Detroit at top of economic agony list

[memphis]

I know I'm not "supposed" to say this, but are there any majority African-American cities that are doing well?

[memphis]

I know I'm not "supposed" to say this, but are there any majority African-American cities that are doing well?

Despite the insane sense of negativity one hears in the media, our own city isn't doing that badly.

We're doing a heck af a lot better than Motown, but still..... 
In today's paper: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/dec/21/the-great-migration-ex-memphians-cite-a-lack-of/

[memphis]

I''ll rebut my own assertion and point out that Atlanta has been doing exceptionally well as of late. Still, most majority black cities (Detroit, Flint, New Orleans, Memphis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Gary, St. Louis, Cleveland, Camden) seem to be pretty troubled.

[memphis]

I''ll rebut my own assertion and point out that Atlanta has been doing exceptionally well as of late. Still, most majority black cities (Detroit, Flint, New Orleans, Memphis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Gary, St. Louis, Cleveland, Camden) seem to be pretty troubled.

 The main issue here is that white people have the benefit of never having to be in the minority somewhere if they don't want to be, so they can and do always move somewhere else, either near or far, rather than compete for control of civic institutions if they're going to get outvoted.

I disagree. There are a great many poor white people stuck in neighborhoods that have changed. Not all white people are comfortable. The fact of the matter is that the crime rate is much higher among blacks than in the general population. Not every black is a criminal, of course, but when a neighborhood changes from white to black, many whites (and middle class blacks) leave because they feel threatened by an element of the population. In most cases, it is the criminals, most of whom are black, not government services that cause an area to go into freefall.

[memphis]

Hasn't Detroit been on the agony list for a long time?

I remember seeing in Robocop that Detroit's police cars had bulletproof windshields. I wonder if the real Detroit is getting close to having to do that.

You make a good point. Detroit hasn't been doing well in generations. After the '67 riots, there was little hope.