Rayford Moss
This community is still racially divided, but it’s gotten better. It's the first time we've had a black police chief, circuit judge, circuit clerk, probation officer, and a white female probation officer. It’s a first time for the underrepresented.
This is a socially and economically deprived area. We don't have the jobs, the resources, or the recreation. We can't get employed in the better places because of our education level. Education is so far behind because the schools are racially divided. You have a private school that is 100% white, and why? West is integrated somewhat. East is still 100% black.
If we don't do something to make things better racially, nothing else is going to get better either. I don't know of any neighborhoods in this city that are racially mixed. I can see why, but you have to give us an opportunity. When I first moved into my neighborhood it was all white. No one in that neighborhood would even speak to me. I had one guy speak to me and he referred to me as "the colored boy."
The things I have experienced the average 30 and below black person has no appreciation for. I can remember right here in Greensboro, where blacks couldn't go in certain places. They had colored around the back. It’s not equal now. There's still a lot of work to be done. Look at your industries in this area. If you go to the head office, see if you can find a black in there, but go out to where the manual labor is being done... that’s slave mentality.
We've got to establish a rapport. If I'm going to talk to you I've got to get to know you. You've got to establish a relationship before you can go anywhere in depth. One side is not making the other welcome... the other side is not making the other welcome. If you look at someone as a person, see what they actually do then. We should vote because of qualifications and ability, when people vote strictly on race we stay divided. It's important to have a forum open to everybody to talk about anything, and to have public debate. Common dialogue about common problems is going to open up lines of communication.
Rayford Moss
Juvenile Probation Officer. Greensboro, Alabama
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