The letter written by Kamikaze about Jackson's problems generated no small amount of traffic and comments on this website. I received a thoughtful email from a law student at Mississippi College on the subject and obtained permission from him to post it in its entirety. Enjoy.
"I am the law student at Mississippi College and member of the Jackson Leadership Initiative Program that was referred to in the comment section under your post of Kamikaze's email.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
A response to Kamikaze's letter
Let me first qualify myself by saying that I was raised in the Jackson area and attended high school at Hillcrest Christian School in South Jackson. I went to the University of Mississippi and finished in 2006 with a degree in Political Science. When I moved back to Jackson, I lived in Belhaven as I pursued my previous career as a baseball coach at area schools within the metro. I have since gotten married and moved to the suburbs. We attempted to buy in Jackson but it made more sense for a number of reasons to go in this direction. At some point, we will move back.
I would never pretend to know the key to success for the revitalization of the city of Jackson; however, I have made some observations over the last few years.
1) The city of Jackson has an extremely tall "perception" hill to climb if it ever wants to be the focal point of the Metro Area much less Mississippi again.
Jackson has a big problem as everyone has pointed out. The tax base is shrinking because the citizens that contribute (by way of sales tax, property tax, etc.) are moving to the suburbs. The category of person I am speaking of is more educated than uneducated and more financially stable than unstable. Basically, the same middle class I was raised in. These people want better for themselves and their families in two major ways: education and safety.
As far as education in Jackson is concerned, you have two options: expensive private school or under-performing public school. For most families that fit into the category I am speaking, they could never afford the private school tuition required and would never place their child in a setting that breeds mediocrity as the Jackson Public Schools do. In the present economy, one fueled by outsourcing good middle class jobs to facilitate corporate greed, the competitiveness of the job market only grows stronger. This requires the educational standard to grow with it. The standard in Jackson has continually fallen over the last few decades. The blame for that rests on a number of entities, the most important being the parents. I am strong believer that the child is a direct result of how he or she was raised in the home. To many times we expect the school to set the standard. In any such situation, the child that is not disciplined and supported by his parents will fail more times than not. This also holds true for the child that lacks the normal family structure of a two parent home as opposed to a single mother. This is the norm and not the exception in Jackson whereas the opposite is true of families that have chosen to move to the suburbs. It is a continuous cycle of elements acting in concert that forms the issues we are discussing.
As for safety concerns, they are real. Men don't want to have to worry if their wife and kids are safe just because they have to work late at night. They don't want to have to worry if they will have their ATV or bass boat stolen just because they leave town for a few days. Those are not concerns ever faced when one lives in Madison, Flowood, etc. My wife told me a story about this very issue a few nights ago. Friends of ours live in Northeast Jackson and just recently had a baby. The husband was rocking the baby in the living room when he heard what he thought were firecrackers exploding outside. A few minutes later, he went into the babies room and saw two slugs laying in the crib. There were two bullet holes in the window of the room. The very next day they packed up and moved out of the house. They will soon be buying a house in Madison. That's a real concern for safety. On the other hand, I will be the first to agree that many who have never lived in the city of Jackson base their decisions to not live there more on perception of what they think will happen than what they know first hand. However, until something changes as far as safety is concerned, perception will remain reality as far as any actual population increase.
2) Call it what you want, racial or cultural, but it has a strangle hold on Jackson's revitalization.
I am a child of the 1980's and have grown up in the most assimilated culture of any generation prior to mine. I have white friends and I have black friends. I have never once had any racially motivated issues regarding how I feel about a certain person's skin color. Better said, I have never judged someone based on their physical appearance. I do, however, have concerns with the culture that is manifesting itself within the youths of urban areas such as Jackson. (Let me expound on that statement by saying that other areas outside the city have these problems as well; however, it is not an issue here because I am focusing on the city of Jackson). The major problem that I have with this culture is not the rap songs or the baggy jeans or even the incorrect pronunciations of the English language (you can find examples of that among all communities and to make it about that would be skirting the real issues). The problem that I have with this culture is that, as I stated earlier, it breeds mediocrity. Parents are instilling mediocrity in their children who will in turn pass it on to their children. The cycle must be reversed for their ever to be significant changes made. Educated parents refuse to place there children in that environment and educated parents have money to spend on property and cars and goods. Therefore, by way of transference, those people that have money are moving to the suburbs and spending all their money in the town they live. It just makes sense.
