🚀 go-pugleaf

If, as you say, "San Antonio is a dying city" - then why does it continue to
grow and flourish.  San Antonio is growing and expanding by leaps and
bounds.  It is a hot spot for new business and for tourism.

I'm proud to say that I moved to San Antonio 11 years ago as a single
(caucasian) mother - and now call San Antonio home.  I've lived in small
towns and I've lived in Houston .... nothing compares to the "big little
city" feel of San Antonio.

It is a wonderful place to live and raise a family - regardless of
ethnicity.  The motivated will find success; the lazy won't ....

Just my opinion

Michon
tracey12 wrote in message ...
>Why would anyone hire a well educated black American in San Antonio
>when they can hire twenty illegal aliens for less?
>
>San Antonio is a dying city.  It will soon take on the appearance of a
Texas
>border town
>where illegal aliens are a large percentage of the population, and where
>crime such as theft, and
>kick-ins are very common.
>
>I really hate to see what is happening to South Texas and especially San
>Antonio, but the
>vast numbers of illegal aliens pouring into Texas has created this
>situation.  The tide is moving in the
>direction of Houston and Austin.  Those cities will be overwhelmed too
>unless something is done to halt
>the influx of criminals from south of the border who care nothing about our
>laws, but love our money.
>
>Before you leave San Antonio, call the City Council there.  Tell them that
>you are leaving because of
>the problems associated with illegal immigrants over running the city and
>changing the culture from that of
>South Texas to a mexican ghetto like Matamores.  But, of course, you'll
>probably be talking to a bunch of people
>who won't understand your English.
>
>
>author wrote in message <3690E173.6370A3CD@idworld.net>...
>>The Impact of Black Flight on the Future of
>>San Antonio's African-American Community
>>
>>One of the questions John Wiley Price asked of San Antonio's
>>African-American community at last month's NAACP banquet was whether our
>>young people were leaving the city and what were we doing to hold them
>>here.
>>
>>The Flight of the African-American young -- especially college educated
>>persons -- is a growing phenomena in San Antonio. More and more of our
>>young people are choosing to leave San Antonio for the greener pastures
>>and opportunities in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and points
>>north, south, east, and west.
>>
>>Twenty-two year old Karama recently moved to Houston. Although one of
>>her major reasons was to attend the University of Houston next semester,
>>she also says that she felt that San Antonio has little to offer young
>>African-Americans such as herself, and she probably will not return her
>>to live. She likes the fact that Houston has a larger African-American
>>population and it is an everyday occurrence to see African-Americans
>>working in all types of responsible positions in the city. She is
>>impressed, as she interviews for employment, to, more often than not, be
>>interviewed by an African-American and to be able to choose between two
>>or three African-American radio stations to listen to.
>>
>>Karama says she made a decision a couple of years ago to live elsewhere
>>-- Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia were her other choices -- because
>>"there's nothing for Blacks here in San Antonio."
>>
>>Kelly also left San Antonio after earning her Master's degree in social
>>work. She felt that there would be greater opportunity for her career
>>advancement in Houston.
>>
>>Many of those leaving San Antonio leave because there is a perception
>>that the Black voice in San Antonio is moot. Our small numbers and the
>>failure of the City to embrace African-Americans beyond the traditional
>>boundaries of the "Black community" lend credence to that perception.
>>Young people as well as older African-Americans who have left San
>>Antonio also say that they feel that, San Antonio does not have enough
>>for African-Americans in the areas of culture, political power, and
>>community influence.
>>
>>However, the major reason that many young people, especially college
>>graduates, leave the city is because they find that they can make more
>>money in other cities.
>>
>> And they�re probably right. A recent study shows that San Antonio�s
>>wages are abysmally low, and city and business leaders are still using
>>the city�s low wages as an incentive to get companies to locate here
>>although COPS and Metro Alliance have been successful in preventing the
>>city from offering huge tax incentives for companies that pay poverty
>>level wages.
>>
>>Not only do other cities offer better wages than San Antonio, many young
>>African-Americans who have left the city say that there is limited
