The twon council of St Joe, mis-understanding Jesse Jackson's request,
gives Benton Harbor a hand.
Posted on 06/20/2003 2:05:06 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Jackson calls on neighboring St. Joseph to lend a hand to Benton Harbor
By JAMES PRICHARD
The Associated Press
6/20/2003, 2:55 p.m. ET
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson says St. Joseph should take more responsibility in helping this neighboring community whose residents' outrage led to nighttime rioting this week.
"Biblically, it is the strongest of us who must bear the burden of the weakest of us," the civil rights activist told an audience of about 200 at a Benton Harbor community center on Friday.
Boarded-up buildings line many of the streets in economically strapped Benton Harbor. Less than a mile away, across a river, St. Joseph features trendy restaurants, boutiques, offices and a picturesque beach front.
Most of Benton Harbor's 12,000 residents are black. Most of the 8,200 people in St. Joseph are white.
Jackson said St. Joseph and Benton Harbor must "reconcile."
"The bridge between the two communities must be a two-way bridge and not a one-way bridge," he said.
St. Joseph Mayor Mary Goff did not attend Jackson's speech, but on Friday defended her community's relationship with Benton Harbor and cited several existing cooperative programs between the neighbors.
Goff mentioned a recent Battle of the Bands music competition that attracted young people from throughout the county as well as ongoing student exchange, tutorial and reading programs.
Habitat for Humanity builds homes in both communities, and a pickup basketball event scheduled for Saturday is expected to attract Benton Harbor teams, she said.
"All kinds of wonderful things are going on," said Goff, a lifelong St. Joseph resident who has been mayor for five years and a member of the city commission for 17 years. "Unfortunately, it's not being talked about right now."
Children and adults who live in Benton Harbor should have the same educational and job opportunities as the residents of St. Joseph, Jackson said.
"Oh how glorious this community would be if St. Joe and Benton Harbor can find that common ground," he said.
Lee Gill, dean of the Institute for Diversity and Leadership at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, agreed with Jackson's call for St. Joseph to lend a hand to its neighbor.
"It's surrounded by affluent people, so somehow there has to be an equalization of what's going on around Benton Harbor to come into Benton Harbor," he said after Jackson's 30-minute speech.
Gill said he hoped Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other elected officials now will pay more attention to Benton Harbor's struggles.
Granholm vowed to do just that during a visit to the city on Thursday.
Mamie Yarbrough, whose husband, Charles, is the mayor of Benton Harbor, said she was pleased to see that Jackson invited several young people from the city to stand near him during his address.
She believed many young people would benefit from hearing Jackson's message from peers, rather than from adult community leaders.
"If they are young men with a voice for what's going on here, they can go back and encourage friends and themselves to take advantage of any programs that result from this," she said.
Jackson's visit came after a relatively peaceful night in Benton Harbor, which sits in southwestern Michigan about 100 miles northeast of Chicago.
With the exception of apparent arson fires in five vacant buildings, peace reigned for a second straight night following two nights of riots that erupted after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash while fleeing police.
The motorcyclist's death early Monday sparked the rioting late Monday and Tuesday nights. The first state troopers arrived Tuesday, and more came Wednesday, bringing the total to about 150.
The beefed-up and better organized police presence brought a near-halt to the unrest Wednesday night, when only one related arrest was reported. Police arrested nine riot suspects the previous two nights. One suspect was accused of shooting at officers Tuesday night.
Police Chief Samuel Harris said fewer officers would patrol Friday night, but the same number of personnel would be available if needed.
Since the rioting, many residents have said they distrust police officers, particularly white officers.
The motorcyclist who died, Terrance Shurn, 28, of Benton Harbor, was black. The police officers from neighboring Benton Township who pursued him into Benton Harbor, where he lost control of his bike and crashed, are white.
Time for you to roll up yer sleeves and work then, Jesse. More than just talk too.
"Oh how glorious this community would be if St. Joe and Benton Harbor can find that common ground," he said.
St Joe has nothing to do with this riot at all. The cops were Berrien County Sheriff and Benton Township(majority black as well) Police.
"It's surrounded by affluent people, so somehow there has to be an equalization of what's going on around Benton Harbor to come into Benton Harbor,"
Why hasn't it? There's got to be a reason. My guesses are
1. Crime. Benton Harbor competes with Flint and Detroit for Michigan's highest crime rate each year.
2. Schools. No one wants to raise their family in areas with poor schools.
3. Fleeing tax base. With crime and poor schools, tax base drops. Businesses don't invest. People move to Chicago, Kalamazoo or other areas.
I figured Jackson would blame "Whitey". St Joe is the code name.
The twon council of St Joe, mis-understanding Jesse Jackson's request,
gives Benton Harbor a hand.
What a wonderful "leader" to tell his flock that, in effect, they cannot do it on their own -- they need "Whitey".
You mean like helping throw bricks through windows or helping carry the kerosene cans?
Reminscent of where I grew up. My hometown of Malverne, NY was overwhelmingly white, with a population of 8,200. Across the creek was Lakeview, a village of about 12,000 that has been largely black (albeit lower middle class rather than poor) since the 1960s. Neither town wanted anything to do with one another, although aside from a fewe fights, I don't remember any riots. The school district were drawn in such a way to encourage segregation. So much for "liberal" New York.
I guess he's just embarassed that his brethern are so stupid that they burned down their own city. Nah...Jackson is beyond embarassment.
I could understand making an argument about the educational oppurtunities...maybe..., but why in the heck does Jackson seem to think they don't have the same job oppurtunities?
There are a couple of towns within a few miles of where I live, and if there was a job oppurtunity, and I needed a job, I would get off my ass and go and apply for said job.
I may be reading this wrong, but it seems like he is saying that because the job is not coming to me, I don't have an oppurtunity to get it. Playing the victim card doesn't work for me.
Please get on a motorcycle and drive it into the nearest building at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour. I'm sure this will go a long ways toward getting your message out -- Look how much attention was brought upon the plight of the poor folks of Benton Harbor when that other demented jackass did the same thing.
Sincerely,
Some Guy who Just Doesn't Give a Sh!t what You Think
What is so hard to understand about this?
Jackson calls, you hang up!
Any questions?
If he shows up, just call the police. It's called tresspassing!
Any questions?
When the Zoellick/Bush Administration gets done with its assault on the American Middle Class, opportunities in St. Joseph will be the same as in Benton Harbor. And Jesse Jackson will STILL be whining about it.
I knew Benton Harbor, I thought. It was where Heathkit was. Lots of people I knew built Heathkits. I built two myself. (A radio and a TV) I had never even heard of St. Joseph. But when we got to Benton Harbor and looked for a place to stay, somehow we wound up in St Joseph. It was a pleasant town.
It was only a number of years later that I heard about the racial divide between the two towns. And I wondered how long it had been that way. I just cannot imagine that the Benton Harbor of Heathkit days gone by was a slum.
Maybe you, or someone else on this thread, could inform me.
ML/NJ
My husband and I sneak up to St. Joe whenever we need to dodge family bullets at holiday time. Its a lovely town. Why should the residents of St. Joe be obligated to take care of people who refuse to take care of themselves.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.