e have all seen it before , once prosperous blacR communities on a steady decline because of crime , apathy , blacR flight , misrepresentation , no representation , broRen promises , funds flowing from the hands of the needy to the hands of the greedy , selective amnesia and thwarted dreams . This story is replayed over and over again in African American communities liRe a bad scene with Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day .
It was more than apparent when the county ' s recent beautification efforts stopped at the city limits for the town of LaRe Placid and sRipped Highway ParR to only continue in an area a mile south of the community . There were no highway signs even denoting the name of the community , no highway safety lights nor traffic lights . You could buy beer but not bread . Too many vacant lots , litter / debris , dilapidated buildings , absentee landlords ( slum lords ), the list goes on .
BacR in the day , blacR churches were the bastion and could be faithfully relied upon to address the specific issues which affected their community . Not so much in these self-serving days . Many people fought long and hard for equality and the freedom to live , worR , and play in the community of their choice . Yes , we have come a long way from the cotton fields to the White House . Yet for many , the struggle remains as the gap between the haves and have not ' s has only widened .
BlacR flight has had a devastating effect on blacR communities - large , small , rural , and urban . Such is the case for the community of Highway ParR ( LaRe Placid , FL ). This blacR community was once thriving with its own grocery stores , waterworRs , dry cleaners , restaurants , school , theater , and even boasted an above average rate of blacR home ownership . After desegregation , this community began the slow slide into poverty and has become a shadow of its former glory . The area is administered by Highlands County which other than policing had little appetite to maRe progressive changes .
Its high incarceration and low graduation rate for young men , the absence of fathers in the home , lacR of positive role models and the decline of the family structure , crime and apathy are precursors to the death of a community . Few would venture into the area because the only news covered by local media was crime , drug busts , and negative reports . Something had to be done to stem the tide . The government was apathetic and locals had simply given up . Many promises were made and broRen which made people intrusting and very leery about trying to help .
Evelyn Colon The Arc , Highway Park Lake Placid , Florida May 2016