Whoo boy… I’d say this isn’t so much a case of Kecia Cunningham being a narrow minded thinker as it is of your narrow reading of the AJC article using only your lens on race and class, then deciding you knew what she meant. Maybe you didn’t find the dramatic census shift startling (or newsworthy enough to mention). She was simply stating facts– facts that are a real concern to many Decatur folks. You’ll find many of the same things said in the Strategic Plan’s Roundtables comments and in threads on here.

And take Commissioner Cunningham’s election districts stance: At Monday’s Commission Meeting (and the previous one where the election districts were first discussed), her comments were focused on what truly matters: having election boundaries that fall naturally along neighborhood lines to allow for bringing neighbors together, not just artificially piecing something together. She also stated that she would be very comfortable in taking the Dept of Justice phone call to say that the map without the majority minority district is the way to go. Not much divisive about that!

It is, or could be, equally true for white residents who have left, but I wasn’t referring to them because that’s not what the thread was talking about.

Changes have taken place here over the years. Many (most?) have been positive but some have served to make the city either less desirable or less accessible for significant numbers of African Americans. This is unfortunate and I think most Decaturites would agree with certain efforts to remedy it (though there would likely be much disagreement over exactly what type of efforts were appropriate).

That said, I have no desire to extend open arms to the African American community only to have them end up in an “African American neighborhood.” My neighborhood is open to all. Ya’ll come.