White Flight in Bowie?! (Crofton, Takoma Park: sale, city hall, condo)

[RaisedWell]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

I'd say it occurred mainly when the DC schools were court ordered to bus students from DC into the suburbs (I think this was back in the 60s/70s). They mainly, if not exclusively, went to PG county. THen the whites started to leave. However, it is also correct that many middle to upper middle class black families started purchasing homes in PG and it became the wealthiest prodominantly black county in the U.S.

I'm confused. When were DC schools ever bused into the suburbs? I don't remember this.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

I'm confused. When were DC schools ever bused into the suburbs? I don't remember this.

They never were. Two different municipalities. There may have been some busing in PG, but it had nothing to do with DC.

[RaisedWell]

Originally Posted by Moth

They never were. Two different municipalities. There may have been some busing in PG, but it had nothing to do with DC.

That's what I know. There was a lot of migration from DC to PG (my family did) but no forced busing from one municipality to another. There was forced busing within PG in 1972.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

That's what I know. There was a lot of migration from DC to PG (my family did) but no forced busing from one municipality to another. There was forced busing within PG in 1972.

I vaguely remember it. I did DC public and we never had it- they simpy stretched the boundaries to fill it up with inevitable results.

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by kjg1963

Laurel High is really bad. My son attended 9th and partially 10th there. During 10th grade he was in an English class with a 1st year teacher that the students actually made cry because of their behavior. They really took advantage of her. My son is very quiet and was a good student and he felt bad for her. He started skipping school because this particular class was stressing him out. The whole atmosphere of the school (chaotic and rowdy) was getting to him. I finally made an appointment with an Administrator to see if he could be transferred to a different class. While I was meeting with her, she had student aids walking in and out and sitting behind us listening to everything. My son was an A/B student and on varsity baseball. This administrator told me "Well, he'll be 16 in a couple of months and if he wants to quit school, that's up to him. We are not going to give him special treatment just because he doesn't like a class." Here was a good kid with no behavioral or academic problems, and they had no desire to save the kid from destroying his life. However, when I was in the office waiting for my meeting, there were kids yelling, wrestling, interrupting office staff while they were on the phone or talking to parents. It was an unbelievable mad house. Not one word of admonishment to any of them. Luckily my daughter got into Roosevelt. I believe she might have been OK in Laurel because she's more outgoing then my son, but I think the quiet, shy kids have a harder time dealing with the chaotic atmosphere.

That is absolutely pathetic but sadly not shocking at all. I'm old school; I would love it if we could have a "Lean on Me" (Morgan Freeman, movie about inner city high school for those who don't know -absolutely great movie) attitude in some of these schools. I have my admin certificate but have not pursued administration yet in part because I know my style and i know that it would not be politically correct, especially in MoCo COunty, and quite frankly I would probaby be removed because I see being a principal/VP as someone who is not there to make friends with anyone. . . but to run the school as a machine that produces effective results within the student body AND staff. Kind of like a parent/child relationship (or, as it should be) - I'm not here to be your friend; I'm here to lead by example whether or not that makes me Mrs. Popular or not. That doesn't mean I"d walk around like a Scrooge all day but don't try to play me.

That situation is one of the inmates running the jail and I"m sure it is played out in many schools in many different counties around here.

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by Moth

I vaguely remember it. I did DC public and we never had it- they simpy stretched the boundaries to fill it up with inevitable results.

My bad!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desegre...ty.2C_Maryland

[RaisedWell]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

My bad!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desegre...ty.2C_Maryland.

Who wrote this? Where in the world did you get this? Oh Wikipedia.
The busing started in 1972. The term ghetto is used incorrectly here and a whole bunch of other things are wrong with this article.

The area I was bused to for high school was all white back then. I am shocked that according to this, that area would be considered a "black ghetto" now because it isn't. I really hate to bring race into this because I know people will get all bent out of shape but it is what it is. I know this thread is about white flight in Bowie but white flight occurred in Prince Georges during the late 70's/early 80's not only because of the busing but because educated middle class blacks could afford homes right next to whites and they didn't like it so they left.

[kjg1963]

When busing started in PG, I was in 4th grade. My neighborhood was considered Langley Park. We were right at the border of Montogomery Co. My area was already predominately AA. When they started busing from my neighborhood, 80% of the kids being bused into predominately AA schools were AA themselves. It made no sense to any of us.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

Who wrote this? Where in the world did you get this? Oh Wikipedia.
The busing started in 1972. The term ghetto is used incorrectly here and a whole bunch of other things are wrong with this article.

The area I was bused to for high school was all white back then. I am shocked that according to this, that area would be considered a "black ghetto" now because it isn't. I really hate to bring race into this because I know people will get all bent out of shape but it is what it is. I know this thread is about white flight in Bowie but white flight occurred in Prince Georges during the late 70's/early 80's not only because of the busing but because educated middle class blacks could afford homes right next to whites and they didn't like it so they left.

LOL! I was looking at the "black ghetto" paragraph like, "Wow!"

