Is Durham Really that Dangerous?
DURHAM Durham North Carolina, goes by many monikers, from the City of Medicine to the Bull City. However, with news outlets like WRAL, former stomping ground of the late senator Jesse Helms, currently beating the battle drums over whether Dangerous Durham is corrupting such wholesome cities like Raleigh, the state’s seat of power, the uninitiated are asking is Durham the Bull City or the Bull-et city ?
While some relish in Durham’s bad boy image and wear it like a badge of honor, others are sick and tired of the media dissin’ Durham.
And rightly so.
Many Durham citizens are proud of Durham’s strong economic and educational legacy. After all, the downtown area was once heralded as Black Wall Street. According to E. Franklin Frazier in his book. Black Bourgeoisie, Durham was also called , “the capital of the black bourgeoisie.”
Community elders in the city still reminisce over the neighborhood unity and flourishing black businesses in areas such as Hayti. So, how did this center economic power become the media’s menace of the Triangle ?
According to Durham activist, Joy Spencer, ambassador of the Militant Mind Militia, a Durham NC based African-centered think tank, “the negative image of Durham is rooted in white supremacy and an attempt to overshadow the rich black history that includes Black Wall Street, a top HBCU, North Carolina Central University, Malcolm X Liberation University and vibrant black neighborhoods. It is unfair, ignorant and inaccurate.”
This is not to say that Durham does not have its share of problems as there are neighborhoods where gunshots ring out every night. But this is no different than Raleigh, Rocky Mount and other cities in the Tar Heel State However,when it comes to Durham the media seem to shun addressing the cause and, instead, glamorize the effect.
What is ignored by the media and outsiders is how we ended up here.
One topic of conversation that has been avoided by journalists and public officials, not only in Durham, but in urban areas across the country is the question of how the hood became the hood.
Besides, the economic inequalities that have created the conditions in these cities (Read The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein) it is convenient to overlook the hidden hand of government agencies that created these conditions.
It must be noted that under COINTELPRO, the FBI neutralized black organizations such as the Black Panther Party which created a void in neighborhoods causing youth to form street gangs.
Also, in his work Dark Alliance , the late journalist Gary Webb , accused the CIA of bringing cocaine and guns into South Central Los Angeles as part of the so-called Iran Contra scandal.
This is not to mention the billions of dollars that are made from the destruction of predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods from the gun manufacturers, to the Nonprofit Industrial Complex, to the Prison Industrial Complex. (Read Michelle Alexander’s , The New Jim Crow.)
Locally, people try to bury the legacy of urban renewal and the effect it is still having on neighborhoods. Durham was a victim of economic ethnic cleansing as people lost their houses and their land. So, in 2024, the youth are angry, they subconsciously know that somebody stole great grandma’s house and displaced them to the hood but through displaced aggression they take their frustrations out on those in the same economic conditions instead of those who made loads of money flippin’ Big Momma’s house.
While some would like to build a wall around Raleigh to keep illegal Durham folk out, those who love this city demand a holistic portrayal of our beloved city. We love this community, the good, the bad and the ugly For every problem our city faces there are many community activists working towards solutions. So, instead of doing a special investigation on an alleged thug invasion marching up Highway 70, maybe WRAL should investigate how high powered assault weapons are getting in the hands of Durham’s children and why city leaders are clinging to respectability politics instead of joining Baltimore in suing the ATF over the Tiahrt amendment that prevents law enforcement from sharing this information with grieving parents of murdered children?
Lastly, historically, the legislation that created the socio-economic conditions Durham and other NC cities are a result of government policies coming Straight Outta Raleigh, so maybe what we are experiencing is a case of the chickens coming home to roost?
Min. Paul Scott is the Minister of Information of the Black Hoodie Brigade of Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 972–8305 or minpaulscott@yahoo.com Twitter/X @truthminista