With that said, what can be done about it?
In my view, two things can be done.
First, temporary goals must be put in place to help change the perception that people have of doing life in Jackson. The target demographic has to be young families and young single adults. For no other reason than these groups have more time to have long term effects on the city. By gaining traction within the community of young couples who already have children, we will be changing the perception from the ground up. By attracting young single adults, we will be growing the new young professional culture that is taking roots all over the county. Many young people my age and even older are choosing their careers over starting a family at this time and the "live, eat, work in one place" lifestyle caters to them better than the suburbs. As part of the Jackson Leadership Initiative Program, we are going to be doing our part to get the ball rolling on these types of things. Ben Allen and everyone involved with Downtown Partners have done an outstanding job of slowly but surely shedding positive light on the city and I think we are starting to see some of the things that are coming from that. For example, a good friend of mine, Craig Noone, recently opened Parlor Market. That has the potential to be a staple of Capital Street for many years to come. As was stated in the comment section, we are in the process of putting together a movie night for young families in the city through the spring and summer. We hope that it will become an event that builds on what Jackson has to offer.
Second, long term goals to attract families back into the city must be attainable. We must remain consistent in what the mission is without wavering or becoming anxious in our pursuit of rebuilding Jackson. This is not a quick fix. Yes, investing in businesses and restaurants can happen relatively quickly if the right people make the right sales pitch to the right investors however it is going to be a much tougher sale to the citizens who are living in areas that provide safety and stability. It will take time but we can do it.
Lastly, the leadership of Jackson caters to a culture that is content in being what it is, average. No one in the city government is pressing the buttons to make Jackson a better place. You can have private business leaders doing their part; however, Jackson's mayor and city council must be on board as well. At this time, whatever pretty words they might be using don't match up with their actions. Anyone who is educated into how the city council works knows that it is virtually impossible to get anything done. Especially anything that would tamper with the status quo.
In summation, this process must flow from the ground up. It is too important for the future of the metro area and more importantly the state that we change the perception by cleaning up the city. White, black, red, or yellow doesn't matter. As Kamikaze stated in his email, it's all races of people in the working class that are moving out. That is because those are the people that care about their future and their children's future. There are many people who would rather just let Jackson continue its fall into the depths of society and I could easily be one of those people. It would be very easy for my wife and I to live out our lives in the suburbs. We have everything we want here. However, I truly believe in the old saying "A fish rots from the head down". To apply that here, "Jackson will rot from the core, out". Don't think for a second that the city will be isolated from expanding its mediocrity into the suburbs. Good, hardworking people must be willing to make a difference if we are ever going to see the metro area reach its potential. It is simply too important.
Thank you for your time.
Bradley Lum"
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52 comments:
if it was 'mediocrity', he may have a point. it is far, far lower than that.
As a 65 year old, who has lived most of my life in Jackson and who moved to Madison 11 years ago, I appreciate the skill used to describe the problems with Jackson but your solutions are not going to solve the problems. Having been involved in many civic/reglious groups working to improve Jackson and being a commercial real estate broker for over 30 years, I see the only hope now is a crack down on the CRIME. That's why people and business leave! Movie nights, festivals, along with feel good education, will not make the city better in the long run. People have to be assured that they can live and work without constant fear. If this crime is not stopped, Jackson is on the way to becoming the "Detroit of the South!"
Your definition of the problem is correct and beaten to death. You offered nothing new. Your solution is impossible. There can be no leadership elected in Jackson because of the cultural differences you accurately defined.
However, the overriding problem is that there is no need to "save" Jackson. Let it go. Let it die. The Jackson of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, is dead forever. Trying to recreate it somehow is silly.
