Racism in Georgia (Atlanta, Peachtree City, Duluth: best schools, to live, safer)

[backfist]

Natchezbreed~

You'd be amazed how people configure statistics for their own motivation. American Rennaisance, VDare, Council for Conservative Citizens, League of the South, any or all of those electronic rags can point you to statistics that make African Americans out to be criminals or would-be criminals. Oh sure, there are exceptions, but you need not point them out. They will decide for themselves. It's tired and old, but it's still a stubborn old aspect of a superiority complex.

You can say that you don't come from a heritage of criminals, thugs and drug dealers. I can say the same. But they've seen the evening news; they've heard the talk shows. So it must be true.

To be sure, today's ghettos bear no resemblance to the ghettos that we were forced to live in. Today, many of our people are choosing ghetto life because it's easier than doing the "right thing" in life. And if that's the kind of life that they want, then that's what they'll get. The real crime is that you and I are viewed in that same light unless and until we affirmatively demonstrate otherwise. The good news is that these people are running scared. Not because what they say is true about you and I, but because they know that their numbers are declining. So I wouldn't expend too much energy trying to get them to see otherwise.

Whenever I have the chance, I caution young Black and Brown men and women that one of the worst things that our people can do to ourselves is to become irrelevant. Unfortunately, many have and will. But so will the others. And they all deserve each other.

[LLD]

Prichard, I just don't agree with you about the media or your characterizations. I also think silly pejorative terms like white apologists add nothing to a debate -- just negative rhetoric.

I honestly don't get some of the reactions that have nothing to do with what has been said here but appear to be emotional BS like white guilt or some comment about reparations rather than actually reading what has been written and acknowledged over and over - that yes there is a higher crime rate among blacks than whites and yes both external and internal factors need to be addressed. That is pretty dad gum honest to me. We have racism and poverty that smacks people down and we (all of us) need to address that and then people themselves also need to take responsiblity for their own lives and work toward a better life for themselves and their kids. It's called working together when we can while still having individual responsibility too.

Anyway I'm done. I think I have clearly stated where I stand and it's a fair and accurate portrayal.

I will end with this -- if there were two neighborhoods, pretty equal in crime stats, decent schools and shopping and one was all white and one was a big mix of races -- you had better believe I would choose the big mix every time. It's a richer experience IMO. I like diversity.

gtemontgomery -- it was great to read that you haven't experienced racism in Atlanta for your 7 years.

[backfist]

I will end with this -- if there were two neighborhoods, pretty equal in crime stats, decent schools and shopping and one was all white and one was a big mix of races -- you had better believe I would choose the big mix every time. It's a richer experience IMO. I like diversity.

And all of the children would say ... amen.

[Natchezbreed]

Well said backfist. I'm just tired of reading all the so-called statistics or facts...without sources being noted. It appears that some people will come up with just about anything to prove their point, with absolutely no rationale-while at the same time omitting, other necessary facts or information.

[Derrick_TheRiskTaker]

Racism will always be among man just like the poor. I choose not to fight racism because these reasons. However I do fight racism by not being a racist! I think blacks and other minorities need a reality check. The issue of the day is no longer BLACK and WHITE....IT IS GREEN! Until blacks and other minorities learn financial literacy and the American capitalist system will we continue to be engaged in arguments about racism, the blame game and pointing the finger at everybody else but ourselves. My great grand mother always warned me to be cafeful at whom it what I point my finger, because one is always pointing back you. We can improve our very own communities by start teaching black men to stay at home with their families, get off the corner and stop killing. We can do these things by telling young ladies to keep their legs clothese because nothing is open after twelve but legs.

I am one to believe it all starts within the home. Until we start to get back to the family business (meaning immediate families) will be able to see the way. Arguments about racism, who did what, our communities, etc., is nothing more than one more way to keep us from seeing he big picture. It puzzles me how blacks (of which I am) will come out in thousands when lets say a white police officer shoots a black man, but when a black person shoots a black person we stay at home, cook dinner and ignore the entire matter. Lets get real folk.