>>opportunity here for African-Americans.
>>
>>Vincent Gray, the son of Allen Gray who is active in Metrol Alliance, is
>>a junior at Xavier University majoring in Business Administration and
>>minoring in political science. His father says that his son recently
>>told him that if he had to make a decision right now as to where he
>>would live and work, he would choose Atlanta because there is just so
>>much more opportunity there for African-Americans.
>>
>>When his father asked him "what about San Antonio", Vincent responded,
>>"And do what?"
>>
>>The young man believes that, in terms of making money and becoming
>>financially successful, if you are not a doctor or lawyer, there is not
>>much opportunity for African-Americans.
>>
>>Mr. Gray says that he tried to argue that his son could come back and
>>make a difference, to which the young man responded that if San Antonio
>>doesn't want to change itself, he could simply go where there is more
>>progressive leadership.
>>
>>There is also the perception, among African-Americans, that
>>African-Americans' position as San Antonio�s 'minority-minority' puts
>>African-Americans and Hispanics in competition for jobs in areas that
>>have historically had a good record in hiring
>>African-Americans-particularly government jobs.
>>
>>Many African-Americans return home with their degrees only to find that
>>an inability to speak Spanish throws them out of the loop for good
>>paying jobs. Paulette is one such person.
>>
>>Paulette wanted to remain in San Antonio after graduating from North
>>Texas State University with her degree in sociology. With her degree in
>>hand, she set out to interview for a job as a probation officer.
>>Although African-Americans make up a large percentage of the people on
>>probation, she was told that she needed to be able to speak fluent
>>Spanish in order to be employed.
>>
>>After several months of futilely searching for a job in San Antonio,
>>Miss Webster took her job search to other parts of the state. She soon
>>found a job in her field in the Midland/Odessa area -- an area that also
>>has a large Spanish speaking population, but where her inability to
>>speak Spanish was not a hindrance to employment.
>>
>> She later transferred to Austin where she works as a probation officer,
>>has bought a condominium, and has become part of the social and civic
>>fabric of Austin's young African-American community.
>>
>>Former City Councilman and pastor emeritus of Mt. Zion First Baptist
>>Church Rev. Claude W. Black has been concerned about the requirement for
>>bilingualism for years. He points out that many state and local
>>government jobs have, as a requirement, that job candidates must be able
>>to speak Spanish.
>>
>>"This requirement of bilingualism," Rev. Black believes, "cuts out the
>>reality of applications being made by many Blacks." Often, he says, the
>>ability to speak Spanish is not even necessary to the performance of the
>>job.
>>
>>"We're taxpayers," he emphasizes. "We should not be eliminated from jobs
>>supported by tax dollars." He goes on to say that, even in the private
>>sector, "it (elimination from jobs) is a violation of our rights as
>>taxpayers and citizens because the private sector companies enjoy the
>>benefits of what our tax dollars pay for -- streets, police protection,
>>etc."
>>
>>The problem of young African-Americans leaving the city after earning
>>their degrees is not unique to young people who are just graduating from
>>college in the past 4-5 years.
>>
>>Yolanda and Norma are sisters, both professional woman -- one in her
>>late 30's, the other has just turned 40-- who have chosen to live
>>elsewhere. One lives and works in Louisville, KY; the other in Atlanta.
>>Both grew up in San Antonio and their father and brother still live
>>here. One of their main reason for leaving was that there was such a
>>small number of other young African-American professionals and they
>>found, after returning here from Howard University, that
>>African-American cultural experiences were limited.
>>
>>Although young people of all ethnic groups are often finding better
>>opportunities outside San Antonio and are opting not to return to the
>>city after earning their degrees, the Flight Problem affects the
>>African-American community much more profoundly than it does San
>>Antonio's Anglo and Hispanic communities.
>>
>>San Antonio�s African-American population is about seven percent of the
>>total population. As more and more of its young, well-educated
>>population leaves the city, it is being left in a position of an
>>eventual decline in its numbers as older African-Americans pass away.
>>This also creates a future dilemma of a shrinking African-American
>>middle class.
>>
>> The loss of educated, upwardly mobile African-Americans may also play
