Left Behind In Rosedale: Race Relations And The Collapse Of Community Institutions

244 Pages·1998·9.801 MB·English

by  Scott Cummings

Left Behind in Rosedale

Left Behind
in Rosedale
Race Relations and the Collapse
of Community Institutions
Scott Cummings
BASIC
B
BOOKS
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
Copyright © 1998 by Westview Press, A Member of Perseus Books, L.L.C.
Published in 1998 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue,
Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid’s
Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford 0X2 9JJ
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cummings, Scott, 1944-
Left behind in Rosedale : race relations and the collapse of
community institutions / Scott Cummings,
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8133-3420-9.—ISBN 0-8133-3421-7 (pbk.)
1. Rosedale (Fort Worth, Tex.)—Race relations. 2. Fort Worth
(Tex.)—Race relations. 3. Afro-Americans—Texas—Fort Worth—
Social conditions. 4. Rosedale (Fort Worth, Tex.)—Social
conditions. 5.Fort Worth (Tex.)—Social conditions. 6. Community
development—Texas—Fort Worth. I. Title.
F394.F7C86 1998
305.8'0097645315—dc21 97-32511
CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
To Juanita, Roy, and Jeannette,
with love and appreciation
I
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Race Relations and Urban Neighborhoods 1
Background and Overview, 3
A Retrospective Overview, 12
2 The Ghettoization of Rosedale 17
A Brief History of Rosedale, 18
The Racial Transformation of Rosedale, 20
Suburban Development and Racial Change, 23
3 Racial Transition and the Loss of Community 28
The Elderly of Rosedale: A Window to the Past, 31
Grief and the Loss of Community, 36
Commitment and Entrapment, 38
The Transformation of Neighborhood Life and Culture, 40
The Transformation of Community Standards, 41
The Loss of the White Middle Class, 43
The Loss of Community Business, 43
The Intrusion of Government, 44
Summary, 46
4 Racism and Residential Transition:
Old Myths and New Realities 48
Rosedale and the American Racial Legacy, 51
Residential Integration and the Violation of Racial Etiquette, 55
The Erosion of Mental and Physical Health, 59
Crime, Isolation, and Withdrawal, 63
VII
VII Contents
5 The Adolescent Menace: Beyond Racial Stereotypes 68
Crime in Rosedale, 70
The Subjective Side of Criminal Victimization, 74
Cars and Outside Equipment, 74
Household Robberies, 75
Street Crimes, 80
6 Sexual Violence in Rosedale 84
The Roots Rapist, 93
The Rosedale Rapist, 97
7 The Wilding Incidents of 1982 102
8 The Underclass of Rosedale:
Community Institutions in Crisis 126
9 The Struggle to Create New Institutions:
The Crisis Deepens, with Elise Bright and Richard Cole 146
Commercial Redevelopment, 148
The Effort to Save Rosedale’s Housing, 159
Gangs and the New Wave of Adolescent Crime, 165
10 Public Policy, Social Change, and the Fall of Rosedale 171
Rosedale as a Victim of Social Change, 172
Rosedale as a Victim of Liberal Public Policy, 178
Federal Housing Policy, School Desegregation,
and the Fall of Rosedale, 182
11 Race Relations, Social Justice, and the Future of
Urban Neighborhoods 193
A Conflict of Rights, 197
Social Justice and Residential Integration, 200
African American Youth and the Future of Race Relations, 204
Notes 209
Index 217