WRITING in The Greensboro Guardian, Dr. Ada Fisher, a black physician from Durham, North Carolina, remembers fondly the years of her childhood, when blacks largely lived in their own communities. She writes:

Reminiscing with my fellow baby boomers, it is not uncommon to hear folks say in many ways we were better off during segregated times than we are now — integration stripped away a history which was the base of our foundation as well as that for this nation.

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LN writes:

Dr. Fisher is entirely correct. Although most people – both black and white — would rather die than admit it, blacks in particular were better off when they were obliged to live together, in all-black neighborhoods. Unable to flee, the best blacks stayed and were integral, respected members of their community. Not just doctors and lawyers, but skilled tradesmen, storeowners, teachers, nurses, and laborers of every sort. Together they ensured a healthy, diverse community. And there would be no shortage of role models for youngsters coming up.

Nowadays even modestly successful blacks flee all-black neighborhoods the moment they’re able, leaving behind ghettos of dysfunctionality. Imagine a segregated public school. In addition to the star athletes and disruptive thugs being black, the honor students would also be black, as would the French club, the computer geeks, the ROTC, etc., along with the teachers, administrators, janitors and lunchladies. With integration, blacks sink to the bottom of the heap (except in sports and thuggery) and inevitably come to be viewed as inferior. They know it and we know it, and all parties are reminded of it every day in every way. Is it any wonder blacks become bitter and destructive? Is it any wonder whites become resentful and dismissive?

Some years ago the Thernstroms published a fascinating article on just this. The highlight was a chart showing the wealth/earning power of blacks growing much faster than that of whites after World War II . . . until the civil rights era, when black gains skidded to a halt and the black line has been unable to come much closer to the white line to this day.