Trenton's reputation, downfall (Newark, Jersey City, Paterson: schools, living in, price)
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There's a book called "A Social History of Decline" that was written by a college professor some years ago who had ties to the area. It goes into great detail about all of the factors (there were many) that caused the downfall of the city. It's not as simple as "black people rioted, white people moved out," nor is it as simple as "industry left." You can find the book on Amazon if you're interested.
I'd call that racism, but not racism on the part of white people.
Did you live in Trenton at that time?
I did. I grew up there. And I can say that it was definitely racism on the part of whites.
No one wanted to hire blacks, and there were still plenty of factory jobs at the time. My father worked at a factory his whole life.
My parents were very racist. Their attitude made me sick, actually.
I attended Trenton High and should have graduated in 1969, but because of the riots at the HS I dropped out after junior year and went to night school for my senior year.
The fighting was between the Italians and the Blacks. I had no idea why they were fighting, though. I don't think the Italians cared for the Blacks maybe being better at sports or something, who knows.
So, when you have a population that is hated, that can't get jobs, well, something's got to give. I don't blame the Blacks for being angry.
I did. I grew up there. And I can say that it was definitely racism on the part of whites.
No one wanted to hire blacks, and there were still plenty of factory jobs at the time. My father worked at a factory his whole life.
My parents were very racist. Their attitude made me sick, actually.
I attended Trenton High and should have graduated in 1969, but because of the riots at the HS I dropped out after junior year and went to night school for my senior year.
The fighting was between the Italians and the Blacks. I had no idea why they were fighting, though. I don't think the Italians cared for the Blacks maybe being better at sports or something, who knows.
So, when you have a population that is hated, that can't get jobs, well, something's got to give. I don't blame the Blacks for being angry.
BTW, I am not Italian...
Sure people were po'd. But a better solution to burning down the neighborhood you live in is vote in people that might actually help you. Nobody wants to live in a war zone. This happened all over the country, not just in Trenton.
Sure people were po'd. But a better solution to burning down the neighborhood you live in is vote in people that might actually help you. Nobody wants to live in a war zone. This happened all over the country, not just in Trenton.
Were neighborhoods burned down in Trenton?
I don't remember that, but it was a long time ago...mine wasn't, in any case, and I lived off of State Street in East Trenton.
I do remember there were two grocery stores right next to each other on State Street. One owned by an Italian and one owned by a Jewish couple. The Jewish couple were there first, but after the Italians opened their store, suddenly the couple were physically attacked and the man ended up with brain damage. He did come back to work the store with his wife, but not too soon after their store burned down. Hmmm, well, everyone knew it was the work of the Italians, who wanted to get rid of the competition. JoJo's and Marty's, those were the store names.
Anyway, I don't think voting was the way to solve the problems. No one can change anothers point of view (racism) through voting, no matter how empathetic the person in office is.
Last edited by Fox Terrier; 12-06-2012 at 09:33 AM..
Sure people were po'd. But a better solution to burning down the neighborhood you live in is vote in people that might actually help you. Nobody wants to live in a war zone. This happened all over the country, not just in Trenton.
The frustration came from the fact that there were no people in power who were interested in helping blacks. Rioting comes when living right and working within the system results in no positive results or change. The nihilistic faction soon becomes, if not the dominant faction, at least the effective one. Look at the Palestinians for a contemporary similar situation.
The racist attitude of the area is still very prevalent; and from what I've heard, there was some bad blood between the Polish and Italians in Trenton before the race riots.
Last edited by T_Sporano; 12-06-2012 at 01:16 PM..
Reason: Don't wanna simgle out certian communities
HHHmmm - I am orginally from S. Plainfiled, NJ and my Father worked side-by-side with blacks in the Ford plant with no problem - yet - Plainfield (nearby town) had riots along with every other city - I wonder why that was?
And I dont always think that riots only happen when a certain race is working hard get kept down. You never hear about the Koreans in LA rioting.
The racist attitude of the area is still very prevalent; and from what I've heard, there was some bad blood between the Polish and Italians in Trenton before the race riots.
There was bad blood between practically every new ethnic group that came into pretty much every city in the U.S. in large numbers back then. My grandmother grew up on Monmouth Street in the Burg and was of Irish extraction. My grandfather grew up on Tyler Street and was born to parents who arrived in this country from Italy around the turn of the century. Eventually they met, fell in love, got married, etc... My grandfather's family was not happy, but as with many Irish-Italian unions in those days they left it at "well at least she's Catholic" My grandmother's family on the other hand was not so accepting-they stopped speaking to her completely. This softened in later years, but relations between them were always somewhat bitter.
It's super simple. Manufacturing jobs are gone, and with them left the working class. Only the poor remain (or the middle class elderly).
Unlike places like Hoboken, Jersey City, and to a much lesser extent Newark, there is really no reason to live in Trenton if you can afford to live anywhere else at all.
In my opinion, it's kind of an embarassment to have Trenton remain as the capital. The only thing it offers is a somewhat central location. Geography aside, Newark should be NJ's capital. Then again, many other states have their capital in a non-central location.
It's super simple. Manufacturing jobs are gone, and with them left the working class. Only the poor remain (or the middle class elderly).
Unlike places like Hoboken, Jersey City, and to a much lesser extent Newark, there is really no reason to live in Trenton if you can afford to live anywhere else at all.
In my opinion, it's kind of an embarassment to have Trenton remain as the capital. The only thing it offers is a somewhat central location. Geography aside, Newark should be NJ's capital. Then again, many other states have their capital in a non-central location.
So just because there are mostly impoverished citizens you feel that the capital should be moved? Interesting.
What about Trenton getting with the times and trying to become trendy/white-color?
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My grandmother's family on the other hand was not so accepting-they stopped speaking to her completely. This softened in later years, but relations between them were always somewhat bitter.
