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Old 01-13-2010, 03:42 PM
 
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Did anyone on here live in Jackson since the 1950s? I'm not sure why I chose that decade, but I am under the impression that surely that "bad" areas of Jackson couldn't have always been this way.

I have lived in the suburbs of Jackson my whole life and don't know much about what's west of State Street besides a few blocks of downtown that I know. I hear the names of the streets on the radio (Lynch, Ellis Ave, Robinson) but I've never seen them.

So at one point were these good areas? When did it get taken over and deemed unsafe? Where did those people who occupy it now live before?

I just want to know what old Jackson was like.
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Old 01-13-2010, 04:29 PM
 
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I used to live near Ellis avenue, but that was the 70's not the 50's. It wasn't too bad then, I lived near enough to walk to the Dairy Queen or the Ellis Cinema and generally loved it. Course I was renting a room in the home of an alcoholic vet and doing a lot of acid at the time, so what do I know?

You've surely seen Ellis because you drive past it on I-20 coming through town. It wasn't bad in the 70's it was middle class. Me and my cousin saw Jaws there when it opened and it was a pretty cool multiplex type theatre. It was totally sold out so we piled up in the hall near the back - try that in a theatre nowdays! You'll be permanently glued to the floor.

Also used to live on Robinson rd. We lived very near the Roses which was still there last time I went through. It also was not a bad place, me and my 13 yr old cousin used to walk to Roses almost daily. I went there looking at property a few years back and it did look like the area had fallen economically, but there's a nice park nearby and it's really a matter of choosing the right area. It's all intermingled, there's pockets of real poverty where homes have been badly neglected but right across the street are homes folks still care for and are trying. I'd say all that part of town needs is a few more of the right people to move in (maybe some gays? There's some cool homes there lol). The Robsinson Rd exit area from i-55 to the west is a pretty nicely located part of town, it's just having a hard time like everyone else right now. There's quite a lot of black folk there but it's not a slum and we never felt unwelcome by anyone when we were considering a few houses there. Actually if I wanted to live in Jackson I might still move there - many of the homes look like terrific bargains.

Keep in mind around this time Farish st was considered the slum part of town. Those quaint little homes lining the very gentrified area now were shotgun shacks back then where hookers plied their wares from open front doors as pimps sat in the front room watching tv and collecting rent. I also lived in this area then and loved it. I rented a room in the trav-l-lodge and my neighbors were hookers and drunks who hadnt yet hit bottom. There was a bar around the corner where I could go enjoy a cocktail at a mildly illegal 18 years of age and the hooker who lived next door was still young and pretty enough I always felt tickled when she'd flirt with me. Only had gunfire outside the door one time, but I loved that I could walk to the nightclub up the street where all you can drink beer for five bucks was often accompanied by a local funk or soul band and plenty of pretty ladies to dance with. I worked about a mile toward the train switching yard so it was a good place for me at the time. It was a place no "proper" white person would have lived at the time but it was nowhere near as bad as its reputation. The worse I had to contend with were the hookers walking alongside whispering all the things they'd do to me if only I'd step inside their red light shacks.

Last edited by poptones; 01-13-2010 at 04:40 PM..
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Old 01-14-2010, 10:03 AM
 
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Jackson used to be like safe. now it's like not safe.
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Old 01-14-2010, 12:03 PM
 
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The Jackson I recall was never considered safe. Especially if you were black.

Safety is an illusion. People watch too much TV. The entire country feels "not safe" now and reportedly felt that way all through the Clinton administration - the entire time FBI crimes stats were falling. Even after the 8 years of Bush (when, thanks to his cutting off money for police that the dems had dropped into the cities the decade before, crime was ON THE RISE the entire time) total crime stats are still like 1/4 of what they were when I was a teen and everyone reportedly felt "safe."

People watch too much TV. Then they grow up and watch FOX, which tells them to be scared. And they believe it because they're not CHILDREN any more and adults simply MUST have something to fear.

I thought you were a Jackson supporter? Why are you calling for theme parks and other nonsense then chiming in here about how it isn't safe?
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Old 01-14-2010, 12:07 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poptones View Post
The Jackson I recall was never considered safe. Especially if you were black.
Safe compared to Chicago, Houston, New Orleans and Miami Jackson was like the Huckstables until the 80's. black or not. now it's more like those cities.

