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I was born in early 30’s.

I grew up in a Boston neighborhood that required a change from a bus to the subway in Central Square,Cambridge in order to get into the city.This was a black neighborhood,

From the mid forties to the late fifties,when I left the area, I often waited for the bus at night.I am female and I was never afraid,never-—it was a family area and many women traveled alone through that area,often fairly late at night.

The fear of black neighborhoods started in the 60’s and it has only become worse.

Lots of things needed improving but the pendulum swung too far and it’s become a pathetic joke.

From the mid forties to the late fifties,when I left the area, I often waited for the bus at night.I am female and I was never afraid,never-—it was a family area and many women traveled alone through that area,often fairly late at night. The fear of black neighborhoods started in the 60’s and it has only become worse. Lots of things needed improving but the pendulum swung too far and it’s become a pathetic joke.

I was young when the change took place - but you're right - there was a time when black neighborhoods were not the criminal enterprises they are today. Before the change natural leaders in the white and black communities were essentially the same types - wise adults: clergy, businessmen, professionals... They set standards that encouraged and rewarded honesty and responsible citizenship. Good character was necessary to win acceptance - standards set by ' grownups'. MLK was a product of this system. The black panthers were not.

You're right about the sixties, Mears. That time was the beginning of young black radicals raising to the top without the consent of the community - their reputations and power came from the white power structure and the white press - the MSM of our time. Reporters looking for quotable and outrageous stories had easy pickings with young and violent blacks. Conservative black ministers of old were boring compared to angry black man wanting to burn the city down. White liberals jumped on the chaos for equally self-serving reasons.... Anyhow, this is going on further than I planned - but you get the idea. It's a mess.

The task - to save the good changes of the civil rights movement while pulling incentives away from the bad stuff is not going to be easy - comfortable illusions on all sides will fall. The cliche that it'll have to get worse before it gets better will also be true. Getting 'real's' painful.

From the mid forties to the late fifties,when I left the area, I often waited for the bus at night.I am female and I was never afraid,never-—it was a family area and many women traveled alone through that area,often fairly late at night. The fear of black neighborhoods started in the 60’s and it has only become worse. Lots of things needed improving but the pendulum swung too far and it’s become a pathetic joke.

I was young when the change took place - but you're right - there was a time when black neighborhoods were not the criminal enterprises they are today. Before the change natural leaders in the white and black communities were essentially the same types - wise adults: clergy, businessmen, professionals... They set standards that encouraged and rewarded honesty and responsible citizenship. Good character was necessary to win acceptance - standards set by ' grownups'. MLK was a product of this system. The black panthers were not.

You're right about the sixties, Mears. That time was the beginning of young black radicals raising to the top without the consent of the community - their reputations and power came from the white power structure and the white press - the MSM of our time. Reporters looking for quotable and outrageous stories had easy pickings with young and violent blacks. Conservative black ministers of old were boring compared to angry black man wanting to burn the city down. White liberals jumped on the chaos for equally self-serving reasons.... Anyhow, this is going on further than I planned - but you get the idea. It's a mess.

The task - to save the good changes of the civil rights movement while pulling incentives away from the bad stuff is not going to be easy - comfortable illusions on all sides will fall. The cliche that it'll have to get worse before it gets better will also be true. Getting 'real's' painful.