I will say this about the white flight in Bowie, at the risk of being flamed.

To me, there is "old Bowie," with the Levitt houses and the stable lifestyle but unending resistence to change and an attitude of, well, entitlement. And there is "new Bowie," with newer homes, more diversity, more acceptance of others, but still with an attitude of entitlement. Then there is the unincorporated part of Bowie, which is not as cohesive as the city but is very much McMansion land.

To be honest, I have this perception of the old school Bowie as racist and unwelcoming to blacks to a large degree. I get the impression that a lot of whites there (who haven't already moved to Crofton) think blacks are taking over their territory. Those whites would like to see Bowie schools for mainly Bowie (read white) kids and would rather see the older Levitt neighborhoods remain mostly white.

Why do I feel this way? Here's an example. When I was married, my husband and I were seeking our first home. We were interested in buying in Bowie. We went to a Bowie realtor, who basically steered us to Upper Marlboro -- Rosaryville area. We actually liked and bought a home in the Rosaryville area. But I didn't forget that he discouraged our interest in Bowie.

Another example: back in 2001 or so, Bladensburg High School students were moved to a building in Bowie on Belair Rd. while Bladensburg High was being renovated (or rebuilt). Anyway, Bowie was up in arms -- residents and politicians fighting to keep the Bladensburg students out. The reason on the surface was that Bowie schools were overcrowded, and that Belair Rd. building was needed for Bowie students. But there was an undercurrent of racism. Some residents even wanted to secede to Anne Arundel County. The Bladensburg students were moved to Bowie anyway for a few years. That left a bad taste in my mouth.

I remember a former coworker (white) going on and on about "bad people" moving to Bowie and how she was glad she was able to move with her family to Anne Arundel County. Several coworkers thought her comments had an undercurrent of racism.

Then a reliable source told me that when my development, Fairwood, was first being built, the Bowie city government lobbied for our children to not attend their schools. While there is a lot of diversity in Fairwood, it's still mostly black.

So, while I like Bowie and the surrounding area, I do feel there is at least a trickling of white flight. Not all white residents want to leave, of course, but a lot of them don't seem too happy with more blacks moving into the area.

I don't mean for this to be an anti-white or anti-black debate, but I want to be honest about my perceptions and spur an honest but thoughtful discussion. Perhaps someone will prove me wrong about what I have seen in the city of Bowie.

[RFMD]

Originally Posted by bowian

LOL! I was looking at the "black ghetto" paragraph like, "Wow!"

I will say this about the white flight in Bowie, at the risk of being flamed.

To me, there is "old Bowie," with the Levitt houses and the stable lifestyle but unending resistence to change and an attitude of, well, entitlement. And there is "new Bowie," with newer homes, more diversity, more acceptance of others, but still with an attitude of entitlement. Then there is the unincorporated part of Bowie, which is not as cohesive as the city but is very much McMansion land.

To be honest, I have this perception of the old school Bowie as racist and unwelcoming to blacks to a large degree. I get the impression that a lot of whites there (who haven't already moved to Crofton) think blacks are taking over their territory. Those whites would like to see Bowie schools for mainly Bowie (read white) kids and would rather see the older Levitt neighborhoods remain mostly white.

Why do I feel this way? Here's an example. When I was married, my husband and I were seeking our first home. We were interested in buying in Bowie. We went to a Bowie realtor, who basically steered us to Upper Marlboro -- Rosaryville area. We actually liked and bought a home in the Rosaryville area. But I didn't forget that he discouraged our interest in Bowie.

Another example: back in 2001 or so, Bladensburg High School students were moved to a building in Bowie on Belair Rd. while Bladensburg High was being renovated (or rebuilt). Anyway, Bowie was up in arms -- residents and politicians fighting to keep the Bladensburg students out. The reason on the surface was that Bowie schools were overcrowded, and that Belair Rd. building was needed for Bowie students. But there was an undercurrent of racism. Some residents even wanted to secede to Anne Arundel County. The Bladensburg students were moved to Bowie anyway for a few years. That left a bad taste in my mouth.

I remember a former coworker (white) going on and on about "bad people" moving to Bowie and how she was glad she was able to move with her family to Anne Arundel County. Several coworkers thought her comments had an undercurrent of racism.

Then a reliable source told me that when my development, Fairwood, was first being built, the Bowie city government lobbied for our children to not attend their schools. While there is a lot of diversity in Fairwood, it's still mostly black.

So, while I like Bowie and the surrounding area, I do feel there is at least a trickling of white flight. Not all white residents want to leave, of course, but a lot of them don't seem too happy with more blacks moving into the area.

I don't mean for this to be an anti-white or anti-black debate, but I want to be honest about my perceptions and spur an honest but thoughtful discussion. Perhaps someone will prove me wrong about what I have seen in the city of Bowie.

WOW! You hit the nail on the head.

I can elaborate on this some as I used to rent one of the Levitt homes while in school back in the 80's but I will leave it at that