From the N&R article today...
..."Simpson, who is white, said he sees parallels between the noise fight and emerging racial tension downtown. Both, he said, boil down to newcomers attracted to downtown but uncomfortable with what and who is already there...."
The two are related... Centerpointe residents are uncomfortable to have so many blacks so close to where they "live work and play".
A Council member is even suggesting that some change their businesses to cater to a more "acceptable" clientele aka "young professionals" in order for the harassment to stop.
Greensboro has not evolved, it is still a southern town full of racist white men and women...a DGI meeting a few years back at the Empire Room (to which the press was purposely not invited) illustrated my point...tar and feathers was all that was missing.
As long as we let affluence rule over content, we are doomed to resemble what Roy Carroll and Theresa Yon aspire to...and that is the mediocrity supported by council and promoted by Action Greensboro and DGI... How many black people work at Action Greensboro? how Many Black People are on the board of DGI (not enough)? What is Roy Carroll's MWBE participation?
GPAC will not make the city whiter or safer...but it may contribute to make our city a little cooler, and cool does not need to be legislated as cool unites...
Cool relies on PSYCHOGRAPHICS not demographics.
Cool exists and thrives in Downtown Greensboro...Green Bean, Crafted and Design Archives are proofs that cool works, and that we have it in us.
We, as a city, must stop treating black people as second class citizens, we must stop fearing them and blaming them for all our ailments, insecurities and economic failures. We must evolve so that maybe, one day, Greensboro can actually be known for something cool we have created or have become...and that is certainly what I aspire to!
Good courageous post.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of organized social outrage from the local black community tells me their leaders are content to chew on the bones thrown to them by the white power structure.
ReplyDeleteTrying to mitigate the influence of black culture for a few blocks around the International Civil Rights Museum is an appalling irony.
The the black community leaders don't care so long as they are paid off.
It's 2013 and Greensboro continues to cultivate its image as a racially divided city.
Well said Hugh. Even the black council members are oblivious to it .
ReplyDelete"Even the black council members are oblivious to it ."
ReplyDeleteThey are part of the problem.
Their support for GPAC, Robbie's Road and the Bessemer Shopping Center disaster have cost Black Council members dearly. Their base is more divided than at any time in history. And now this gets bungled. They are scared to open their mouths, scared they will have to account for their complicity in creating the problems.
ReplyDeleteThey are as lilly white as our white council members. And every bit as stained.