[Prichard]

I'm done as well. The stats speak for themselves. They are from credible sources and from many different places, not just one. Nothing I cited came from any KKK, Neo-Nazi, White Supremist or otherwise website, and I am certainly not a member of any of the above. All of these stats are easily found by doing a tiny bit of google - if the persons who dispute them were truly interested in where they came from, all they would have to do is google them. Some of what I cited even came from publications intended to combat racism.

If I'm a racist, then I suppose most white people are racists.

This discussion is getting nowhere, when intelligent and educated black people won't let go of their propaganda machines to engage in honest discussions with white people there is really nothing more to talk about. I will applaud those who have engaged in this difficult discussion for keeping it on an intellectual level and not letting it slip into nasty name calling. I'd say we are just at an impass at this juncture, and leave it at that.

[sashag]

hi,my family and I are looking to move from Miami some time in the near future. So far we've narrowed it down to the possibilities of GA or CO. We like the idea of moving to GA but are concerned about the racism since he's hispanic and I'm black. We are looking for an affordable area with excellent schools, nice communities and a diverse population. Please let us know if there's anythning we should know about moving to either state. Thank u.

[I_Brennus]

Originally Posted by backfist

Well, thank you for the compliment. And indeed I try to know, see, and speak truth whenever possible. In the year 1969, I and a half-dozen other children weren't welcome at a public school but we attended anyway. The truth is that we children weren't any of the convenient stereotypes that folks are tossing around today. Only people of a different color........

In 1971, our family was not welcome in many neighborhoods. Not because I was a thuggish-looking teen with baggy clothes and rap music. There were no convenient excuses. We were simply the wrong color.

My perspective has been shaped by a different set of experiences. In the year 1969 my mother and four of my brothers (ages 10,11,and the twins, 14) were attacked and beaten in our front yard by 10 black men (ages 14 to 35) because they were simply the wrong color. There were similar assaults all over the east side of our town that day because there was an assembly at school that afternoon about slavery. Fights broke out during the assembly and white students had to literally fight their way home. It seems that the black students were angry because our ancestors owned slaves. I guess they forgot that we all lived in Jackson, Michigan the birth place of the Republican party (a party based soley upon the abolition of slavery) and that just about every white person in town on that day was the descendent of a Union Veteran. At that time our neighborhood was still considered to be "white" but thanks to the enlightened influence of LBJ my brothers were bussed every morning past a perfectly good school in our neighborhood to a central school that was more of a zoo. You guessed it... We took flight. I was two years old. My oldest memory is seeing my mom and my brothers getting beat in our front yard.

In the year 1986 I learned that I had to score 35 points higher on the college entrance exam than students who met the criteria to be qualified as minorities. I was also told by a career counselor to forget about gaining entrance into the Physical Therapy program because of affirmative action.

In the year 1988 I had the highest test score out of all of the applicants who applied for the single available position with the city police department. The man who had the 38th highest score was hired instead because he was black. In the year 1989 that man was caught having sex with a prostitute in a police car. He was reprimanded. In the year 1992 he raped a stripper that he had been extorting money from. He was finally fired.

I have endeavored throughout all of these experiences and others too numerous to cite, to treat every person that I encounter with dignity and compassion. That does not negate the reality of my experiences and the lessons that I have learned. I know my experiences to be real and beacuse of that I would prefer not to live in a predominately black neighborhood.

[backfist]

Deleted a post dripping with sarcasm that's useless to a high level discussion.

[backfist]

I am one to believe it all starts within the home. Until we start to get back to the family business (meaning immediate families) will be able to see the way. Arguments about racism, who did what, our communities, etc., is nothing more than one more way to keep us from seeing he big picture. It puzzles me how blacks (of which I am) will come out in thousands when lets say a white police officer shoots a black man, but when a black person shoots a black person we stay at home, cook dinner and ignore the entire matter. Lets get real folk.

Many--many--of us feel this way, Derrick. But those of us who have high expectations of each other don't seem to get much attention. In fact, people say that we don't exist. I submit that it's because we condemn certain folks within our community because we CARE about our community; not just for the pleasure of condemning.

I've said it before; some within our community are on the way to becoming irrelevant. The only pleasure I can take from that is the knowledge that those who condemn us for condemnation's sake will join the ranks of the irrelevant.