TEXAS’ Widest Circulated and Read Newspaper with a Black Perspective

It is very difficult to discuss common sense problems with African Americans who were miseducated in post-integration public schools. Therefore, those who graduated after 1968, or later, may not understand, or even be insulted when grads from separate and unequal schools try to explain how institutionalized racism and discrimination that masquerades under the guise of progress destroys neighborhoods. It would take a lot more space than we have available to discuss that topic fully, because one must have common sense, to understand common sense perspectives. For fear of being accused of playing the race card, we deferred to the word discrimination, but it really makes no difference what you call racism, it’s still the root cause of our problems.
We Must Understand, although we’ve been programmed to blame ourselves for most of our problems, anybody who has just a little bit of common sense left has to agree that it’s impossible to add by subtraction. But apparently, many of those that we talk with don’t have enough common sense to grasp the concept of how a “Whole Village” becomes a whole village. In addition, if they don’t know where we’re coming from, the foregoing text probably sounds like double-talk to them. Nevertheless, we will attempt to use an article (“Acres Homes bus will continue with cuts in routes: Project Houston Hope instrumental in saving No. 64?) that we read in the April 14, 2005 edition of Houston, Texas only daily newspaper’s This Week section.
But, that’s where the lack of common sense enters the overall equation. Cutting to the chase, although we’re using the article about Acres Home (no “s”), the same methods have been historically used throughout the nation to kill, once vibrant, self contained, proud African American neighborhoods. Let’s dissect a few paragraphs of the article in question and, perhaps, you will be able to see where we’re coming from. The article states: “No. 64 bus that travels through Acres Homes, set to be discontinued, will remain in operation, al-hough segments have been cut from the route,” said Maggi Stewart, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The news came as a pleasant surprise to residents, some of whom visited Metro officials last month to request the bus not be discontinued despite low ridership.
“On an average weekday, the No. 64 bus transports about 517 people,” Stewart said. A Metro task force had been looking for alternatives for routes with low ridership when members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and several leaders from Acres Homes pleaded with officials to keep the bus.” Okay, now that you see the problem, let’s see what solutions “several leaders” came up with. "We have to be able to move people around. People have appointments, and they need to get in and out of the community. People have to be able to be mobile.” Charles Ingram, president of the Acres Homes Citizens Council, told Metro officials. ‘Residents need the No. 64 bus because of the area's recent surge in development, referring to projects such as Houston-Pearl Homes, a development of 16 three and four-bedroom homes built by the Advancing Multi-Culture Economic Development Corp. and Larus Builders Inc. The area also will see a rebuild of Highland Heights Elementary beginning this fall, and renovations to Wesley Elementary this winter and Williams Middle in the fall. The area is moving and we want the bus service to remain,’ Ingram said, suggesting Metro promote the bus by offering free rides April 15 and on certain days for children. Queen Martin, president of the Acres Homes Super Neighborhood Council, said news of the No. 64 bus remaining is a relief for many residents. ‘Even though ridership may be low, if all the people riding are dependent on the bus for transportation and employment, that is saying a lot,’ she said. ‘Because of the fact that we are in tune with the needs of the community, and Metro's willingness to accept input from the community, we were able to come together and work something out.”
We Must Understand, the leaders only added to the problem. So, let’s hear from Mayor Bill White: “Metro officials investigated and learned the city of Houston has been working to revitalize Acres Homes through Project Houston Hope, Stewart said. Project Houston Hope is an initiative of Mayor Bill White to convert tax delinquent properties to affordable housing, in addition to mitigating poverty in economically-challenged areas.” Great idea mayor, but you need to ask a grassroots leader like the Chamber’s Beulah Shepard about her community’s history (See Publisher’s Analysis.) Surely, the living historian will explain that before all traditional middle and high schools closed (and forced young parents to leave the area and over 40 percent of those remaining became unemployed), transportation was her “economically-challenged” community’s biggest problem. In essence, Acres Home has been systematically killed and Metro is currently serving a “ghost town.” Therefore, plain, old common sense should tell you that if lack of working people is the problem, the only solution is to put people back to work. Translation: People must work for their community to work. Or, more succinctly, jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs, will solve most of the problems in Black America’s dying neighborhoods.