In 1983, in response to a crack house being operated across the corner from their home, my Mother organized a neighborhood block party to bring the neighborhood together to do what the Greensboro Police Department had been either unwilling or unable to do-- remove the crack dealers from our neighborhood.
My parents were tired of the vandalism, violence, theft, prostitution being practiced openly in my Mother's front yard, shootings, filth, noise and living in constant fear.
My 3 brothers and I weren't living there then but we came to help. The turnout was unbelievable. So many cars showed up we started parking cars in the crack dealer's yard. The crack dealers moved out soon there after.
That would be the last of those events I attended until about 10 years ago sometime after my Father died.
That was the beginning of our neighborhood night out. A year later, in 1984, National Night Out became official.
As my Mother-- the real hero-- grew older and her yard seemingly grew smaller the event became too much for Momma to handle. She eventually passed the torch to a neighbor on our block and the event was moved 2 blocks east to Textile Drive Park where it has been continuously operated every year since making it the oldest night out event in Greensboro bar none.
Last year the neighbors gave my mother a certificate of appreciation for her many years of hard work founding and organizing our community event.
Last night we held our 32nd night out event and unlike in years past, not nary 1 incumbent politician on Greensboro City Council bothered to show up. About a dozen Greensboro Police Officers dropped by just as they always do and a gentleman from Greensboro Parks and Recreation stopped by but no one from the Greensboro City Council or city management cared enough about our community to show their faces.
Last year everybody who was anybody showed up and last year wasn't even an election year.
And seriously folks, of all the National Night Out events in Greensboro wouldn't logic and common sense dictate that the event in my neighborhood is the one that I would report on. In other words, they know they can't lose so why bother?
