“The racial makeup of the city was 98.64% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.22% from two or more races. 0.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Brook,_Alabama

I understand your finding encouragement in the lack of racism expressed by your students. I too was encouraged by the experience I had at ASFA, where racism was absolutely not allowed. In some ways, I thought that my generation would herald in a change of attitudes within the city. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.

I also understand what you mean about Montevallo being a world apart. For many years, I lived in Columbia, MD — a bedroom community between Baltimore and Washington, DC. I found it to be the closest I’ve come to in terms of a place that was all inclusive.

Perhaps I will explore Montevallo the next time I get an inkling to move back home

While I was raised in the entirely Black community of the Ensley projects (the brickyard), the vast majority of my classmates were White. Their economic backgrounds ranged from poor, to middle class, to very wealthy. But the common thread that we all had was our love for the arts, and to a degree, the fact that we were all misfits within our own communities. My attendance at the school allowed me access to places that I may not have otherwise been allowed: I attended parties with the pedigreed children of old money Mountain Brook; I played tennis with kids in Vestavia; I skinned catfish with kids from Cahaba; and I had dinner with middle class Black kids in Homewood. And every day, I came home to the brickyard, where I saw drug dealers plying their goods; saw mothers, tired and frustrated after working “over the mountain”, come home and cook dinner for their children; and saw young boys and girls try to find their way to becoming adults. The point that I’m making is that the experience instilled in me a sense that I was not by other people’s low expectations of me. And the fact that my mother instilled that the brickyard was where I was from, not where I was headed.

In my humble opinion, the biggest obstacle to Birmingham’s success is the lack of common effort. The us against them attitude has led to a city that is fractured, with citizens who are distrustful of one another. It is Black against White, rich against poor, and a middle class that is trying desperately to move on up the side of the mountain, all the while hoping that they don’t lose thier footing which would plunge them into poverty.

Over the years, I’ve considered many times moving back to Birmingham. There are many good things about the area, but the things that are wrong are really, really wrong, and are just too much. The lack of cooperation among the different sectors; the lack of diversity; the finger pointing and blaming (the Blacks saying all whites are racists who are keeping them down, and the Whites saying all Blacks are thugs and welfare mothers); the corruption; the disparity between rich and poor – is just too much. And it is just too very sad.

I am an African American that chose NOT to move to Mountain Brook, because even though they have the “best” education system….they have no diversity in the schools. What is that teaching those children? They have no contact with non-white cultures other than their nannies / household workers. What they know about other cultures comes from the media–which can, many times, incorrect. I want my child to feel like it is okay to be African American, Hispanic, Asian, mixed…..and to also interact with people of ALL origins and socio-economical backgrounds.

Natalie Holloway came from the Mountain Brooke area….and of course not all kids are like that, but I said that to say, you have to be around different people so that when you get out into the real world you know how to interact with many types….you have street sense, yes there are dangerous places and you can’t ALWAYS avoid them by living in a fortress on the other side of town.

I believe that there are no Asian or Asian American households in Mountain Brook. So, it is not just the African Americans. Many Asian Americans do not find the place very welcoming either and this includes wealthy Asian Americans!

The biggest factor, politics and corruption. It’s nonexsistent for the most part on the Northshore

Birmingham, including the wealthier areas, in a City where
corruption is the norm, probably the biggest factor. Certainly the City is corrupt, Jefferson County is a disgrace,
and the State, one of the most corrupt.

That is honestly the difference between areas close to the Northshore and Birmingham. I did not know anything of how politics and corruption works because there was none. Relocate to Birmingham, corruption is the norm and it’s thoroughly politicized

There is absolutely no comparison