Friday, August 10, 2007
my mistake on the comments
Being that I am somewhat new to the blog game, meaning from a publishing standpoint, I didn't realize that I had to enable people to be able to comment freely without a sign-in restriction. With that disclosure, the sign in restriction has been removed sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for the heads up.
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9 comments:
my wife and i have been reading for awhile now and you seem to truly care about your neighborhood. (eventhough you doused it with syrup). i think your jazz idea is solid but you will def need to assure the whites that everything is safe. why risk going to clay street when i can just go downtown and be away from the entrepeneurs? what do you have that is worth the risk? if you have a few of the events, make sure to post pictures so people can see what its like. seeing is believing.
Thank you for finally opening up the blog to comments. I lived in Annapolis a few years back and would never have entertained the idea of travelling on Clay Street let alone living on Clay Street. However, I always noticed enticing aspects of the surrounding area especially the proximity to the water. I applaud your effort and business sense with regard to clay. I'm very interested to read the rest of your page to see is happening now and what will happen next.
No doubt, thank you for the participation to what I am deducing is 2 seperate anonymous'. Fyi you can input ur name by choosing the other tab on the comment section.
First addressing the married couple: yes I do care about the neighborhood and the people within it, very much so and sometimes a little bit of tough love application is needed, hence the sweet syrup.
Stepping a bit further into your comment, I don't want this to be perceived as plainly a black and white issue, even though there is great root in it. For instance your comment "assure the whites that everything is safe", its not just whites, its blacks, latinos, asians, australians for that matter. Case and point, there has been some redevelopment of West Street, notably the Tsunami, the Metropolitan, and the higher end retail that was developed by a group of Australians. When pressed to venture down Clay they declined on the premise there are too many entreprenuers operating back there. Another example, I spoke recently with a wealthy black landowner in Annapolis and his comment to me was, "wow you live back there? I won't even go back there and I'm black."
The real issue back here is class not race. However, since there is an overwhelmingly large black population back here it becomes a race issue. At its core though, its about money and the lack thereof, its progression vs. regression.
As far as posting pictures of the events, I will definitely do so and I will get some video captured as well. You are VERY correct, seeing is believing. However, some food for thought, do you believe in strength in numbers? Saftey in groups? That is what the events will be built around. Safety is of paramount importance because without a safe event, one without a shred of difficulty they will not be a success.
I need your help though, the community needs your help. Its easy to be the armchair quarterback, its easy to read the headlines, there is no challenge in that. The purpose of this blog at its core is to recruit more for the challenge.
Can you be counted? Even small contributions go a long way back here. While the lack of money is the major problem, simply adding more to the total is not going to get the job done. We need, and I hate this term but, it applies very well here, we need people power.
Have you been in touch with St. Anne's Episcopal Church? They have a Clay Street Ministry.
I love the idea of Clay Street coming back and having music, festivals, and Soul Food, but.....the postman that served that area was shot at twice just for delivering mail, I'm not sure I could risk that for Soul Food....
It's sad that we have to look to other people to save our neighborhoods but I applaud your efforts. Scripture says "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Our people are suffering BY CHOICE. I too am a bit hesitant when traveling through the area but I take the risk because I remember that once upon a time it was the greatest. May God shine His magnificent light upon the Clay Street area and lift up the people that they might know and claim VICTORY.
Okay where do I start. Well first let me start by saying that I once lived on Clay Street with my aunt while attending Annapolis High School and have family who currently live in this community. Not all residents in this community trash it or participate in drug activites. I think it's a noble thing that your doing but I'd hope that any homeowner would want to take care of the environment that they chose to live. What irrates me is when other races feel that they can magically make things better because of thier presence. Unfortunatly it's when other races view lower income races issues as being a problem that the issues are addressed. What's happening on Clay Street is nothing new but because "others" see it's worth and value now it's a problem that needs addressing. For my families and the residents who care about the community I do pray that the conditions improve. But I'd hate to see developers take over just to improve it for upper income housing and relocate all the current residents. I'm sorry to ramble on but I had to vent. Being an African American women who works very hard for everything I have but who also at one point lived in low income housing I had to say something. Not all low income people treat thier homes with neglect. Now a homeowner myself I make sure that my community stays neat and properly groomed the same as I did when I rented.
Good Luck! I hope your doing this for all people not just to have more white people move into the area in hope of making a profit.
Good luck .. you will need it.
I once took on the same task and bought a house in an all black neighborhood. One of the kids I tutored at age 11 just got a life sentence for shooting another boy (Erik Brown). I tried for years to "make a difference" but I was really never accepted there.
Thank you all for the comments and ideas. I understand the concerns for safety and for that of the wrong reasons being present in getting things done.
I'm looking for new ideas, things that have not been implemented, or fresh looks. It will come from everyone. The idea of this blog is to form a community of people presenting thoughts all engineered for the betterment of this community.
This community is 98% full of phenomenal people. There is a small percentage that are ruining it for the rest. Its always that way. I do not think I am the answer, all I am thinking is that I have to contribute, I can't take away. You have to put in first before you can take out. That is what success is all about...
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