Crete's progress hijacked by
overt racism and incompetence

Can you really deal with the truth? Well, can you? Okay, here goes.

Crete is a very nice, quiet, small town, but with the same stereotypical advantages and disadvantages found throughout America, including small-town rural America. As you should know by now, Shopko, one of the few remaining retail alternatives to Crete's Walmart will be closing for good on June 30, 2018. As reported by bankrate.com, "Retail closures hit a record high in 2017, with nearly 7,000 stores disappearing. The trend is expected to continue in 2018, although not on a scale as massive. So far, more than 1,770 store closings have been announced. Some chains are phasing out stores over a period of years." Given the aforementioned, what does the closing of Shopko mean to Crete? As pictured below, here's what it means . . .

But if you go to Walmart (click image), be forewarned of the chaos entering the parking lot.

QUESTIONS:

1. As with so many vacant storefronts in downtown Crete, will Latinos move in due to White flight?

ANSWER: Probably. Because one Latino business after another has opened in downtown Crete, and the overwhelming majority of non-Latinos (White people) typically do not practice integration or egalitarian principles. As documented in, “The Persistence of Segregation in the Metropolis: New Findings from the 2010 Census” prepared for Project US2010 (Brown University and Florida State University):

The average White person in metropolitan American lives in a neighborhood that is 75% white. Despite a substantial shift of minorities from cities to suburbs, minorities have often not gained access to largely white neighborhoods. For example, a typical Black person lives in a neighborhood that is only 35% white (not much different from 1940) and as much as 45% black. Diversity is experienced very differently in the daily lives of Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians.

In 367 metropolitan areas across the U.S., the typical White person lives in a neighborhood that is 75% White, 8% Black, 11% Hispanic, and 5% Asian. This represents a notable change since 1980, when the average Whites’ neighborhood was 88% white, but it is very different from the makeup of the metropolis as a whole.

The experience of minorities is very different. For example, the typical Black lives in a neighborhood that is 45% Black, 35% White, 15% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. The typical Hispanic lives in a neighborhood that is 46% Hispanic, 35% White, 11% Black and 7% Asian. The typical Asian lives in a neighborhood that is 22% Asian, 49% White, 9% Black, and 19% Hispanic.

So, consistent with their White-peers throughout the U.S., in Crete, Nebraska the overwhelming majority of White people elect not to patronize minority businesses, or minority churches, or minority cultural events. Conversely, minorities are far more inclined, often my necessity, to patronize White business (Walmart, etc.), White churches (Catholic, etc.), and White events (Pumpkin Festival, etc.). Clearly, there's a double standard in place, and there are two separate cultures in Crete. (click image below to enlarge).

13th and Main	12th and Main
Juniper and East 1st	13th and Main
123 E. 13th	248 E. 13th

2. What about the Crete Chamber of Commerce? Surely it wants to encourage business development and without regard to ethnicity?

ANSWER: You've got to be kidding (ha! ha! ha!).

The Crete Chamber of Commerce operates as an incestous entity to promote and generate revenue for itself; it does not promote, cross-market, or network with Crete businesses, such as Shopko, to strategically improve their return-on-investment, or operating capacity, or profitability. As represented by the Chamber's web site:

(1) you will not immediately find direct links to any member business web site;

(2) you will not find any graphics, downloads, or related materials or events promoting any member business;

(3) you will not find any audio or video content promoting any member business;

(4) you will not find any dedicated content particular to women owned businesses or minority owned businesses.

(5) you will not find a calender dedicated to promoting events, cross-marketing activities, or networking for member businesses.

So, why should any business, especially Latino businesses, join the Crete Chamber of Commerce since it does not promote "business," White or otherwise?

The Crete News Business Directory is the only service dedicated to promoting any business in Crete, including women and Latino owned businesses: with immediate links to company web sites; promotional art and downloads; local and national audio and video content; cross-marketing and networking with area businesses; and a dedicated calendar promoting Crete businesses, community events, and area schools and universities.

The Crete Chamber of Commerce's 2018 Chamber Event Planning Guide does not strategically and routinely target on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis the business development of any individual businesses or categories of business (note the following linked examples highlighted in green), such as: churches, dentists, automotive repair and service, restaurants and special events, women owned businesses, minority owned businesses, start-up businesses, etc.

As validated by the Chamber's calendar of events, instead of focusing on the strategic promotion, marketing, and networking of businesses in Crete, it remains the Chamber's practice to overwhelmingly promote events specific to Doane University and Crete Public Schools. The Crete Chamber of Commerce does not give attention to "business" events specific to its membership (business anniversaries, special promotions or discounts, cross-marketing and networking events, seminars, etc.). Likewise, the Chamber does not give any attention or frequent outreach to women-owned or Latino businesses, and the web site is not bilingual to meet the needs of Spanish speaking businesses and entrepreneurs. Why is that? Is this racism or incompetence?

