Racism + Low money >>> Alcohol / Drugs + Absentee Landlords = Flight
No formula sums it up but certain elements make it highly likely that drug dealers are going to rule your neighborhood no matter what you do. With drugs, come guns. Slow death and fast death.
We had a beautiful neighborhood, so with a lot of other people, I tried to push out the drug dealers. It was hard work and I'm glad I tried.
I hung on for 8 years until I gave up and ran away. There got to be too many fast deaths.
I have written about that experience in my American blog called Another Day in the Last Superpower.
You can find it at:
http://anotherdayinthelastsuperpower.blogspot.com/
We had a beautiful neighborhood, so with a lot of other people, I tried to push out the drug dealers. It was hard work and I'm glad I tried.
I hung on for 8 years until I gave up and ran away. There got to be too many fast deaths.
I have written about that experience in my American blog called Another Day in the Last Superpower.
You can find it at:
http://anotherdayinthelastsuperpower.blogspot.com/
Hi Reva,
I'm going to respond to several entries that I just read from "New People..." to "Telling Martha I'm selling." This is very powerful writing of a truly powerful and tremendously sad story. Living in north Minneapolis myself, I understand some of your experience although my neighborhood has greatly improved over the years, having become much safer.
Martha's telling you not to talk with her children again feels like such an enormous loss, like a great tragedy. It must have been devastating to you! In the section in which Martha tells you not to talk to them anymore, you have one sentence about your mother's Royal Copenhagen set in your cupboard. I loved that simple addition to this compelling story. It just said so much about your own life, the privileges, the almost prim, established, settled-ness of your home in such sharp contrast to the chaos of the neighborhood.
Please keep up the wonderful writing, Reva. I am learning so much about you and find what you've written to be universally important for all of us in this country plagued still by racism. Yes, Obama is doing so well in his presidential bid; some will say that this means we are no long racist in this country. What a massive error that assumption will be.
Another thought - I have been avoiding using the word "dark" to convey negativity. I noticed in your blog that Martha had been recruited by "the dark side" and later in the blog "Martha Explains Her Problem," her family was mentioned as having "dark faces." I try to use the word "shadow" for negativity and would say "Martha was recruited to "the shadow side." I might also say "beautiful dark faces" regarding Martha's family and thus reduce meaning ambiguity regarding the word "dark". I know you loved those children. I just think the language change might enhance the clarity of your message.
'Loving your blog! Simply excellent!
Sherry
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Your comments are so helpful!
I had quite a negative reaction when you said my mother's China connoted my privileges. I was struggling myself at that time to pay bills. Nonetheless, I DID have privilege and I have written about it. My experience in that neighborhood and later in my travels as an American showed me clearly that I lead a very privileged life.
Eventually, I sold my house at a loss. I could afford to do that. It was hard to buy my next house, but I did it. Martha did not have that option, that privilege. She stated it was a miracle that she could buy her house, so she had to hold on. She didn't expect a second miracle.
As for using the word dark: you are right, but I don't know if I will follow the advice. I am undecided. My educated friends, of any race, use the terms African-American and native American and European-American. In that neighborhood, the African-Americans called themselves black and they called me white and the native Americans called themselves Indians. There was a directness, an unpretentiousness that I liked. Shades of meaning, perceived associations didn't mean shit, as they would say.
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Hi Reva,
Thanks for your response. Interesting comments from you!
In my commenting on the china as a symbol of privlege, my intent was to respond to what I believe you had already acknowledged in earlier blogs as a set of privleges that go with having white skin. I have no judgements of you about this nor did I assume that your life was one of financial ease. I just know that this particular name brand of china is quite expensive and that many people would not have inherited something of this worth. The visual image of this china sitting on your shelf created a dramatic contrast to the chaos going on outside. For me, it was a very powerful image.
I have,on several occasions, heard people of color take issue with the word "dark" to describe their skin color or them and the most frequent reason given is that they feel that "dark" in mainstream US culture implies bad, negative, or even evil. Regardless of what words you use to name different culture groups, I have to agree with their comments regarding the word "dark." I wasn't commenting on what catagory name you used to refer to any particular group as perhaps you thought, but rather this particular word. 'Hope this makes sense.
I look forward to more blogs, Reva! Very intriguing.
Sherry
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