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Telling someone "stay here, the hood will get better in 20 years", I look at it like this. I don't think anyone can tell a middle class Black family that. It would be hard. I see it from this perspective. A Black family with children cannot wait 20 years for the neighborhood to get better, for the schools to get better. That Black family needs things to be better NOW. There are children involved. The children need schools where they can thrive. They need a place where their children can play, and not worry about some idiot trying to hurt them. It is going to be hard to say "stay here". If you're single with no kids, maybe you could stay and wait. But if there are kids involved, the answer is going to be "no". It will be hard to tell a Black family who has worked hard to attain resources to stay. And there is more. You tend to want what you've been told you can't have. If you have access to something, and someone tells you that you can't have it, you're going to see after it anyway. If nothing else, out of spite.
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(White senior female here)
I taught in a black-majority high school years ago, and one of the most frustrating things I witnessed was the huge gap for kids in the ghetto to get the skills training and job opportunities to get out of the ghetto trap too many stayed in.
So I have been really interested in the “Opportunity Zones” project that Trump put into his Tax and Job bill.
I believe Ben Carson is really in charge of it, and it’s hard to get past the political SPIN - both negative and positive — to see if it is bearing any fruit yet.
I know Ivanka has added job and skills TRAINING to it.
Since Trump’s name is associated with it will trigger too many people to not take it seriously, I really wish we could come up with a bipartisan policy that focused intensely and seriously on this same incentive ——> giving businesses huge tax incentives to bring jobs and TRAINING to blighted areas to help turn them around more QUICKLY. It can’t be just jobs, it has to include training.
Does anyone know if any of these opportunity zones are actually bearing fruit and turning any blighted communities around yet?
If so, if they are working, then that may give middle class and upper class blacks and mentors some incentive to stay in these communities to be a part of the turn around.
I would argue that the black community has the same types of divide.
Light skin vs Dark skin or "House" vs "field" as some call it. It is a divide that doesnt get that much attention until the moment it directly affects you. There is also the "acting white/not black enough" divide.
I would also point out that Black people arent accepting of black LGBTQ people either. So the racial alienation of white LGBTQ doesnt overshadow the continued problem of homophobic black people.
Another way to put it.
When a black person experiences racism, or racial tensions in general, he or she has family members who will have their back, black friends, a church community, community elders.
A gay black person, they may have absolutely no one.
True, however there is a difference between saying “two men/women ain’t meant to be together” and totoally shunning someone. My parents are pretty conservative when it comes to same sex marriage. However, I don’t believe they would every bully anyone about it, picker anyone’s funeral, etc.
Let's talk about Walmart for a minute. In the last few years, Walmart has been sued for discrimination over having "ethnic" hair care products locked up. From my understanding, Walmart does lock up products that are stolen the most. I remember being able to go into Walmart and get a jar of Softee ® for 88¢. One day, I went in and I noticed that all of these products, as well as Palmers and other products used by black people to be locked up. I left and got the products elsewhere as I didn't feel like looking for an associate (any reason why they don't keep that section of the store staffed with associates that can unlock as needed?). They
I went to target, Ironically, two Walmart employees who had just gotten off of work were in the same aisle that I was in. They were comparing prices and I remember bringing up a gripe about the inconvenience of these products being locked up at Walmart and I was told that people were stealing them at a high rate.
Have you taken notice to this in Walmart's in your area? Do you even shop at Walmart? Do you notice any other products in the hygiene section locked up?
Recently in the Walmart nearest me, hair color, cosmetics, as well as select razors have been locked up.
Bill Carson met with one of our local leaders. I’ll reach out.
The local leader has done a TON to improve our community and is respected nationwide. If Carson is blowing smoke I’ll know.
Great — please keep us informed as I am hoping this project gets some legs and some attention if it’s actually successful.
I saw Ben Carson and Ivanka interviewed and they had a few examples of where it was actually working.
One was Toyota that took advantage of it and is training and creating jobs in one of the blighted cities and created over a thousand jobs. Can’t remember which city they cited.
Let's talk about Walmart for a minute. In the last few years, Walmart has been sued for discrimination over having "ethnic" hair care products locked up. From my understanding, Walmart does lock up products that are stolen the most. I remember being able to go into Walmart and get a jar of Softee ® for 88¢. One day, I went in and I noticed that all of these products, as well as Palmers and other products used by black people to be locked up. I left and got the products elsewhere as I didn't feel like looking for an associate (any reason why they don't keep that section of the store staffed with associates that can unlock as needed?). They
I went to target, Ironically, two Walmart employees who had just gotten off of work were in the same aisle that I was in. They were comparing prices and I remember bringing up a gripe about the inconvenience of these products being locked up at Walmart and I was told that people were stealing them at a high rate.
