What went wrong for black-owned businesses | Readers respond
Citing the deterioration of Lawnside, N.J., Quinones wrote an op-ed about how black-owned businesses could regain economic power. Our readers respond.
On Tuesday, Karen E. Quinones Miller, an African-American journalist and historian, argued that racial integration in the 1960s meant the demise of many black-owned businesses and communities. Citing the deterioration of Lawnside, New Jersey, Quinones insisted that re-instating the economic segregation of African-American businesses can reclaim the economic power of African-Americans. Readers responded strongly Miller's opinion.
[Read the original story: A South Jersey hotspot represents what went wrong for black-owned businesses]
One reader reflected on the deterioration of a beloved neighborhood. Rose Fitzgerald of Haddon Heights emailed in to say:
The piece was posted in the popular Facebook community Black on Black Info, which is followed by more than 214,000 people.
Some Black on Black Info community members agreed with Miller's piece, lamenting less support for black-owned businesses in recent years.
Meanwhile other Philly.com readers disagreed strongly with Miller's piece. Ralph D. Block of Rydal emailed:
Charlie Baltimore of Olde Kensington vehemently disagreed with the very concept of segregation on any level:
Others argued that there cannot be a two-way street when talking about "black" versus "white" businesses, including Jim Cres, who wrote on Philly.com's Facebook page: