The first Black officer with the LVPD quit, after a woman spat on him and called him the N word. Of course, his fellow officers offered no support. Vegas was an historically segregated town. N. Las Vegas was reserved for the Black residents, most of whom provided services to the Strip. This town was so racist that Black stars who performed at the casinos, couldnt stay in the hotels, until Sammy Davis Jr. refused to perform, unless this changed. Despite the fact that a lot of families had a hard time surviving on casino wages, many Black residents managed to own their homes. The real estate boom fiasco, changed everything. More importantly, given the water situation, the last thing this town needs, is more people. Adding fuel to fires of police violence are businesses in the area which encourage a larger police presence downtown. The Zappos Shoe Corporation, for example, has duped the local government into letting them “revitalize” the downtown area. Working with the city’s blessing and assistance, the company is spearheading gentrification in the area many of us have lived our whole lives in. The media of course promotes this effort as though Zappos were some prophetic savior, come to rid us of the “dirty” and “unsafe” downtown, and, as usual, the police are front and center in this mafia-style protection racket. Companies with more than one hundred patrons are now required by law to hire Las Vegas Police Officers as security, to aid in cleaning up the downtown corridor. seattlefreepress.org/2013/01/30/police-violence-and-gentrification-in-las-vegas/
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 10:35:14 +0000