Community vs. Neighborhood
A community is a collection of individuals who share similar cultural values and traditions and act upon those values in such a way that the collective good of all is influenced. By contrast, a neighborhood is an area that can be defined on a city map.
This lecture is directed to people of color although it applies to other ethnic groups. During my early years of life, businesses in my then community were owned by people of color. In Atlanta during the sixties (60’s & 70’s) , and seventies, people of color owned newspapers, insurance companies, banks, drug-stores and much more. People helped each other, if my family needed bread, our neighbors would share their bread.The black owned businesses employed other people of color.
In the eighties (80’s) Black communities started to fade, the communities in Black area became neighborhoods. What Happened? People of color began to relocate to the suburbs and the communities that they (people of color) once lived in were purposely neglected
There are almost no Black owned businesses in most U.S. cities that are occupied by people of color. The gas stations, convenient stores, beauty supply stores as well as other inferior businesses are owned by other ethnic groups. I wanted to be clear regarding this assessment of other ethnic groups, I admire the way that other groups work together, so my intent in this narrative hopefully will bring people of color back to building communities.
VMG’s purpose is and always will be to inspire, encourage, inform ,and empower others. I truly hope that this article will make people of color aware that most of us need to regain the culture of community by working together for the better good of our people and community and not neighborhood.
Marvin Dixon/Founder
vmgreview.com
VMG Review 