Let's see. In the 1950's, there were hardly any black police,
firefighters, TV characters... let alone doctors, lawyers, judges,
justices, secretaries of state... It was legal, and widely practiced, to
refuse to hire any African Americans, or rent or sell housing to them, or
serve them in restaurants... In much of the nation, blacks were even
forbidden by law to use the public drinking fountains designated for
whites. So that was quite a "peak".

Well, Gary, no one will argue that America has come a long ways from the Jim
Crow 1950s. And a huge percentage of blacks (and Latinos, and immigrants)
have continued to live the American Dream, and have made it out of initial
poverty through hard work and ingenuity.

But that's not what we're talking about. And if you take a long view of
black culture, the 1950s did represent something of a crest, with Jazz, the
Blues, Harlem, and all sorts of other cultural icons flying high.

In fact, some black celebrities have put forth that this era was a cultural
peak for blacks precisely *because* of segregation. All blacks were kept
apart from white society, and therefore all blacks -- from the elite, to the
dim -- were living together in relatively close proximity to one another.
This produced an amazing American sub-culture that is largely gone.

Now, the first thing that a successful black person does is get the hell out
of the inner city -- and who can blame them? Trouble is, places like
Harlem were quickly abandoned by the cultural elite, once they could leave,
leaving poverty and crime in their wake.

So, in fact, both you and Tom ("Doof") are correct.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"