Yesterday, urban gossip blog, Mediatakeout.com posted a story on the Federal Bureau of Investigations recent data release of the top ten cities you just might get murked (translation killed) in. Here is the list:
1) New Orleans, La. – 57 0r 64 per 100,000 people
2) St. Louis, Mo. – 47 per 100,000 people
3) Baltimore, Md. – 37 per 100,000 people
4) Birmingham, Ala. – 36 per 100,000 people
5) Jackson, Miss. – 36 per 100,000 people
6) Detroit, Mich. – 34 per 100,000 people
7) Baton Rouge, La. – 30 per 100,000 people
8) Oakland, Calif. – 29 per 100,000 people
9) Flint, Mich. – 28 per 100,000 people
10) Richmond, Calif. – 27 per 100,000 people
The funny part about this list is that many of these cities are also cities that face huge environmental and economic justice issues. These are the cities that have been hit by the worst natural disasters, the collapse of blue-collar industries of automobile and steel and environmental degradation and public health risks from toxic sites like oil refineries, power plants and landfills.
Most of the residents of these cities are people of color and this triple edged sword of Crime, Joblessness and Environmental Injustice is what makes a city "Gritty".
But in the midst of grit, grime and crime are some diamond in the rough leaders, art, and new green businesses that are sprouting up and leading the way towards a new vision for American cities.
As part of our Gritty City Series we will highlight all ten of the cities mentioned above the good the bad and the plain "ol ugly. Subscribe to Checktheweather today so you can know what's up and who's in the know.
Oh and if you live in a Gritty City and got something we should know about give us a holla by commenting on this post.
The report media takeout referenced is City Crime Rankings 2008-2009: Crime in Metropolitan America. The Report was recently published by CQ press. Check out the listings and how your city ranks below or visit http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime2008/citycrime2008.htm
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