We live in Rankin Co., but my wife teaches First Grade in Jackson Public Schools. The class size averages about 21 students. At no time in the past 15 years has she had more than two children in any class that came from a two-parent home. That is the cultural norm. It cannot be fixed.
Over time the houses that were built in Jackson in the 1950 - 1990 era will deteriorate and collapse. Financial necessity will force the city to stop providing services to most of the subdivisions developed in the last half of the 20th Century. The people who moved to Jackson to take advantage of the vacant houses and apartments will migrate.
There is nothing wrong with that. Don't fight it.
I have seen several other neighborhoods in much larger cities deteriorate and die. Wholesale demolition of public housing complexes (blowing up 100s of apartments) was actually a civic improvement in those towns (a vacant lot beats a crime-infested, drug-infested ghetto). I have seen gentrification work as well. No one will risk a large percentage of their savings or income on buying a home or opening a business in a deteriorating neighborhood. Only when the value of the property becomes so astonishingly low (i.e., it becomes pocket change) will an investor risk it. If it fails, you lose your pocket change and move one. Jackson is nearing that point but is not there yet. The current administration is keeping Jackson on a downward spiral but they haven't hit rock bottom yet. Then the speculators and gentrification investors will come in.
The current residents seem complacent with the worst schools in the state and the worst crime in the state. If that attitude doesn't change then gentrification will also stall. That seems to be a state-wide cultural attitude, as Mississippians in general (i.e., both white and black) don't seem to be bothered by ranking dead last in education, high school graduation tates, income, infant mortality, health care statistics, obesity, etc.
Thanks for the effort Brad. It took some time to write all that and as a reader here I appreciate reading your perspective.
The perception hill of which you speak will never be overcome by spin without the hard quantifiable results delivered consistently over an extended period of time to support the message. Unfortunately, and to Jackson's detriment, these spinners -- by and large the downtown cultists -- are somehow (and inexplicably) convinced that messaging is the prime problem.
And what is their message? That Jackson crime, as an example, is comparable to other big cities, or capital cities, or southern cities, or redeveloping cities -- take your choice -- and therefore tolerable. For instance Kaze has, effectively, posited many times that Jackson crime victimhood is, in essence, the defacto luxury tax one should expect to pay for the "benefits" of living in Mississippi's Capital City.
Now Brad if you think that message will ever gain enough traction to reverse the migration out of Jackson, regardless the demographic group, then I'd like to introduce you to a Nigerian email friend who needs some help with a large money transfer.
I'm a young professional and a mother of three small children, and I grew up and currently live at the Reservoir. We're planning a move to Madison, but I'd move to Fondren or Woodland Hills in five minutes flat if it weren't for the crime and the private school tuition.
The more I think about this, the more I think it boils down to the crime. Public schools all over the country have the same issues, but Birmingham and Nashville and Atlanta and Dallas aren't dying the way Jackson is. Plus, school quality isn't a make-or-break problem for people who don't intend to use the schools directly. Crime affects us all, and there's nothing we as individuals can do to fix the situation.
I care about school quality because I can't realistically afford $30K a year for St. Andrew's. If I were planning to send my kids to private school anyway or to homeschool, the failings of JPS would be a relative non-issue for us. My mom doesn't care about school quality, because her kids are grown. My brother doesn't care about school quality, because he doesn't have children yet. But we're all afraid of the crime, and that's what's driving us out or keeping us out of Jackson.
I appreciate all the comments so far related to the letter I wrote. I want to emphasize that I am in no way blind to many of the things you all have pointed out. In fact, I agree.
When I say safety, that obviously means the crime rate. It must change for this trend to be reversed. I don't think "spin" works to Mississippians. No matter what positivity Jackson advocates want to throw our way, it will not stand without real concrete changes that make living in Jackson make sense to good hard working people who care about themselves and their families.
With that said, I find it impossible to allow Jackson to continue to fall further behind while I stand and watch knowing the potentially devastating affects it could have on our entire area. Unless a wall is built around the city, the life as you know it in the suburbs will not last forever. Mediocrity will spread if you allow it. The police departments in the suburbs will only be able to control it for so long.
