The Abandonment

Shubuta, Mississippi, from what I have read, was a town of educated and professional people. There were well known doctors, attorneys, and even a federal judge residing among its citizens. Situated near the town's main street, there was a street given the name "Silk Stocking Row" because it was home to some of the town's most affluent residents. The town boomed of industry created by the river then the railroad followed by the highway system. The boom was so much so that some have claimed it to have been the largest town between Meridian, MS and Mobile, AL at one point. Each of the innovations brought more residents to the town.
Fast forward to today, the train hardly runs, if ever, the river hasn't seen a boat in decades, and the highway has been detoured around the town. As for the residents, the 2000 Census reported the median annual income at $18,438 and the per capita income at $9,094. It's safe to say that the affluent have high tailed it for greener pastures leaving behind disenfranchised (as it may seem at statistical value) residents to run the town.
I was once a child growing up in this town. During my early years, there were still signs of the old system through out the town. "Silk Stocking Row" was still home to a doctor, judge, and a few that had at one time been town leaders. The lower income families were not situated near the downtown area for the most part. Put shortly, one had to go through the white neighborhoods to get to the post office. This way of life was far beyond a racial issue though; it was mainly a status based system. The blue-collar citizens were found within their communities and the white-collar, elite were in another. Both, however, could be found within the downtown area daily.
The system wore down through the nineties, and my family even acquired a house on "Silk Stocking Row" once the town doctor moved to another city. Main Street, once home to some the town's biggest names also saw a change in residents. The downtown scene became, like most Mississippi towns, a picture of abandoned buildings and rarely patronized businesses. Even the post office found a new home beyond Main Street. Some of the older residents have moved on due to age while the others, just as our town doctor, have plain moved on. Gone are the famous families that were said to run the town. Once before this town was known for trading, but that memory is long gone just like the Bank of Shubuta, which only the remnants of the building remains.
What I witnessed I have learned to be the case in many towns and cities throughout the country. This instance I have called the abandonment, or the take-my-ball-and-go-home occurrence (see also white flight, black flight, and sundown town). The signs of change prompted many upper middle-class residents found it better to move to other up-and-coming communities. Also, some conservatives that opposed the end of segregation saw the trickle down of change finally making its way into their towns (many small towns like Shubuta held on to the Old South traditions for years after the Civil Rights Movement). Some found it easier to deal with change in a new environment while others sought life on a grander scale.
I found myself as one that was seeking the world beyond the boundary of my origins. In a way, I was taught that not doing so would make me a failure (not to say that living in my town makes one a failure). "You're a smart young man. You have so much potential to be somebody special," said many who accessed my life while I was young. I fought the thought process for a while knowing that I could be a success without ever leaving Clarke County. I soon began to see those that came before me taking the flight so much to the point that I hardly saw or heard of them again. I was sold; I had to find the ticket to the great beyond. This was the precedent that had been set before me.
I now find myself faced with the urge to return to my home grounds to return some the knowledge that I have gained over these few years. I want to pass along the fact that the only failure is the person that doesn't try to better his or her situation. That it is not about if you're black or white but if you're rich or poor (shout out David Banner). The real eye opener for me was the fact that my hometown was not an isolated case. I've witnessed the demographic change in cities like Birmingham, AL; Memphis; and Dallas. Even smaller towns have fallen victim to the flight syndrome. Schools systems are feeling the effects of this population change. Mississippi created a new class system for its larger schools due to rising enrollments in an attempt to level the field.
There are many other reasons to support these changes, but I'll let the readers do their own research, as they may already know this is occurring. The question will be posed; are you a frequent flyer? Have you been running after the rainbow? Both are fine and dandy just as long as the rear view mirror is used and every now and then, you turn back to bring someone along with you. The cycle of abandonment must stop with someone or else your roots will soon become dried up and eventually die. If the crab reaching back into the bucket is strong, it can pull out several rather than being pulled back into the pack. Think on that.

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