Integration is not the Opposite of Segregation

[Rhondazvous]

One might wonder whether or not the decline of black communities would more closely mirror the decline of white communities in similar economic predicaments had other societal and institutional barriers not been present (and to be fair.....the similarities are already striking as is).  Conversely, one might wonder whether or not..had a sort of "in-house" economy continued unabated, black wall street would have ended up being the great black hole for black wealth..in other black communities...that wall street has become.  

I present these two examples as a way to suggest that even the black response, as it were, to the situation of post-integration america would not have, in and of itself, necessarily lead to either the current situation or even a beneficial or significantly different one had they gone entirely the other way with it.  It seems as though history was trending towards this dilemma for every community, and people were making largely the same decisions, but that other factors hastened or exacerbated the demise of a community that had been historically lacking in opportunity, with far less accumulated wealth to bleed away.  

It may have been that no choice, then, would have significantly altered the status of communities, now.  We have to keep in mind that we are, ultimately, dioscussing a minority community in a much larger (and whiter ) river.  It would be difficult to see how the black community could have escaped what happened to many similar white communities in the same time frame...even if they had a great idea and tried their best with no hiccups.  We'd have drug you down with us if you'd managed to do better than we were.

There are examples of other groups who used integration to help their communities. The Japanese, for example. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they sent their children to America to learn everything we knew about technology. They took that knowledge back to Japan and now japan is a leader in technology. The Mexicans come here to work and send the money back to Mexico.   Of course, many things going back to slavery contributed to the shame and aversion blacks feel toward their own. But they still have the power to do things differently.

I'll share one of my fears with you, as a hardcore booster for local ag and local business in general, here in my own community.  We may not have the power to stop this train.  None of us.  The time to do things differently may have already passed...and it's a hopeful thing to think, that we can turn back the clock on the transfer of wealth and transformation of business since the 60's.....but it's a long shot.  More fundamentally than that....there's a great quip..can't remember where I heard it, but another word for self sufficiency (at an individual or community level)...is poverty.  

But fuck me, Mr. Doom and Gloom, what sorts of solutions have you heard about or think might be worthwhile for the problems you see in your community, or the black community in general?  

One note on playing the numbers. The money was used to fund black businesses and when it was taken over, that capital dried up making it impossible for black businesses to compete yes, it was illegal, but it was all they had.

The italian and irish gangs had similar claims made by them, for them, and about them.... but the reality of organized crime is that it's not what "anyone" has except for the criminals themselves.  The rest of the people around them are victims.  Not Robbin Hood, just robbing you.  I wouldn't lament it's loss even if it was all -I- had......though I can understand the symbolic importance.  They took it all, even the fuckin crime...lol, brutal.

Well, that's true. By the time whites caught a cold, blacks would have pneumonia and befo whites got a headache blacks would have a stroke. But I'm not familiar with the decline of white communities. What are some examples of what you're talking about?