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I am wondering why the o.p. really cares? The poster who said "jobs" should have left it there. Left soley to the whims of the small employers in extremely rural settings, African Americans would have access only to low wage service sector work. I lived in a big city and made big city money but had to live in the ghetto until I could hook up with a white woman to fill out rental applications. You want real. You've got real. Can you handle it? Actually, we both lived in the ghetto for awhile till we moved out here. Now we live in the not so good part of town where the landlords aren't so picky. Can you tell that posts like this just reinforce my idea of what white people are like. What a nasty race of people... put their foot on your neck and wonder "why is it 'they' all walk around with their heads held funny that way?" I wonder if the o.p. also wonders why Killer Whales in captivity all bend their dorsal fins over at the top? Probably.
At least the poor blacks were drawn to urban areas because of the fact on speding on poverty for one thiong. As Clinton point out 80% of poverty is concnetrated in 20% in two rural areas of teh country. That 80% receives 20% of all funsing going from governamnt to poverty. The 20% in urban areas gets the 80%. The reason;politics of poverty.That si why he and bush Sr. povety foundation concentrates their private givings in rural areas because it elimainates the politcs.Votes control politics and there is no getting around it really.
I am trying to understand why so many Blacks live in crowded, urban, big cities. I went to Mississippi about 2 months ago and I saw a lot of "country" Black people in some of the small towns and although there is some poverty in that part of the country, I feel like the quality of life in a small town like Greenwood, MS is way better than living in a ghetto in South Central LA or Detroit.
I understand a lot of Blacks left places like MS, and AL because they were looking for better opportunities in places like Chicago, Detroit, etc but the quality of life in a big city ghetto is horrible.
I have an African American coworker and I always try to invite him to do stuff like listen to country music, go fishing and hunting and it seems like he has a certain resistance to this more "country" lifestyle. I understand maybe racism is part of the reason why so many Blacks feel more comfortable living in a city versus living out in the country but I did not see a lot of "racial conflict" in small towns in MS.
I live in an "urban" setting and I'm white. (Philly) It can be a personal choice, like myself, or there are several other reasons: family may live in the city, job, etc. It's a small sterotype that only blacks live in urban areas. There are always different sections of the city too, Jewish communities, Korean communities, etc. It can also be a financial position aswell.
I am trying to understand why so many Blacks live in crowded, urban, big cities. I went to Mississippi about 2 months ago and I saw a lot of "country" Black people in some of the small towns and although there is some poverty in that part of the country, I feel like the quality of life in a small town like Greenwood, MS is way better than living in a ghetto in South Central LA or Detroit.
I understand a lot of Blacks left places like MS, and AL because they were looking for better opportunities in places like Chicago, Detroit, etc but the quality of life in a big city ghetto is horrible.
I have an African American coworker and I always try to invite him to do stuff like listen to country music, go fishing and hunting and it seems like he has a certain resistance to this more "country" lifestyle. I understand maybe racism is part of the reason why so many Blacks feel more comfortable living in a city versus living out in the country but I did not see a lot of "racial conflict" in small towns in MS.
I disagree with what you said about your co-worker and thinking it might be racism that makes him/her not want to listen to country music or do country things. I say that because I am a white guy and I just don't feel I fit in to that kind of thing either (country stuff). I just moved from Orlando and grew up in Miami. Now I live in Nashville and I feel I can relate more to minorities here than to the local homegrown white population. Country things and music is foreign to me and just doesn't seem like something I want to be a part of.
Jobs, public transportation, proximity to other blacks. This won't be popular here, but blacks were used to diversify the old working class white neighborhoods in the NorthEast to bring down property value, so it could be easily bought up then changed back into yuppie areas.
The real estate agents involved in 'blockbusting' were not interested in redevelopment of the site for yuppies.
"“Blockbusting” refers to the efforts of real-estate agents and real-estate speculators to trigger the turnover of white-owned property and homes to African Americans. Often characterized as “panic peddling,” such practices frequently accompanied the expansion of black areas of residence and the entry of African Americans into neighborhoods previously denied to them.
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Purchasing homes cheaply from nervous white occupants, the panic peddler sold dearly to African Americans who faced painfully limited choices and inflated prices in a discriminatory housing market. Often providing financing and stringent terms to a captive audience, the blockbuster could realize substantial profits."
"The illegal and discriminatory practice of helping ethnic or minority individuals into predominantly non-ethnic or minority-dominated areas, and then using scare tactics to force current neighborhood residents to sell their homes at depressed prices. For example, a real estate broker would tell the current residents of an area that once the new, minority tenants move in that housing prices will tumble and crime will increase, even if this is not necessarily true. The broker will then buy up the cheaper homes at reduced prices "[for sale to blacks at inflated prices].
Regarding gentrification, i.e. to change an area back into yuppie areas, that process pushes most blacks out. Therefore, your response to the OP actually contradicts his observations.
"Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders.
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Gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities, often along racial and economic fault lines. Neighborhood change is often viewed as a miscarriage of social justice, in which wealthy, usually white, newcomers are congratulated for "improving" a neighborhood whose poor, minority residents are displaced by skyrocketing rents and economic change."
Regarding Section 8, how does that housing program cause more blacks to live in urban centers? Section 8 provides vouchers for low income persons/families who can use the voucher to pay for housing anywhere and not just urban centers. These participating property owners who rent to low income individuals do not necessarily own property in urban centers. Furthermore, the program is not limited to blacks -it is available to all ethnic groups.
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