Cities all over the country are facing the same challenges as Harlem — as the area becomes more multicultural, the long-standing (often black-owned) businesses are petering out. In Washington, DC a church is trying to attract white parishioners in order to stay afloat. This story really hits home because I’ve lived in many of the cities that were mentioned in the article.
The changing racial mix is stirring up quarrels over class and culture. Beloved institutions in traditionally black communities — minority-owned restaurants, book stores — are losing the customers who supported them for decades. As neighborhoods grow more multicultural, conflicts over home prices, taxes and education are opening a new chapter in American race relations.
Read more about it in the Wall Street Journal.
Posted on July 21, 2008 by D. Bell