>Do you still live in that military-dominated city? One of the things that
>struck me about DC was the feeling of a relatively secure black middle
>class. There's a certain amount of movement toward the suburbs with
>gentrification, but in comparison to New England and by all means Chicago
>it feels very different, not at all like what I think Chuck Grimes
>described experiencing 40 years ago. Visitors with the right kind of eyes
>see it too. I don't know if the numbers back that up.
The entire MSA is military dominated, yeah, and yeah there's a stable, relatively financially secure black middle class because of that employment. But also because the military's policy *has* created a structural change that, in turn, created completely different daily practices, transforming attitudes and ideas. It's why I say that fighting segregation in residence, schooling, and work has to be a major strategy. It won't fix the problem but, as I said, it will at least make for practices of solidarity that are integral to any struggle.
As I understand it, there was a larger black popular in the beach 'burb I mentioned 20 years ago. It's shrunk= not the least of which is because whites kept moving out to the beach 'burb. Middle class blacks who've moved to the 'burbs are increasingly avoiding that one, not the least of which is that there's a couple of other 'burbs that are more affordable and closer to the city where occupational segregation isn't as stark and there is more opportunity for employment and advancement compared to the more occupationally segregated, white dominated beach suburb I mentioned.
But I'm not really sure what you are asking, specifically. I don't know what Chuck described and I'm not sure what Chicago and New England are references to. I didn't read the whole thread so may have missed something.