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Contrast Point Ep.2 Trailer I
Income Inequality with Council Member Antonio Brown
@antonioforatl
“ I think when you speak about income inequality, especially in this city and even in this country, I think you really have to look at the root cause of it. You have to understand the driving factors that have allowed it to exist for as long as has. And if- If you really want to dig into the history of the city of Atlanta, I think a lot of this extended originally and allowed it to get really bad in this city when White Flighting occurred in a lot of our cities- in-into our communities. You had White Flighting where you had very affluent and wealthy individuals that moved away from the city of Atlanta , Into the suburbs that started to build communities- equitable communities for them, that never had a ripple down effect into the core of what we know as Atlanta. And what happened, simultaneous to that, you started to see communities that at one point had the ability to thrive, to now face a lot of the generational issues you see now right? Like an issue in education where there was poor funding into school because the tax dollars from these affluent communities, before the White Flighting occurred, was contributing to the educational system and also ensuring that it was a system that worked. Because they wanted to make sure- like any of us want to make sure, that the school system is working for our kids and our kids are prospering through our system so that they can go on to thrive and build great lives for themselves. So when the White Flighting occurred, what then began to happen is, these schools began to fail, and these communities began to fail, because it no longer had this support system from a tax base to allow it to have the necessary resources to thrive. So then what happened is Black people began to leave. Then you had Black Flighting that started to occur. And then, those Black people that left were some of the only affluent Black people that then left.
So now you have affluent White people that left, affluent Black people that left, and your left with struggling, working, middle-class people, in a system that is under-resourced, its- their school system is under-funded; You now have poverty that’s beginning to- you know- become beyond generational, its almost like a way of life. We’ve normalized poverty in this city for so long, that we’ve become complacent to it. And we’re just like, ‘ Oh that’s just English Avenue. Oh that’s just Vine City. Oh that’s just Bankhead.’ Instead of like, ‘What the hell are we doing? These people matter too’. And just because you may have found yourself on one side of the spectrum where you’ve had an opportunity that has allowed you to develop a lifestyle where you can thrive, and your family can thrive, and the school system that you family is a part of, can thrive, and the institution of your business can thrive- there are people that have not and will not, in this system, benefit from that.”
Atlanta’s District 3 Council Member, Antonio Brown
https://youtu.be/JGCjcIsE4hM
#cityofatlanta #atlantacitycouncil #atlanta #politcsatl #localpolitics #runningformayor #contrastpoint #antoniobrown #haseenapeera #brandonmishawn #shadowtribeproduction #APD #ACDC #leftist #waterboys #urbanfarm #affordablehousing #inequality
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