It is baffling to me that so many people would like to see Jackson just collapse into nothingness. Hopefully, after further contemplation, more will come to realize the importance of rehabilitation.
(Lastly, I think it is fantastic that we have gotten to a point of at least having conversation about the issue. Great discussion!)
It is baffling to me that so many people would like to see Jackson just collapse into nothingness.
Sometimes the path to renewal is a circuitous one that includes an en route stop at failure before getting back on the road to success.
Does Brad "Kaze" Franklin own property in Hinds County?
Great letter Mr. Lum ,
But as a pragmatic, middle aged, native Jacksonian :
I know what Jackson once was and what it has now become.
It's sickening.
"Downtown" might be experiencing some progress, but I honestly can't foresee such redevelopment spilling over throughout
the entire city limits . With the Mayor's anti-business "Chiefs" in his so called " Dept. of Planning and Development ", along with
an unconcerned Property Crimes unit within JPD, ... not to mention the daily incoherent racial babbling about White people
by the city's ELECTED representatives
(Yes, that would be Chokwe Lumumba and Kenny Stokes) ,....no small businessman in his right mind would even consider investing in
Jackson, Mississippi.
You said "It is baffling to me that so many people would like to see Jackson just collapse into nothingness. '
I don't wish that at all. But it's almost already happened.
While I hope the best for my hometown, I don't think Jackson, Mississippi can be turned around anytime soon.
I would rather see Sherman comeback from the grave and burn Jackson for a fourth time
rather than watching this continuing cancerous slow death .
Hell, even the elephants left the Jackson Zoo and moved to Nashville last year .
Kaze owns a home in Fondren.
Birminham is listed by MSN Real estate as the 10th "fastest shrinking city". Jackson is number 8. New Orelans, predictably is number 1.
http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=25991046
I understand your points completely and would never pretend to think this is a quick fix. It has been in the making for decades as many older Jackson residents can attest.
I had the "opportunity" to hear Mr. Lumumba speak in the fall. It was amazing to me that in an open forum he did not even attempt to control his racial overtones. His entire livelihood relies on promoting a sense of entitlement to as many people as will listen. The same can be said for Mr. Stokes.
I have friends that are in the private sector that voice these same concerns to me daily. A close friend of mine is a commercial developer in Jackson and most of our weekly conversations revolve around the complete ineptitude of the leaders in this city.
However, that doesn't mean that you give up the fight. It matters for our future.
I believe this is the greatest state in the country. (I know many will not agree, with valid reason). However, if this is the greatest state, then our capital city should be a priority. As I've made clear, I will do my part to help change the perception as well as the culture of Jackson.
Nobody "likes to see" what is happening in Jackson. NOBODY. The point is that nothing can stop it and it is not worthwhile to make any attempts to turn it around. You can't improve schools when there is no family structure to support the children. Crime can be fixed ONLY when there's nothing left to steal. But it makes no sense to spend time trying to "fix" it. Living in denial won't help anything.
Why does 82% of our city think that living in a pig pen is aok, and the remaining 18% white neighborhoods do all within their power to keep them clean and are FIGHTING LIKE HELL to keep them viable?
AA's wanted the power....well now THEY HAVE IT. Ward 1 is up from 9% AA to 41% in the last 15 years. Why are AA's moving to Ward 1?
If WP are SO AWFUL, why do AA's continue to chase white neighborhoods down and move their.
Why are Clinton public schools now 24% AA, and were less than 10% 15 years ago?
Such rhetorical questions.
Isn't it ironic that Patricia Ice's campaign slogan is "Let's Keep Jackson Moving."
If she wins, people WILL keep moving.
Brad, you are absolutely correct in your comments. It is imperative that Jackson goes through rehab and becomes strong again. I loved the years I lived in jackson and moved into Madison County some 20 years ago because we like to have a little "elbow" room and were able to buy some acreage here before real estate became so expensive. But, in order to protect this investment, it is important for the city of Jackson to curb crime, to improve education, to attract business, and to continue to offer amazing cultural events. We should all care deeply. "No man is an island" and neither are Madison, Brandon, Ridgeland, Pearl, Richland, Clinton, etc. Please continue sharing your message.
"Kaze owns a home in Fondren."
Six sigma he's a renter.
As I understand the latest : Watkin's is now about to tear down the Historic Fondren strip on North State Street ?
Say it ain't so !
Is it true that he plans to raze the Capri , Cambell's Bakery, Kolbs, Walker's, Part of McDades, the yoga studio and more ?
Come on Mr. Watkins, please don't tear down Fondren !
BTW, Im a right wing ultra conservative tea party
Republican that appreciates the current rebirth of one of Jackson's most Historic and Unique districts.
Again, please continue to focus on West Capitol Street & avoid any plans on Fondren.
Thank you !
Northside Sun has a good story on the Watkins Fondren plan. Capri isn't included in the demolition but a lot of historic buildings will vanish if that plan proceeds.
For my entire lifetime, Mississippi has statistically rated as the worst in almost every important standard of living category, and none of the promises of the politicians has ever changed that. After living and witnessing the steady decline of Jackson over the last 50 years, and after continued empty rhetoric from ineffective politicians about improving education, fighting crime, and reducing taxes, I have given up hope for Jackson, and for Mississippi.
In the Jackson in which I grew up, we had very good public schools, and we could ride our bicycles or walk to school every day without worry of being robbed or assaulted. Football games and summer baseball games were a social event for the entire family. In the 60's and 70's teens could ride their cars in circles around the Shoney's parking lot that was at Westland Plaza Shopping Center, and could congregate in the parking lot in their respective groups. There was no fear of a gunshot, and no fear of a gang fight. Back then there was rarely ever the type of violence committed by school age teens that you see commonplace in Jackson today.
One day in the very early 90's, my wife was walking our dog in our neighborhood near the east end of Meadowbrook when a JPD officer pulled up and told her that it wasn't safe to be out. She assured him that it was a safe neighborhood. He replied that a man on a bicycle had been assaulted and robbed right there the previous week. My wife asked him why she had not read about it or heard it on the news, but he didn't have a response.
About two weeks later, I was caught by a JPD radar nest on Meadowbrook when I was heading in to town that morning. Well, the JPD officer and I exchanged a few pleasantries undertoned with barbs, and he proceeded to bend my ear -- he told me how the JPD was in a shambles. When I asked him about the bicycle assault that my wife had been told about, the JPD officer looked at me and said that crime was bad in Jackson, and that the crime was being underreported by the JPD.
With the JPD telling us that crime was so bad in Jackson that it wasn't safe to walk in our Northeast Jackson neighborhood, and the public school system in Jackson deteriorating rapidly, we decided that the time was right to move to Madison. We moved to Madison, and raised two children who are very close to college age.
Here is what hurts more than anything: I'm telling my children to look for higher ground, so to speak, outside of Mississippi, even though it means that my wife and I won't be as much a part of their lives in the future. I just want what's best for them, and I don't think Jackson or Mississippi is what's best for their future.
Every few years, some Mississippi politician running for office or re-election starts bellyaching about improving education, crime or taxes in Mississippi (one of the highest state income taxes and tax structures in the nation). You know what? As many times as I've heard those promises, nothing has ever been done -- MISSISSIPPI IS STILL ON THE BOTTOM! And, after hearing those empty promises for as many decades as I've heard them, I don't think that anything positive will ever be done about education, taxes or crime, in Jackson or on the Mississippi statewide level. Why would anyone think that that the next fifty years would be any different than the prior fifty, especially considering the decline in effective leadership in Jackson and the State of Mississippi?
Dude...you need some perspective.
Mississippi ranks at the bottom because it has a high percentage of blacks.
Take the black out of the equation and Mississippi ranks near the top.
The problems with the blacks cannot be solved.
Federal government policies make lifting blacks from a permanent underclass impossible.
Just don't worry about it.
So True 12:54 PM.
It's (been) THE CRIME STUPID (for 15+ years)!!!
B.LUM said "It is baffling to me that so many people would like to see Jackson just collapse into nothingness. Hopefully, after further contemplation, more will come to realize the importance of rehabilitation."
B.LUM, only an idiot "would like to see Jackson just collapse." However, as ye sow so shall ye reap. Minorities keep electing the same hate spreading leaders and Jackson is just reaping what it has sown.
I came to the realization Jackson was becoming a shit hole and decided to move my business in 1996. It’s amusing listening to the same 15 + year discussion.
Move to Madison and enjoy it while you can because the next move is most probably out of state.
10:23, you are exactly correct. I got deleted from CL for stating the same facts on an article there. The current culture of Jackson is single parent. Until the parents take responsibility for their children and quit letting the neighborhood raise their children, things will never change. I am convinced that the government entitlement programs have created a culture of citizens that absolutely know no better.
Anon 5:40 (2/12) and Anon 2:18 (2/13) -- weren't people like you supposed to move to some island where you could set up you own little Aryan kingdom? Please do that, quickly -- but not before you stop posting your filth "anonymously."
I may not agree with everything that the young man had to say in his letter, but I applaud his willingness to DISCUSS the issue, as opposed to dismissing it. Young people like B. Lum will be the ones to finally create the Jackson renaissance so many of us want to see.
The logical fallicy in blaming "social" issues such as single parent and drug use is that the same issues are present in EVERY urban area. It's true they are present, but in other cities middle class people choose to stay. The question is WHY is Jax different? Various posters have hypothesized on reasons, and on this thread and the previous they are shot down, because the maj of posters on this blog prefer to blame the social issues.
I've lived through two Renaissances (ok, I know there was only one) in other urban settings, and generally the poster on the former thread is correct in that it is younger people who lead the move back into the city. They don't have kids in school, and they don't want the commute, and they want to be out at night with stuff to do.
But, that shows Jax's two damning issues: jobs and nothing to do. I'm not really hopeful for Jax because I think our last big shot was when Harvey blew off the baseball stadium deal. Put that where the old Iron Horse Restaurant was, and we might have had something to generate entertainment biz.
I had a life long Jax resident and private biz man neighbor retire and move out of state two years ago. He told me that the segregation issue would take two generations to work out of Jax's system. I don't really buy that because of the co-workers I have who are under 30, race it simply irrelevant, and that wasn't the case when I was 30. It was not cool to discriminate, but race was there. It's different for the younger people I see.
Still, we are saddled with leaders like Harvey and Lumumba who still see race as an issue. And it's not. Posters are correct in that the two parent black families are getting out as fast or faster than anyone.
It's true they are present, but in other cities middle class people choose to stay.
Name the cities.
From my experience, Den and NYC
10:21, Atlanta. Again, a city that 30 years ago was exactly where JX is today. And they changed it.
Atlanta's turnaround wasn't the result of a one-size-fits-all downtown-or-bust strategy executed by piling on massive amounts of long term bond debt on a dwindling negative-tilting poorer per capita tax base with each passing fiscal year.
Jackson's in the shitter because it is losing its neighborhoods. Jackson may be where Atlanta was 30 years ago but it sure as hell isn't following Atlanta's roadmap to renewal.
That is one thing bothering me. No discussion about the neighborhoods. Area behind Cowboy Maloney's used to be a regular middle class neighborhood. Now crime-infested. You can see it happening on some streets in Jackson. I see DJP doing the downtown thing and since it is a downtown association, that is what it is supposed to do. I see Harvey focusing on Hwy 80, which is needed. However, I don't see anything about neighborhoods in decline and how to reverse them.
11:04, But the city had both professional sports teams and private employers committed to downtown. Jax doesn't have either.
NYC had a horrible crime a drug problem, but there was a history as well as the most professional police and fire force.
Den actually burned the school busses ala Boston over desegregation, but with it's former warehouse/train district being "yuppized" with the Rockies baseball and loft condos, and magnet schools with parents actually "bidding" on which schools their kids attend, living in Den with public schools is attractive ... if you can afford it.
