of Detroit still has a higher population density than most southern cities. There are still large areas of historic homes like this one in todays Free Press.
I think that people tend to think of the North as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philly, etc. You are posting from the City of Charlotte. Indianapolis, Columbus Ohio, Milwaukee are some metros with the same population of Charlotte. The truth is that the North is not simply defined by those huge metros. The decay in Detroit is certainly not a microcosm of the region. However, despite the decay and the loss of over half its population, the city of Detroit still has a higher population density than most southern cities. There are still large areas of historic homes like this one in todays Free Press.
Sure there are, but I seriously doubt that progressive, growing Southern cities like my own would trade places with Detroit just for a couple of historic homes and higher population density. Again, it seems as though you're missing my point which is that not every city in the North has aged gracefully. It seems a bit hard for you to accept that point. No region is perfect and all of them have their challenges to deal with, and for some Northern cities, that includes a significant amount of urban decay and abandonment. That's all I'm saying.
I think that what we as African Americans need to do is to start building and preserving and stop chasing. What I find is that we come in at the tail end of curves. In other words, when the trend is basically over that is when we get in on it and we usually get burned. Those on the front of the curve (trends) are those the profit the most from it while those at the tail end suffers some sort of loss. As a side note, the election of the first black president should have let everyone know that the country is now on a tail end of a curve (economic) and that the country is going down (not because of the black president). Historically when a city was getting its first black mayor it meant the tail end of a curve in which living in cities was no longer as desirable.
Anyway, it would be prudent and wise for African American, who can afford to, to start investing in inner-city real estate. Moving to the burbs from the city is being at the tail end of a curve. There is a new curve of moving back to central cities that is in its infancy and will explode soon. Many African Americans are already in the central cities and the black middle class should not seek to move to the suburbs but develope a critical mass that reinvest in the inner-city. I have seen whites come and turn around a decayed community within a decade (which is fine). There is no reason that African American middle class cannot do the same.
I think that for a long time many black families dreamed about moving to the suburbs or when you were a kid you dreamed of it. I know I did. Thus, when one rises to have the means to live in the suburbs....they go for it, fullfilling a dream. Now however, suburbs do not have the shine that they used to have as poverty and all sorts of issues have made their way to the burbs.
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