Quote:
I thought you were a Jackson supporter? Why are you calling for theme parks and other nonsense then chiming in here about how it isn't safe?
I am. but I'm also a realest. and I'm not calling for a 6 Flags to be put in Presidential Hills or the Westside...LOL..I know better than that.
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Old 01-14-2010, 12:12 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poptones View Post
Keep in mind around this time Farish st was considered the slum part of town. Those quaint little homes lining the very gentrified area now were shotgun shacks back then where hookers plied their wares from open front doors as pimps sat in the front room watching tv and collecting rent.
Farish Street is still slummy. just with cleaner streets. my grandmother lived off Farish all her life and we loved it. people knew each other and it was all good. nowadays, you gotta keep your hand on your wallet and watch for crackheads and stick up kids. she has since moved and for good reason. they tried to lowball her on the buy out but she end up gettin' a nice check. not sure how other households fared.
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Old 01-14-2010, 12:20 PM
 
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Wow. I dont live there but I see the local news. I read the papers. Jackson has a newspaper that hates the government and despite that I dont see anything putting Jackson even close to the problems they are having in Chicago, which I also travel through fairly often. And New Orleans? Ummm.. I don't think so.

How old are you, OJ? I'm betting you were a teen yourself (or close to it) during those "Huxtable years."
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Old 01-14-2010, 01:25 PM
 
809 posts, read 1,855,073 times
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Originally Posted by poptones View Post
Wow. I dont live there but I see the local news. I read the papers. Jackson has a newspaper that hates the government and despite that I dont see anything putting Jackson even close to the problems they are having in Chicago, which I also travel through fairly often. And New Orleans? Ummm.. I don't think so.

How old are you, OJ? I'm betting you were a teen yourself (or close to it) during those "Huxtable years."
I don't know of any newspaper that "hates" the government. they're all pretty vanilla when it comes to being cutting edge on issues around Jackson. You have to have your feet on the ground here to really get a sense of what's going on. More crime than you can shake a stick at. more broad daylight crimes too.

You gotta remember, Katrina dumped a lot of criminals in Jackson who fly under the local papers and police radar. the papers only talk about soft issues anyway like who made a new Quilt today or when is the next flea market somewhere in the state. Not really news you can use.

yes, I was a teen back then. So I've seen Jackson go from trying to dying over the years. I know what Jackson can do, it's just not enough forward thinking people that want to do it. Stuck in the stone ages.
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Old 01-14-2010, 02:34 PM
 
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No, what you have seen is your viewpoint mature. Guess what? I'm probably 20 years older than you yet I have the SAME memories of Jackson being a safe, happy place. The Jackson you remember is the same Jackson I remember - it's called NOSTALGIA. The America I remember is the same one Glenn Beck remembers and Sarah Palin remembers and Rush Limbaugh remembers even though we're decades apart in the spectrum.

It's because KIDS see the world as less threatening. Always. When you grow up you become more aware and, if you're unfortunate, more fearful. It's not the world that's changed, it's us. It's human nature. The biggest factor in any of this is how we communicate - it's much more immediate, and more people spending more time hiding in their homes in front of the TV or computer rather than being outside doing stuff with the neighbors. That still doesn't mean the world is less safe, it only means we THINK of it as being that way.
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Old 01-14-2010, 03:03 PM
 
809 posts, read 1,855,073 times
Reputation: 195
Quote:
Originally Posted by poptones View Post
No, what you have seen is your viewpoint mature. Guess what? I'm probably 20 years older than you yet I have the SAME memories of Jackson being a safe, happy place. The Jackson you remember is the same Jackson I remember - it's called NOSTALGIA. The America I remember is the same one Glenn Beck remembers and Sarah Palin remembers and Rush Limbaugh remembers even though we're decades apart in the spectrum.

It's because KIDS see the world as less threatening. Always. When you grow up you become more aware and, if you're unfortunate, more fearful. It's not the world that's changed, it's us. It's human nature. The biggest factor in any of this is how we communicate - it's much more immediate, and more people spending more time hiding in their homes in front of the TV or computer rather than being outside doing stuff with the neighbors. That still doesn't mean the world is less safe, it only means we THINK of it as being that way.

um...sir...Jackson was ranked in the top 10 highest crime rates when I was young. that never happend before. and I think they just made the top10 again this year. which tells me it's gotten worst.
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