Just a thought! (Memphis, Collierville, Lakeland: crime rates, homes, neighborhoods)

[charlestontransplant]

Being a young African American professional new to the Memphis area. Here is what I think after reading these threads...Many of the people who claim areas like Memphis are just "no good"
are saying so because they're heavily Black Populated and simply
seeing too many blacks in an area constitutes "danger" for them. You will find the same rants if you read a thead in any forum that mentions a city that has a majority black population.
A lot of you who keep harping on "crime" (PULLL-LEASE) in the
Memphis Metro area, need to go visit some really major cities to see what
CRIME is.
There are definitely a few "ghetto" run-down areas in Memphis; there
is also crime, thugs and drugs but you will find that in every Metro city in America.
But for the most part, Memphis is not the hell-hole that these people make it out to be.
In fact, the city as a whole is breathtakingly gorgeous; the overwhelming
majority of the people, black and white, are extremely nice and most
of them are God-fearing law-abiding christians. Even many of the
Blacks that "look" scary to Paraonid Whites are really just misunderstood
poor people who would not rob or hurt you. My husband and I live in Cordova and he happens to be white. Before we purchased our home and he was inquiring about places to live in the area, a co worker of his told him that he may want to stay away from "those people" when my husband asked what people he was referring to he said "you know, the blacks..My husband said oooh OK, so ur telling me not to go home to my wife and kids, the guy turned as white as a ghost! we laughed about it later that night...I agree that things could be a lot better in this area, but that starts with the people who live here. Fleeing a community because U fear the possibility of having a black or hispanic neighbor or being annexed by the city does not help..It never does. You can run to Collierville, Arlington, and G'town and pray you're quiet little cul de sac does not become "infested" with other races and cultures and your quiet little community becomes a "victim" of racial diversity...Trust me I know from experience. When my husband and I went looking for homes here we would sometimes split up and have realtors take us out to see available homes. My husband would get taken to Collierville, Arlington and Lakeland and shown homes (They assumed his wife was white also) . I, on the other hand would automatically get told about a "nice little house" in south Memphis. Though with our income we could afford a much nicer area..We chose the area we live in because of that diverstiy, we have white neigbors, black neighbors, and a nice asian couple across the street. All of whom are very nice people and our kids love their new school...So please stop the negative about this city, We moved here from Charleston, SC and we love it so far, but we are the type of people that make the most of where we are.

[joninclay]

With all due respect...give us a break!

First of all, you are 100% correct in that racism of any form is intolerable. I don't know that anyone here disputes that. I also do not doubt that you and your husband have seen it first hand. Sadly, some people refuse to grow up and join the modern times.

However, the areas that people are told to avoid are areas that are high in crime and/or have poor schools. I'm sorry if it's inconvenient to note that those areas are also predominantly black, and while some people may link the blacks to high crime and poor education, I think that's both misguided and irrelevant.

For example, there are a few areas in and around Atlanta that have predominantly (or at least sizable) black populations, and the crime in those areas is low (and the schools are top-notch). In other words, "predominantly black" does NOT equal "high crime/poor schools"! No one is telling people moving to Atlanta to avoid those areas.

So I reject your contention that people who come to this board are told to avoid certain parts of Memphis due to the number of people living in those areas who just so happen to fit a particular racial profile. People aren't going to subject their families to crime and bad schools all in the name of "diversity" or political correctness. There's a great deal of diversity in places like Collierville that do not suffer from high crime rates or poor schools. But people will not sacrifice their children on the altar of "diversity" if they can get a great education with little crime problems somewhere else.

By the way, I do commend you and your family for "making the most of where we are", and I mean that sincerely. So many people complain about their city, yet they either do little to improve it or they don't leave it. Me, I moved to FL because I did not like what Memphis had become: high crime, hopelessly corrupt and incompetent city government, awful public schools, etc. Those are the reasons that many folks who do live or have lived in Memphis cite as reasons they don't like it (or reasons that they like it less than they otherwise would). I miss the Memphis that was, not the Memphis that is. You are able to make the most out of it, and I think you are to be applauded for that.

[KeyserSoze]

I don't know what Memphis you live in, but crime is very much an issue there. You don't even have to turn on the news -- just look outside your window our step outside at the "right" time. Racism is alive and well there also, both in subtle and socioeconomic relations. I'm not saying that it's like that everywhere, or that everyone's like that, but those are characteristics that define Memphis. As for those who judge people based off their skin color, I'd just do what you described and laugh at them and keep it moving.

[tomterr]

This is the liberal-racist rant common among the affirmative action types in Memphis.
There is no crime, all of Memphis' problems are due only to bad publicity from the White people., and all we have to do to improve the city is to ignore the problems and "talk positively."
Burying your head in the sand about the crime and corrupt politicians because it largely has a black face on it (no forgetting Memphis has its share of White criminals) does not improve things. "Crime" is a codeword in the Memphis black community for "If you say anything that could be negative about the black community, you're racist."
Ignoring the depths of Black racism, while harping on the racism of the past is not the way for the city to progress.

[strumpeace]

The OP said that she was new to Memphis. Yet, for whatever reason, she feels qualified to make such judgments about the area's residents and their motives. She needs to spend a little more time in Memphis--observing, learning, and participating--before coming to such sweeping conclusions.

[Pearlbob]

I recommend neighborhoods based on safety. I don't care about the race of people who live there. If you go into this city thinking that areas are fine and that the "dangerousness" of areas is just over-inflated by scared white people, you will soon regret that. Take things for what they are. If an area is dangerous, it's dangerous. Otherwise, we'd all live on Chelsea or Brooks.