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A Different Recipe for Change
To those who agree with the person who posted Recipe for Not Stopping Gentrification.
Uppity white folks? Maybe they just don't feel comfortable moving to that area, as crime is going to exist in poverty stricken areas -and Camp street doesn't exactly have millionaires. How ignorant to think that changing the elected official would stop crime.
What about giving the teens in that neigboorhood a place to go, where they can legally practice graffiti artwork and other art forms that fall under the category of hip hop as a MOVEMENT.
Perhaps the person who runs the Mt Hope Community center could be held more responsible for conducting activities that the kids actually would be interested in.
The last time I heard him speak of his plans for youth programs, I heard chess get mentioned. I'm sure that's just what these kids need ...yea maybe 8 in the whole community. The rest of these kids face REALITY on a daily basis, to which chess and uppity white folks do not apply.
Perhaps the answer is staring us in the face -ASSIMILATION with our youth, to start bridging some of these gaps.
As for Councilman Jackson- he supports this realistic notion that we need to meet the youth in the middle somewhere, and provide for them activities that don't involve hand selecting teens, only to select ones that were going to be successful anyway, to glorify their own stance, to satisfy their own ego. Rather, assimilating to teens and incorporating their chosen activities into a program structured around ending crime in this neighboorhood is a more effective way to deal with these concerns.
Jackson is a fine example of what this community needs in office.
Alyssa
Posted at September 6, 2007 01:53 PM