Confronted by poverty in Selma and at home

When we drove into the historic town of Selma, where the legendary march to Montgomery took place, where “Bloody Sunday” occurred, I was slapped in the face by how poverty stricken the place was. We took a quick tour of Selma with Mr. Joe O’Quinn, and we drove through the “other side of the tracks”, and the homes were falling apart, grass was uncut, and everyone seemed to be living on top of each other. I learned that the unemployment rate is ridiculously high, and that public schools are failing to provide the bright African American kids of Selma with equal educational opportunities as the rich white kids who attend the town's private school. I'm now understanding that the ‘hood is the same  everywhere in America. When we were driving through Selma, parts of Birmingham, Montgomery, things were starting to look like certain parts of Newark, East Orange, and Irvington. Housing is inadequate, streets are barely paved and dirty in the poor parts of Selma. But, on the more wealthy, white part of town, houses were big and beautiful, trampolines stood high, grass was cut crisply, and cars were luxurious. These people were living the American dream. I was disappointed to see a division of people because of wealth, and unequal opportunity. I firmly believe that segregation never ended, it just manifested its way into education,  economics, and housing. Two things that will emancipate minorities from the chains of institutionalized “slavery” are: better educational opportunities; and a thriving economy.

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