Wow!
Janet Morrison is right. She has lived all of her adult life in South Dallas! I hired her in 1995 and she has been making things better for this city ever since, with no sign of letting up.
The comment about where she has lived since moving to Dallas to begin her "adult life" appeared in a great Op-Ed piece that The Dallas Morning News published on Friday, October 24, 2008.
Here's how Janet begins:
Ever wonder why people in our inner cities are angry?
Since the slated demolition of the Turner Courts housing development in South Dallas, my office and our After-School Academy have moved to Roseland Townhomes, a Dallas Housing Authority property in the City Place area.
As I left my new office at 7 one Friday night, 30 to 40 people rounded the corner of the recreation center, running toward a fight. My co-worker quickly called 911 and, before I could even leave the apartments, her call had produced an immediate police response.
Within five minutes, one police car had blocked off traffic while two others jumped the curb and sped across an open lot. As I drove off, yet two more police cars rapidly approached from another direction and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
I know I should be elated by the quick response of our very capable Police Department. Instead, I was extremely angry, and my blood pressure rose each time I heard another siren.
Wonder why she was angry?
Read the entire article here.
Janet understands.
Your reactions are welcome, as always.
.
Janet Morrison is right. She has lived all of her adult life in South Dallas! I hired her in 1995 and she has been making things better for this city ever since, with no sign of letting up.
The comment about where she has lived since moving to Dallas to begin her "adult life" appeared in a great Op-Ed piece that The Dallas Morning News published on Friday, October 24, 2008.
Here's how Janet begins:
Ever wonder why people in our inner cities are angry?
Since the slated demolition of the Turner Courts housing development in South Dallas, my office and our After-School Academy have moved to Roseland Townhomes, a Dallas Housing Authority property in the City Place area.
As I left my new office at 7 one Friday night, 30 to 40 people rounded the corner of the recreation center, running toward a fight. My co-worker quickly called 911 and, before I could even leave the apartments, her call had produced an immediate police response.
Within five minutes, one police car had blocked off traffic while two others jumped the curb and sped across an open lot. As I drove off, yet two more police cars rapidly approached from another direction and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
I know I should be elated by the quick response of our very capable Police Department. Instead, I was extremely angry, and my blood pressure rose each time I heard another siren.
Wonder why she was angry?
Read the entire article here.
Janet understands.
Your reactions are welcome, as always.
.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteTwelve years ago my older brother interned with a church in Lewisville, TX. The week I came in to visit coincided with a week his youth group was spending at CDM. I remember meeting Janet there. Upstairs, near a pool table, I believe.
I was fifteen years old and clearly remember thinking, "What a woman!" Hah. It's great to see she's still serving the South Dallas community.
What a woman!
Janet is right to be angry, and I can understand her anger.
ReplyDeleteThe neighborhood I live in once was one of the worst in Nashville. It has gotten better, but only because of the regentrification that has begun. Police presence was poor, and our block an open air crack market, up until white folks started moving in.
It was only then that police decided to clean up the area. When it became economical to rejuvenate the neighborhood.
I've even seen police intentionally try to provoke my friend and neighbor Terry (who was rather intoxicated) who was doing nothing but having a good time on his own property. Police stood in the street and badgered him, trying to provoke a response. I was incensed.
Even though I still call the police when we have the occasional drive by, or random gunfire, I often think twice, because I know that many times, the police make things worse rather than better, for those in the inner city.