by "white man's power trip" i meant only exactly what you said about the 90% of capital in the hands of so few. i certainly am not a part of that class, and thus i experience the ramifications of it as well. this is not just a race issue, it is a class issue, with other things involved as well, at least from my perspective as a woman.

I believe you characterize what's going in Memphis fairly accurately. Geographically, Memphis is of course on the upper end of the Lower Delta, an area long known for being the real "Deep South."

Historically, only South Carolina rivals the Delta for racist attitudes.

What separates Memphis is the assassination of Dr. King and the race riots of the 60's. This made Memphis a "hotbed" of rage, and it created a chasm that's never been bridged.

Sure, there are people like you that try to bridge the gap, but there are too few people like you and too many that like separatism. But some separatism isn't all bad, meaning it's okay for groups to recognize cultural identity and seek togetherness. In other words, people binding together or congregating because they feel a cultural identity.

I'm not sure I care too much for the term "white man power trip," although I understand your point. The problem with those sorts of terms is they can produce further polarization. Unfortunately, I don't have any better way to describe it, and I fully understand the attitude.

So, what we have is a minority population of whites that act like they aren't racist, but most really don't want to go to school with blacks, live near blacks or gawd forbid have a child marry or date a black. That's reality for most of the white population in Memphis.

Another reality is the white minority in Memphis controls 90% of the capital in the city. They've got the money and therefore the real power.

But these realities aren't limited to Memphis. I've seen it north of the Mason Dixon line, as well.

On the other side, you have the black majority that remains bitter over the past and is equally bitter about a lot of things in the present. And rightfully so. Their so-called leadership, specifically the Fords, Herenton and other black "leaders" in this city have betrayed them. They're aligned with capital. Make no mistake about it.

If they were aligned and cared about the black community, you'd have better schools. Better neighborhoods. Better healhcare. But that's not what they have.

Memphis has a fucking NBA arena with tickets that aren't affordable for most of the people that live around it. A bunch of new $500,000 homes. New shopping developments. A city government that gave Servicemaster (a private corporation that openly touts its "service to the master" philosophy) tax breaks to relocate 100 or so wealthy Executives and their 200 employees to Memphis.

The government in Memphis is a joke. It's a huge part of the problem. But since when have governments ever solved any problems?

Democracy and problem solving happen with the people. It happens via coalition building in neighborhoods. It happens when people like Charlie McVean (who made his millions in a non-sustainable gross industry...the beef and cattle industry) finally do something worthwhile and give support to inner-city schools. Kudos to Charlie for his involvement at East High School)

It may take another 100 years to solve race problems in Memphis. Blacks were held in bondage for nearly 100 years. They suffered under discrimination and Jim Crow laws into the 1960's. That's just less than 50 years ago and means they were non-equals for nearly 200 years.

How can 200 years of wrong be cured in less than 40 years? It can't.

What's needed is to 1)Get new leadership in city hall. We need a "non-politician," someone that can be fair, bring the city together and stop placing the interests of big business ahead of everything else. 2) people to stop waiting for government to solve their problems and solve their own problems...this is happening already with really encouraging coalitions of blacks and whites working together 3) a massive overhaul of the educational system with a big injection of funding.

What if Fred Smith and Pitt Hyde decided to have an education fund raiser like the one they had for Bob Corker? You know, the fancy pants dinner that raised over one million dollars for that repug slime ball they support?

That would be nice! And frankly, that's where it all starts. With education. People can't free themselves from the bondage of poverty and discrimination unless they are educated and in control of their own lives.

Education is the answer. It's always the answer.