I live in Jax and like it because I have no commute. My one positive suggestion would be to make Jax bicycle friendly, but Harvey let that slip by too because there aren't going to be federal funds for anything like that. And that's really a shame because one can bicycle from NE Jax to downtown in less than 30 mins. One will die doing so right now, though.
I understand where many of you are coming from as far as the issues of Jackson go. Remember, I stated in the letter I wrote that I too moved to the suburbs.
However, I refuse to take on the mindset that the next move I make will be further rural and/or out of state. This is my state. I was born and raised here and will not be leaving just because some citizens feel as though it is "unrepairable". I will raise my family here because I believe we have the best people anywhere in country. The values that resonate in our cities and towns are those that I want ingrained in my own children.
To the point, this cycle cannot be changed by "talk" (although it is a good starting place and one that seems to be gaining traction in coffee shops, office buildings, and restaurants, etc. in the area). It will begin to change when people start doing something about it. I'm not asking everyone to join in the fight. There are many of you that will be satisfied in continually picking up and moving to another area. I have no problem with that. In fact, there is a place for those people. Close friends of mine believe the very thing some of you are saying, that the thriving Jackson many of you once knew is lost forever.
I want you all to know that I am as unashamedly conservative and Republican as anyone you will find. I believe in hard work and limited government, all the things that have made this country what it is. However, I also believe that there are people in our area that need their visions raised. There are many in Jackson that know nothing more than the example that has been set before them by their parent(s) and/or community. It cannot be overlooked if we ever want to see change.
The readers of this blog are the ones that, in my mind, actually care about the state of our area. No matter your outlook, it will be up to all of us to be the vehicle of change here. I look forward to seeing how we can all make a difference.
(Oh, and I personally think Quentin Whitwell would make a great leader for Ward 1. I can't vote in Ward 1 because I don't live there but we definitely need him on the council.)
I've got news for you Bradley. You don't have to live in Ward 1 to vote in Ward 1. I knew someone who has been dead for SEVENTEEN years now and she is STILL REGISTERED to vote in Ward 1. The election folks in Hinds refuse to take her name off the voter rolls. In fact, she received some campaign literature from Whitwell last Saturday. She wouldn't have been an Ice supporter when she was alive but she may be one now!
I dunno Kingfish. In the 20 years I've lived in Jax, I've seen a lot of good in Fondren west of State St and in what used to be Belhaven Heights. I've seen a lot of money go into houses in Woodland Hills, and the neighborhood went from mostly elderly to people raising kids. The funny thing was that I bought in at under $50 a square foot, and put in a lot of flooring and wall board, but I couldn't affor much at all in Madison at the time. I can get over $110 sq ft now, if anyone was buying. If I were buying a house today, I might look there, though I no longer have young children.
What I don't see is a magnet to draw people into the city. 20 years ago we'd go to Generals games with a whole office of people. I loved beer and hot dog promotions. I took off to go to the few day games they had. The hockey team had a short but bright time, but I enjoyed taking my young child.
I think Harvey mentioned getting soem kind of basketball team, and who knows but that might work with the convention center. The quote I heard from him on the Braves was that baseball was "a white person's game." If true, it's unfortunate.
The public school situation is a mystery to me. I lived near Chastain for a short time, and it was a bit scary. First time I ever felt a need to buy a firearm for self-protection. But it's not a race issue in Jax because as others pt out, Ridgeland and Madison have growing African American populations.
Brad when the time comes will you send your children to JPS?
Bad argument.
In the current environment, no. I have never made an argument that we should all move back to Jackson at this time and send the children to Jackson Public Schools.
I have acknowledged the need for reforms to be made in JPS and more importantly the culture of the teenagers in the city.
Until that changes, there is no need to entertain any argument about where I would send my children.
Wasn't saying you made the argument Brad but wanted to draw out that when you tout staying and fighting you don't necessarily mean doing so in Jackson.
I do mean being in Jackson. At some point my wife and I will move back to the belhaven or fondren area. Our reason for moving to the suburbs at this time was mainly the burden of cost related to issues with older homes. We have very few problems with our current home as it is only 10 years old.
However, I do understand your point and it is one that many people would bring up.
