January 24, 2008 Issue

It is an election year and politicians are trotting out a variety of issues before the American electorate. There is Iraq and terrorism and the economy, and then there is same sex marriage, evolution, the environment, education, and anything else politicians think will garner the public’s attention. But even from the Republican Party, the originators of the “law and order” crusade during Nixon’s reign, there is little talk of the terrorism that Americans face daily. Many Americans can’t concentrate on the threats posed by the “evil-doers” because of the violent crime they live with, in their own neighborhoods.
Just over a year ago, we opened a restaurant in downtown Tuscaloosa, Ala. Chuck’s Fish is at the corner of Greensboro and University Avenues. It is literally the defining intersection of downtown. We rehabbed two 100-year-old buildings that had decades earlier been family-run clothing and jewelry stores. They had been boarded up for years.

Tuscaloosa’s once vibrant downtown began to atrophy 30 years ago. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, strip centers, chain drug stores and restaurants opened on the outskirts of this university town, and in short order, downtown Tuscaloosa began the slow, painful process of closing down.

Today there is a new spirit in Tuscaloosa. An aggressive city council has poured time and money into revitalizing downtown. The existing architecture and the infrastructure of Tuscaloosa has made it possible to visualize a vibrant urban center. The sidewalks, trees, and parks and the venerable Bama Theater, a classic YMCA and a lively farmer’s market have given city planners something to work with. This is not the “new urbanism” of a Seaside, Fla.; this is “old urbanism” and it feels like the real thing. There is nothing hokey or ‘Disneyfied” about Tuscaloosa.

There is a lynchpin to all urban planning today and it hinges on “mixed-use.” City architects prefer downtowns offering a little of everything. Retail stores, restaurants, office space, parks and recreational areas are all needed. But the most difficult part of the mixed-use equation is to convince people to live downtown.

It is a classic urban dilemma. Crime is part of the urban landscape. And while most violence in our cities involves “black on black” crime, there are enough stray bullets to catch white people’s interest. It is difficult to convince people to repopulate downtowns when crime is present. It is difficult to address crime in areas where no one lives.

Tuscaloosa has dealt with crime in the same way that most American cities have. Criminals are put in jail. The United States puts more people in jail than any country in the world. Our prisons are overflowing and for the most part they are filled with non-violent, drug offenders. When these young men get out of prison, I’m not so sure they are non-violent anymore.

I recently spoke with three young black men on our staff at Chuck’s Fish. They are typical of many kids today in their dress and mannerisms. I talked to them about their appearance, which I was reluctant to do. I have never wanted anyone to tell me how to dress, and I don’t feel comfortable telling others what to wear. However, I wanted to make a point.

I told them that their look, with the baggy pants, the belt far below the waist, and the shirt (thankfully) covering everything from the shoulders to the knees, was not an appropriate style of dress for our restaurant. The pants, constantly on the verge of falling down, required both hands, one in front and one in back, to keep them up. That didn’t leave any hands to work with.

I also pointed out that if the look that the falling-down-pants represented was a “thug” look; that I didn’t like “thugs” and that my customers didn’t like thugs and that in this entire world, the people who might help these young men get somewhere in life; well, they didn’t like thugs either. Not only that, but I wanted them to know the “real thugs,” that I assumed they were trying to emulate, didn’t wear such physically demanding britches. The successful thugs, those still out on the street, were wearing three-piece suits. Jails are full of kids wearing baggy pants.

I talked to the young men about getting Gads and getting started at the local community college, and preparing for some sort of career. They were attentive. But I couldn’t help but think that for many young black men in our cities; jail is not a deterrent any more. These kids have fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, and friends who have been in jail. And at least they are still alive.

Unfortunately for many under-educated, under-parented, and under-disciplined, urban teens today, I am afraid jail often represents a step up.

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