Black Belt will turn things around
Published 12:09 am Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Not a single county was spared. Not a single one.
When the initial U.S. Census reports were released late last week, the figures showed a staggering account that every single Black Belt community lost population between 2000 and 2010; every last one of them.
From Pickens County to Marengo, from Hale to Lowndes, the degree of loss varied, but the fact is, people are not moving to our area and we have found little success in finding ways to attract new residents.
The figures were not surprising though. Most had predicted losses for this region when the counts came out.
The struggling economy across the Black Belt, the school systems missing their marks and a tough environment in recruiting new industry have created a nearly imperfect environment for negligible if not negative growth.
That must change and some community leaders have taken notice. Others, well, remain stuck in the same old thought process, hoping for different results.
But, all is not doom and gloom. Most expected Selma to drop dramatically, but the city held firm, actually gaining population from the last Census.
There are no easy answers or magic pills for solving the ills of this region. We need new industry, we need people to find jobs and we need wages to increase. Those are all facts. But, all of that does not happen overnight.
We are not the Birmingham metro region with a well-developed interstate infrastructure or well-funded school systems. We are not the Mobile region with a booming port and active entertainment districts. Nor, should we act like we are or that we want to be.
We must be ourselves and work hard to build and develop in areas where we can, when we can Infrastructure development will help and is desperately needed. Investments in new industries, developments and schools is also needed and we must continue to seek out those investors.
Alabama’s Black Belt is a region made up of proud, strong and faithful people. We will grow, we will develop and we will succeed. That is the message we must send out and a message we must continue to believe.