It does summarize the issue nicely. If a parent(s) have the means to get to Ridgeland or Madison, and if they care, they're outta here. Casey and Spann may still be ok for elementary school, and Murrah has the apac, but middle school is a bleak picture
Frugal gal wrote - "weren't people like you supposed to move to some island where you could set up you own little Aryan kingdom? Please do that, quickly -- but not before you stop posting your filth "anonymously."
I just pointed out that Mississippi ranked last in almost all social categories because of the high percentage of blacks. How is that filth? It's true. If you take the blacks out of the calculations, Mississippi ranks in the top tier. You can call people names all you want, but failing to face the facts won't solve any problems. You may find the facts distasteful, but you can't PC them out of the way. It is there! Why don't you suggest some way to fix the problem instead of trying to deny it? Why don't you suggest ways to change black culture instead of trying to pretend it hasn't limited the ability of black people to succeed? Since you are so critical of my hiding behind "anonymous," I'll fix that for you.
I have to admire this young man's spunk and initiative. JX needs more people like him and less naysayers.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t1.htm
There is no more a "black culture" than there is a "gay agenda."
11:26.you have a point about ATL. However, I think maybe if more neighborhoods would stand up and take a stand, there might be progress. Or how about some accountability in our elected officials? Starting with Mayor Johnson and Chewebaca ... oops, Chokwe Lumumba ... and ask them which one of them has brought a single business to JX? Or Stokes for that matter. Maybe someone with some gumption might actually run next time on that ticket.....
REPEATING:
Why does 82% of our city think that living in a pig pen is aok, and the remaining 18% white neighborhoods do all within their power to keep them clean and are FIGHTING LIKE HELL to keep them viable?
AA's wanted the power....well now THEY HAVE IT. Ward 1 is up from 9% AA to 41% in the last 15 years. Why are AA's moving to Ward 1?
If WP are SO AWFUL, why do AA's continue to chase white neighborhoods down and move there.
Why are Clinton public schools now 24% AA, and were less than 10% 15 years ago?
Such rhetorical questions.
NPR has reported multiple times on "The Plan" to gentrify the poorer neighborhoods and Adrian Fenty was defeated because of his efforts there.
Seattle has had much success - I think of it as "reverse sprawl". The traffic is so thick that people have moved back in and gentrified the formerly bad neighborhoods - and now there aren't any more bad neighborhoods (really!).
After massive 1970's white flight, St. Louis has had a lot of success in energizing the southside neighborhoods but it remains extremely segregated and the north third of the city keeps it one of the most violent cities per capita in the country - but you would never know it in most neighborhoods. St. Louis and Seattle have huge middle classes.
Maybe when the Jackson metro area swells to 2-3 million the same trend will happen...
The problems in Jackson aren't Black problems. They are problems that are associated with poverty. All blacks aren't poor in Mississippi. Jackson just seems to have a large concentration of poor black people.
If you live in the suburbs, it's very likely that you have black neighbors who are middle class just like you. There are black middle class and upper middle class in the city, but they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the poor.
Jeff Good could get off his lithium and open a cultural center and sell overpriced pizza and sandwiches, well, that would be a start.
Sow justice, reap peace.
Justice for every person. Not just
some. Not just your good ole boys... white or black.
The undercurrent of self righteous ignorance and arrogant entitlement creates a horrible place to live.
If all the poor people of Jackson were whisked away to a faraway land, Jackson would STILL be a horrid place to live, because the vanity and hate still live there.
Give us a shout if you need any help packing.
11:47 Been there done that. Made a boat load. You might want to add a bit of the reality of what went on in Seattle.
Boeing.
The saying was, "Last one left, please turn out the lights." Your comparison is way off base. Strawman come's to mind. Also, following your logic, guess who lost out on the boom? The artsy class. Yep, Capital Hill eventually forced out all those heathens.
Hey Guys. I just wanted to drop a note and let you know that my wife and I moved back to Jackson. We love it. Our kids go to First Pres and we plan to be in Jackson and Hinds County for the duration. Jackson is on the rise. I look forward to seeing the next 20 years of this city.
B Lum
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