(no subject)
Being in the Bible belt, where "God" is assumed to be worshipped equally with Republican politics, suburban housing, and Nascar, the more research I do, the more disturbed I get.
So far, it's clear that racial inequality is still prevalant in our city (and its surrounding "safer" cities). I'm sure most of it is unintentional, but when you read the actual numbers, it's shocking. Basically, the areas of Moore (where we currently live), Norman, Edmond, Yukon, and Mustang are "white" areas, ranging from 82% in Norman to 92% in Mustang. When you compare those numbers to Oklahoma City, it's obvious that the middle to upper class are doing a good job avoiding diversity. When you look at Oklahoma City Public Schools demographics, it's even worse.
Even with the OKC demographics somewhat diversified, how do the numbers almost reverse when compared to OKC Public Schools? There are quite a few private schools in this metro area. Oklahoma has a large homeschool population. But, I wonder how many kids are being sent from urban housing into suburban schools to avoid the assumed "problems" associated with being in the city.
The irony, I think, is that the Mustang/Yukon area is known nationwide as having extremely high teen pregnancy rates. Most people would assume problems like that come from more diversified areas. But, Mustang and Yukon (from my research) are the most predominantly "white" areas in the metro. The south OKC area is more "white" than the north. But, the south side has higher crime rates than the north.
What can we do to help level the balance in the urban core? I certainly don't expect the middle to upper class white families to journey back into the city. But, maybe we can and should probe deeper into this mess, and do our part to reconcile the coming Kingdom with the present age.
Eternity breathes diversity. Cultural distinctions do not disintegrate when the King takes the final seat on His throne.