A hundred years ago, Lawrence was actually a much more welcoming city for blacks than it is for any people of color now. There might not be as much overt racism and violence now, but the city has driven out as many blacks as possible, torn down their businesses, and made Lawrence the haven for upper-middle-class white flight that it is now.

At the turn of the century, the block of Massachusetts Street between what are now Sixth and Seventh Streets was a black business area. It’s gone. At that time, the block between Seventh and Eighth on Vermont was a black business district. That’s gone. Similarly, the black business district between Vermont and New Hampshire on Ninth Street is gone.

Today, the black businesses and professionals that once heavily populated Lawrence have, with the exception of only a half-dozen or so, been driven away, and the black community that in 1895 represented 22 percent of Lawrence’s population has fallen to only 5 percent in 2000. In fact, today all of Lawrence’s minorities combined are less than the black population percentage of 100 years ago.

Lawrence is not ethnically diverse. It’s white, and over the past 100 years it was purposefully made that way by the powerful people who have controlled the university, the local government, and the local economy.

Mike Cuenca,

Lawrence