Quote:
Originally Posted by neilson
Haha, it's sad that people still have this mentality in cities like Montgomery and Jackson, MS, for example. All to get away from black ppl and try and justify their closet racism through the guise of white, mainly protestant academies that are a rouse.
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Well, coming from the viewpoint of a 27-year AL resident that has secured refugee status on the left coast, I can tell you that Neilson is absolutely right about the private "academies" in town.
The Past
The story of public education in Montgomery is so sad. My mom went to Lanier and remembered the first six or seven black kids that were allowed to attend back in the 60's, and she was one of the few white kids who even spoke to them. In fact, she still remembers Mr. Carr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanier_...mery,_Alabama)
Of course, all the white parents panicked. At first, only the wealthiest white kids started attending private schools like Montgomery Academy on Vaughn Road, which was founded by, among others, Winton Blount. Incidentally, it is still about 90% white.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_academy
So, over time, more academies like St. James, Catholic, ACA, etc. sprung up and the percentage of white students attending public schools declined steadily.
Eventually, a large segment of the upper-class white public lost all interest in funding public education, since they were paying for private schools out of their own pockets anyway. So what emerged was a vicious cycle of under-investment, which drove even middle-class kids out of the public school system, further shrinking the pool of concerned stakeholders come ballot-time.
This isn't just nebulous commentary on my part - as a student of Cloverdale Jr. High, I remember staring at the paint peeling off the walls, the rodents, the short circuits, the barely functioning heaters, the dearth of ANY technology in the classrooms besides an overhead projector, the dilapidated text books and above all else, the absolutely incompetent administration. The school was eventually closed by the state in 2002 due to gross underperformance.
I also remember EVERY funding proposal for public schools going down in flames, the last one I recall being the spectacular disintegration of the education lottery initiative put forth by Don Siegelman.
But at least they have evolution disclaimers stamped in front of the rotting science books.
So now, as a result of decades of starving the schools of funds, guess what? Montgomery now has a massive, unmanageable, young, poor criminal underclass with no marketable job skills. In trying to make their kids "safer", and in their teeth-gnashing efforts to keep "big liberal government" from draining their pocketbooks, white cultural conservatives have inadvertently made everyone in Montgomery considerably less safe. What irony! Talk about "thick"!
http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/crime1.aspx
The Future?
Now, all hope is not lost. Electing Mayor Bright, I think, was a tepid step in the right direction, as he is trying to push for redevelopment of the downtown core and also generally avoids raiding adult novelty shops with the SWAT team and waving dildo contraband in front of the evening news cameras as his predecessor Emory Folmar was so apt to do.
Also, the establishment of Hyundai as an economic and cultural beachhead into the 21st century is a tremendously positive development to the area. One can now get some decent Kimchi, Yakisoba or Bi Bim Bop around town, which was unheard of five or ten years ago; though getting the culinary denizens of Montgomery to break out of their Golden Corral blinders may take a miracle.
I also think that the massive recent influx of Hispanic immigrants can only mean good things for Montgomery's future, especially if it can help dislodge the intransigent, plantation mindset of the Soul-Brotha Hatfields and Country-Club McCoys with a few deftly placed burritos and politically active Catholic churches.
In addition, the continued presence of the military personnel from Maxwell (and Annex) is also a tremendous cultural boon to the area. Although Air Force officers are generally known for being culturally conservative elsewhere; in lower Alabama, their presence is a moderating force. In this neck o' the woods, their total unawareness of the significance of Nathan Bedford Forrest alone makes them progressive ambassadors from another time and place, even if that place is Sheboygan.
So, then, the groundwork has been laid for the Gump to one day break out of its torpor. With the implementation few more progressive policies like bike paths and lanes, urban renewal zones, and <GASP> perhaps an urban-growth boundary, Montgomery just might launch itself into the 21st century and eventually turn away from the car-centric, mid-century, strip-mall, low-rise, gated-subdivision, let's-run-for-Elmore-County-as-fast-as-our-Ford-Expedition-can-take-us mentality like some other parts of the country started turning away from ten to fifteen years ago. One way that starts is by voting for the right people, from state representatives on up to the highest offices.
HINT: That means stop voting people in that have a "Jr." or "III" behind their name. I'm lookin' at y'all Hooper, Wallace, Folsom and Blount!
And, if that happens, Montgomery might, and I say just
might, stop driving away its smartest, most successful young people to far-off climes in droves.
Yes you can, Montgomery!