We could start by asking why there is a black church and there is a white church...
this is an interesting phenom.
there was no forced bussing for churches.
people were and are allowed to attend of their free will.
bussing and desegregation turned out to be much more about majority white schools and neighborhoods, businesses, being made accessible by force of the sword to black students and and later, POC .. this has been largely accomplished.
possibly a gaping oversight was that nothing was (forced) “in reverse.”
there has not been equivalent forcing of white folks into black neighborhoods, businesses .. i’m unsure of schools?? bussing addressed this to a degree?? i’m unsure. in my area, there was/is bussing into black neighborhoods. years ago, charter schools were located in these neighborhoods to attract students. i’m not sure of the present. i’m sure there are strict guidelines for balanced population classrooms. they assess for several points.
but, the result is, today, there are lots of black folks who feel entitled to have black neighborhoods, schools, businesses, etc., without giving a thought to the idea this amounts to reverse discrimination. there is no “natural” desire to “share.”
i’m not aware of any predominantly white neighborhood that is not somewhat mixed, where POC are not as safe as any to drive through or visit. there are black or POC neighborhoods that are known to be unsafe for white-looking folks to drive through or visit.
neighborhoods that were not forced to integrate. over decades.
Government is NOT going to adequately serve everyone. It can’t.
Government cannot legislate morality.
The hope can be for laws to provide a framework for different and differing folks to exist with some measure of safety and hope.
The U.S. military.
An interesting side note.
Not far from me was a military base. Growing up, most of us were forbidden to go there. It was a base, the adjoining town, ditto, it existed to serve the base+overflow. Many retired military there. THE BASE WAS CLOSED. About 1990. The town adjusted the best it could to the great economic loss. They’re still trying to be just another small midwest town. Altho they inherited various buildings+infrastructure no typical small town has.
The unique thing we noticed about this town: thoroughly integrated.
Every small neighborhood was made up of every sort of person, Asian, black, Latino, white. Mixed.
It worked. Why? Frankly, i think because the military forced certain common values equally on everyone, and insisted they all live in close interdependent quarters together. When they went out into the surrounding community, they took these acquired common values+habits with them.
After the military left, i became familiar with the community - it was interesting to witness and think about how this worked out and why. My conclusion was, the military established a “common core” of many values and forced respect equally. No matter skin color or socio-economic OR FAITH background. This small community had a surprising variety of churches, places of worship.
Since 2008-ish, the population is down, lots of businesses and churches closed.
Non-military people from Chicago and other locations have moved in. Crime is up.
But, regarding successful, balanced desegregation, the U.S. military has a story to tell.
The military puts all kinds of people together in close proximity, but they certainly do not just let the “cards fall where they may.”
