Some people who live in predominantly African-American neighborhoods in Indianapolis are wondering why some fellow residents do not take pride in the community.
In other words, they would like to know why some inner city areas are more susceptible to blight and abuse or neglect of property.
Near the intersection of East 38th Street and Sherman Drive, for example, sits a closed, desolate car wash, overgrown with weeds. Although the building itself is in decent shape, someone shattered one of its windows and vandalized its nearby food stand with plenty of graffiti.
Across the street, the shared parking lot of a barbershop and liquor store is littered with trash. Asher Parker, an employee of the barbershop, comes outside with his broom to tidy up the area. He shakes his head in disbelief as he looks around at the parking lot in this predominantly African-American neighborhood.
“You just gotta’ wonder why people do stuff like this,” Parker said.
Inside the doorway of the Walgreens drugstore on the other side of Sherman, Princess Jones looks across the street, first at the closed car wash, then notices a phone booth where the actual phone has been removed, perhaps due to repeated acts of vandalism.
Initially Jones shrugs it off, saying, “You see a lot of empty or unworkable phones in this city.” She adds, “but they do seem to be mostly in (Black) neighborhoods.”
Troy Horton, a customer standing nearby, grins and adds simply, “Yeah that’s bad.”
Parker, Jones and Horton are among many who wonder why it seems that certain parts of predominantly African-American neighborhoods do not get the proper care.
Also, why do people commit acts of violence in these areas that drive away some businesses who don’t want to be unfairly associated with crime? Earlier this month, for example, two young men were killed in a drive-by shooting near Cloud 9 Bar & Grill.
Although the incident had nothing to do with events at Cloud 9, some are concerned that further violent crimes nearby could force it to close, like other popular nightclubs and social venues in predominantly Black areas, such as Cowboy’s, Faces and Picadilly’s.
Experts say some people may
