The Niggerazation of Atlanta part-1
Having been born in Atlanta, but not raised in Atlanta, I can see the great change that has occurred in Atlanta in the past fifty years. I would visit Atlanta every summer while my mother was working on her masters from AU. I lived with my aunt and uncle for about 1 month, and then returned back to South Ga. , and our farm.
Atlanta was an exciting place for me back then, and it was so exciting to go downtown with my aunt shopping. During that era, there was very little trouble brewing between blacks and whites. It was also exciting to go to black businesses on Auburn Ave and Hunter St back in the fifties. I was more familer with Hunter St, than Auburn Ave, because my aunt and uncle lived on the West side of town. During this era, blacks had their own businesses that catered to blacks,and nearly anything you wanted could be found in black businesses. If you wanted fried chicken, you visted Paschals, if you wanter prime rib roast, you visited Fraziers . Soft ice cream just like Dairy Queen's, could be found at the ice cream place. There was even a 5 and 10 cent black owned store. If you wanted a malt or soda like the whites had, there were black drug stores offering floats,malts , and sodas.
During this era, very little crime flourished, because nearly all blacks had a job. In many cases, the mother stayed home, and the father,(yeah, I said FATHER) was the breadwinner. Even in the government projects, men were the breadwinners. There were no so-called gangs, because the "chaingang" was still going strong, and no one wanted to wind up there.
I can recall during the hot nights of summer, many blacks didn't have an electric fan, and would make a pallet to sleep on the front porch for the night in order to stay cool. Many of them were barely five feet from the sidewalks, but no one bothered them. Many people didn't even lock their house for the night.
Things were very peaceful during this era, and crime at an all time low. To get "locked up", brought shame to a family, so nearly everyone tried their best to avoid crime.
Blacks had respect for each other, and people spoke to you even if they didn't know you. The older people you respected with no hesitation, because if you didn't, they would report you to your parents, and during this era, the parents believed what they said rather then you!
There were no so-called homeless, because if you were a vagrant,hobo, or a beggar, the police locked you up, and the judge sent you to a work camp to work off your time. No loitering around all day with nothing to do. The Black policemen were much more strict than the white ones, and they didn't take any junk.
This indeed was an era of black pride.