Bennie Lyles
People must want to come together. There is social, economic, and educational divide. There are both Blacks and Whites that do not want to come together as a community, due to fear, the past, and lack of understanding one another. Those individuals need to join in talks to resolve the issues resulting in this type of attitude.
Every meeting I have gone to has been divided along racial lines. Although we all claim to want what is best for the community. We are all in this community together and each one of us is responsible for each other: Black and White.
This area needs to prioritize: priority one, priority two, and so on down the line. We then need to come up with a method to accomplish these goals with x number of dollars in the community coffers. In other words, we need a systematic way of doing. We are in need of factories and technology. We need something to draw our college educated children back to the community.
In order to develop economically we need a viable infrastructure to support industry. If industry wanted to come, we have no industrial park to offer. Socially, economically, and educationally, Alabama is looked upon as one of the bottom rung states.
Who would want to come to a place like that? Add to that racial division and industry turns the other way. They can not make money in an atmosphere like this. A divided community goes no place. The community has to come to a consensus through meaningful dialogue, about what it wants/needs and what is in the best interest of all. Next comes what are we willing to give in order to achieve it? A compromise has to be struck in order to put something together for everyone. If we blacks and whites of the community would sit down and really talk, we would find there are a lot more common goals than we might think.
Instead of being fragmented, we need to become a whole community. In the community meetings you will find Black males, Black females, White females but no White males except for Judge Ryan. Judge Ryan is the only White male that can be counted on to show up at these meetings. Until this community accepts the fact that we all have to work together, nothing of value will happen.
If all the people that you have interviewed do not follow through then what do you have except words? We need young people from this community to take up the baton. The young have not become battle weary, they can tackle the problems and say let’s make it work.
Bennie Lyles
Business Owner, Benro Recycling. Greensboro, Alabama
Outsidein. A Community Space for Hale County.
outsidein: a community space for hale county. build space with your voice.
copyrighted material. for usage rights contact forest chaffee www.empathystories.org
© chaffee 2004