And explain this to me. Was Dr King a crazy idealist? Did he not envision blacks and whites going to church together, going to school together?

And whites who relocate to urban centers certainly have no qualms about having black neighbors or living near liquor stores and check cashing centers. What I have seen (in Atlanta) is blacks and whites more friendly with each other than ever before, more multiracial barbeques, integrated churches, and so forth.

And if the source of unskilled labor decreases, wouldn’t that mean better wages for the workers? How is this bad?

I have found that most of the opposition to gentrification comes from politicians and church leaders who find themselves losing their base of support., reminiscent of a time decades earlier when racist white politicians, particularly in the South, felt that same heat coming around the corner. It took fearless black stalwarts to stand up to the racist white power structure and tear it down.

The onus is on the black citizenry to decide if they want to integrate as Dr. King wanted or to remain segregated as the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam, and other fear mongers want. Now that whites are fearless and unafraid to live, work, and play alongside blacks, will the black power structure (that’s been in place for 30 years in most major cities) resist what looks to be the next step towards the elimination of overt racism amongst city dwellers?

I welcome comments from all interested and informed parties, but please keep the discussion civil.

I think the closest thing to a solution is these public/private housing partnerships. They are coprorations, but they work with the public sector to offer nice, affordable housing. I interviewed several people from such organizations, and I think it’s a good idea.

Also Lawndale in Chicago offered some good solutions also. they really try to promote home ownership to folks in their community. You don’t see that neighborhood gentrifiying, the church there is too politically strong to allow that to happen.

A bunch of loosly-related thoughs..but we should talk more about it. it’s always been on my heart, especially now that I cover real estate for the newspaper.

..when all the wealthy suburbanites take over urban neighborhoods, all the “marginal” suburbs are going to suffer the worst..becoming the ghettos of the future.

weird weird stuff