3. What about the broadcast media? Surely broadcast media want to encourage business development and without regard to ethnicity, right?

ANSWER: Again, you've got to be kidding (ha! ha! ha!).

In June 2016, the CBS-TV broadcast affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska 1011News broadcast a collection of ten-(10) videos spotlighting Crete, Nebraska. Unfortunately, as represented by the graph below, 1011News made absolutely no attempt to showcase an accurate profile of Crete, Nebraska, and they intentionally ignored Latino businesses in Crete, Nebraska.

a. As validated by the U.S. Census, Crete, Nebraska was 35.7% Latino in 2010 and is clearly much greater six years later, but 1011News did not feature one-(1) Latino business or cultural event.

b. 1011News did not report that the on-going increase of Crete's Latino population is why the new high school was built in Crete; Crete Public Schools is 55.1% Latino!!!

c. Nearly one-half of all businesses in Crete are women-owned, but not one women-owned business was featured.

d. Absent from the 1011News reporting was the fact that the overwhelming majority of people who work in Crete, Nebraska do NOT actually live in Crete, Nebraska!!!

Plus, Crete is also an aging community, but this was not conveyed in the reporting.

The absence of due dilligence by 1011News to conduct and to subsequently broadcast an objective overview of Crete is evidence of negligent reporting, and reflects poorly on 1011News and its owner Gray Television, Inc.

Race is NOT the issue, but skewed reporting makes it so!

The failure to showcase (without regard to Title VII) the diversity of businesses and cultures in Crete - from the smaller “mom and pop” businesses to larger businesses like Sid Dillion, Nestle Purina, and Farmland - yes, this “failure” is the issue and problem.

Unfortunately, whether intentional or unintentional, it’s an extremely common practice for White-owned and White-controlled news and media companies, especially in Nebraska, all with senior management and news staff who are predominately White and male (like 1011News) to ignore and not report on "White flight” and the subsequent evolution of communities like Crete, Nebraska. 1011News should have done better!

4. Is the City of Crete going to do anything to reduce or elimate the ethnic, cultural, and racial divide in Crete, Nebraska?

ANSWER: Nope. You've got to be kidding (ha! ha! ha!).

Latinos are not represented on the Crete City Council, but it will change concurrent with White flight due to the demographic profile of the student population at Crete Public Schools, which is 63% Latino at the elementary school, 63.71% Latino at the intermediate school, and 39.2% Latino at the high school.

When it was determined Farmland/Smithfield Foods, Inc. would employ nearly two thousand workers to process fresh pork, hams, bacon and sausage products at their plant located between Crete, Nebraska and Wilber, Nebraska political and business leaders of both towns met to decide were to put "those Latino people," who would likely be hired to work at the plant. Wilber said, "No." So, Latinos were essentially dumped in Crete, Nebraska to live in older homes or low-income housing primarily located in floodplain areas.

The overwhelming majority of people who work in Crete actually live outside of Crete, which is due in part to the lack of existing and new housing. Despite the increase in Crete's Latino population and the growth of Latino businesses, new business growth is not linked to an increase in new housing for White people, and especially not for Latinos. In summary, a finite population base of City residents are forced to pay constantly increasing property taxes and utility fees to support the continued employment of non-residents, which establishes an extremely skewed and inequitable economic relationship between citizens and non-residents. In the absence of residency requirements for City employees, or payroll taxes from all non-residents working in Crete, here’s what typically occurs:

a. Insufficient tax-base to maintain, meet service demands, or repair existing streets or to create new streets;

b. Insufficient tax-base to maintain, meet service demands, or repair existing utilities (water, electric, and franchise agreements); and

c. Insufficient tax-base to spur home ownership and business development.

5. What happened first, the chicken (White people who own or control all of corporate America, government, politics, entertainment, public education, etc.), or the egg (White people who, due to racism, ignorance, stupidity, or whatever blatantly refuse to live next to or work with Latinos or other minorities)?

ANSWER: It doesn't matter, because Crete's progress is hijacked by overt racism and incompetence. There's an absence of leadership to make economic, political and social life in Crete, Nebraska . . . equitable. And that's a shame because White lives matter, and Black lives matter, and Latino lives matter, and Asian lives matter, and Native American lives matter, and Women matter, and Disabled people matter, and Veterans matter, and children matter, and seniors matter. Everybody matters!!!

I welcome your feedback.

Trip Reynolds
trip.reynolds@yahoo.com

Reynolds' Rap April 23, 2018 © 2017-2019 Tripoetry. All Rights Reserved. First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.