Comments on The Retort - It's Time to Talk Back: Same Old Philly ...

You told it as it "IS" and I thank you for that......

2009-07-13T16:18:15.236-05:00

You told it as it "IS" and I thank you for that....Now maybe others can take of the rose colored glasses of smoke screens and mirrors.

Appreciate the comments and stop thru, Philly bret...

2009-07-12T17:58:36.141-05:00

Appreciate the comments and stop thru, Philly brethren, but one only a two-hour drive away can go back plenty enough to make a clear distinction between displacing gentrification and real progress. "A lot better" would be if all of North or West Philly surrounding Temple or Penn would be completely revitalized for all those living there - with an aggressive amount of employment, economic development and marquee schools. Instead, the "better" you speak of is primarily for transient students, incoming yuppies and real estate flipping barons looking for a quick buck.

Sure, there are some of us who like to think it's a lot better, and maybe it is for some on some fronts. But, for others - while the schools are still pretty much, as it's said, "sh*t" and the Black male unemployment rate is still 50 percent - we've got a long way to go before "a lot better."

I was recently both amazed and relieved to hear fr...

2009-07-12T12:40:50.659-05:00

I was recently both amazed and relieved to hear from a family source about a tennis court near the edge of Northeast Philly. Apparently, they're allowing Black kids to play there. Why did I give a split second stare of incredulity when hearing that? Because, I recall a tense moment in 1989 when a couple of us ventured from the rather Blacker part of North Philadelphia in search of better courts right across the SEPTA rail tracks. And, that's when a thick gang of teen skinheads-in-training pulled a lynch mob on us, running us back across tracks. We didn't get the memo ...

And, even though I transplanted to D.C., I'm regularly told that not much has changed. It's an ongoing, wry joke amongst Black Philadelphians (those who stayed and those who left): the town never changes. Well ... Center City did. It looks real nice downtown. Sorry they haven't done much in North or West Philly. Southwest is always on fire.

Sorry homie but you've been gone too long. The near northeast is probably 50% black now and thanks to Temple, Penn and the PHA, north and west Philly look alot better (still not great) than they did 10 years ago.

Keep in mind this happened in the suburbs where the racism is largely one way. The stuff we had to deal with the white neighborhoods went both ways. If they walked into our hood they were gonna catch a beatdown. Hell if we walked into the wrong black neighborhood all bets were off.

I have to admit your comments about the Philadelphia news papers is dead on.