Have you taken notice to this in Walmart's in your area? Do you even shop at Walmart? Do you notice any other products in the hygiene section locked up?
Recently in the Walmart nearest me, hair color, cosmetics, as well as select razors have been locked up.
Just recently I passed through a liquor store. Mind you I'm not ados or fba but my girlfriend is. I had to laugh at the liquor store. Hennesy, ciroc and Remy Martin had security locks on them. I notice that Hennessy, Remy Martin and ciroc are primarily consumed by black Americans. My girlfriend is big into social activism. I told my girlfriend, what are you going to do? Those drinks have security tags on them and are mainly consumed by your people. Funny thing is that their is way better and more expensive liquor than Hennessey, ciroc and Remy Martin that don't have security alarm tags on them.
When it comes to vacations, I get why you would want to go to places with a large Black population. From my own perspective, I think about this. it's a big world, and there are things I still haven't seen. Sometimes I understand that I'm going to catch crap no matter what. Sometimes I just have to do whatever I want to do.
Here's my rules when it comes to vacation. If it's a trip with white friends, we are going to New Orleans, The Carolinas, Memphis, or somewhere with a large black population. If going out of the country (though I have not done this yet), we are going to Jamaica, Bahamas, or some other country with a large black population.
Now, if I'm vacationing with black friends or family, we can CONSIDER going to places with a predominantly white population or Europe (if ever out of the country).
I say all that to say that currently, I do look for areas with a significant black population when I'm vacationing.
Just recently I passed through a liquor store. Mind you I'm not ados or fba but my girlfriend is. I had to laugh at the liquor store. Hennesy, ciroc and Remy Martin had security locks on them. I notice that Hennessy, Remy Martin and ciroc are primarily consumed by black Americans. My girlfriend is big into social activism. I told my girlfriend, what are you going to do? Those drinks have security tags on them and are mainly consumed by your people. Funny thing is that their is way better and more expensive liquor than Hennessey, ciroc and Remy Martin that don't have security alarm tags on them.
I find that the more expensive liquor at one of the grocery stores by my house are locked up. That being said, it's not a large store so it's easy to find a manager that can unlocked when needed. I typically get cheap wines anyway. Plus liquor stores out here offer much better deals than the grocery stores.
Last edited by pandorafan5687; 12-29-2019 at 08:45 AM..
There is so much wrong with this post that I dont even know where to begin.
There is no such thing as a singular American Culture. America is a called a melting pot for a reason. We do not all live in former British colonies.
For example, the area I live in traded control from the French and Spanish until 1821. It was technically apart of those counties longer than it has currently been in the US. These areas vastly culturally different just like the larger Southern cultural differences compared to New England or the Midwest.
Second, You choose to come here, you understand that slaves and their descendants did not ????????
third, There is no such thing as "American music", music is split up into genres . Some genres are more popular with some than others, but everyone can participate and everyone can listen. "Black music" as you call it, is actually a white view point and turn used by white people to separate it from music they like , which shows the hypocrisy of your comment.
mind you, black people still listen to music outside their stated favorite genre's far more than white people do. a secondary flaw showing whats wrong with your post.
forth, Black people live in black communities because of racist policies that forced black people into certain parts of cities and towns. Despite those racist policies, more black people live in white neighborhoods than white in black. Again, showing the flaw with your argument.
There is nothing wrong with saying America is great, but you clearly do no understand the "culture" you are discussing. You can be pro american without being blind, you also need to understand that discussing black issue isnt anti american either.
Africa in context here, is a dump because European powers subdivided it with large armies and navies, and stole its resources. There are companies that still own mineral rights from 150 years ago.
There is a reason China can swoop in and be liked as easily as it is. they are putting 100 billion dollars into Africa. they are currently helping build 3 cities there. Eko Atlantic next to Lagos is the most prominent.
China is also trying to get those numbers back up. That's why they are mating with those African women, with the hope that their bi-racial children marry other Chinese.
It matters to me in the big picture because it is wreaking havoc on a whole generation of kids in rural America.
However, I just can’t forget how whites treated blacks and the remedies they came up with (Star Trek years in prison and endless ridicule) in order to increase our pain. They seemed to have reveled in our misery. They didn’t consider the crack epidemic to be an American problem, but a black American problem.
So I’m conflicted. The opioid crisis seems to be something of a comeuppance or karma to me.
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Walmart!