>>itself out in a loss of African-American influence in San Antonio's
>>corporate and private sector communities, similar to what is happening
>>in San Antonio's police department.
>>
>>A significant number of  San Antonio's African-American police officers
>>are at the point where they will be retiring within the next 5-10 years.
>>As the City has failed to hire younger African-American police officers,
>>when these officers -- especially the higher ranking officers -- leave
>>the force, there will not be a large enough pool of younger officers to
>>replace them, resulting in a net loss of African-American police
>>officers, particularly in decision making positions.
>>
>>The same is happening throughout the city. The flight of younger
>>African-Americans -- those in the 18-40 age group -- from San Antonio
>>leaves a smaller pool of African-Americans to replace older
>>African-Americans in key positions of leadership and influence in the
>>workplace and in the community -- public and private.
>>
>>The �Flight� also leaves African-Americans in San Antonio politically
>>vulnerable. If San Antonio�s already scattered African-American
>>population gets any smaller, African-Americans will become more
>>marginalized politically than they are now; the needs and specific
>>problems of the African-American community will continue to be
>>overlooked. The so-called �African-American seats� on City Council and
>>in the State Legislature are becoming increasingly at risk. The East
>>Side, which has always been the area considered the bailiwick of
>>African-Americans is steadily losing ground to Hispanics, who now make
>>up about a third of the population of the 17 census tracks that make up
>>the East Side and is steadily growing. While the Hispanic population on
>>the East Side is steadily growing, the African-American population is
>>not; San Antonio�s Seven Percent Black population is scattered
>>throughout the city with not enough weight in any one area to be real
>>influence, therefore its voice is becoming more ineffectual.
>>
>> Retired Col. Roy Burley, in an earlier interview with African-American
>>Reflections, put forth a solution to retaining some semblance of a Black
>>presence in the political arena. He urged African-Americans living in
>>other parts of the city to become active and known in their neighborhood
>>associations so that African-Americans from areas other than the East
>>Side have an opportunity to be elected to local political offices such
>>as City Council. The question remains, however, will there be someone to
>>advocate for the African-American community if the East Side District 2
>>seat is lost?
>>
>>Rev. Black feels that the inability for prepared, educated
>>African-Americans to find good jobs here is the crux of the problem. He
>>says he has been concerned for years that mid-management jobs are not
>>available to African-Americans who are qualified, and, therefore, our
>>most qualified African-Americans are having to go to Dallas, Houston,
>>and Atlanta to find opportunities.
>>
>>What occurs, he says, is that the community is affected in that this
>>phenomena of keeping prepared persons from getting the better jobs is
>>keeping our children from enjoying the best opportunities in education,
>>healthcare, and other resources. If parents are restricted and limited
>>in their income, they are hard pressed to be able to help their children
>>move to the next level.
>>
>> Based upon what Rev. Black is saying, this creates a domino effect that
>>results in the African-American community failing to thrive economically
>>and, therefore, socially and politically because the cream of the crop
>>of African-Americans are taking their talents, skills, and potential
>>contributions to the African-American community and the community as a
>>whole to other locales.
>>
>> The question framed by John Wiley Price is important: What are we, as
>>an African-American community, doing to hold our young people here? Our
>>young people, like Mr. Gray's son, don't  feel that they should have to
>>fight the battle of creating opportunities and if there is a lack of
>>progressive leadership to tackle the problem, they will continue to fly
>>away.
>>
>> Mr. Gray makes the point that San Antonio is "subsidizing Austin with
>>an educated workforce" because Austin offers much more opportunity for
>>young people -- although its African-American population is not
>>significantly larger than San Antonio's.
>>
>>At this point, it looks like San Antonio is subsidizing a lot of cities
>>by just giving them our cream of the crop young people to work, live,
>>and contribute to their communities.
>>
>> African-American Reflections
>> Nov 17, 1998
>>
>>
>
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