Following the Louisiana Supreme Court’s allowing for a new predominantly white city to be built outside East Baton Rouge Parish, a deeper look is being taken into the rising number of “white fortresses” in the Bayou State and Georgia.
Last month, clearance was put in place for the new city of St. George, Louisiana, which would take 100,000 people from East Baton Rouge Parish to form the new wealthier and whiter city with a Black population of just 12%, Bloomberg reports. Considering East Baton Rouge Parish’s 47.2% Black population, the formation of St. George presents itself as a secession of sorts that highlights a form of modern-day segregation.
It’s estimated that the new city of St. George will divert $48.3 million in annual tax revenue from East Baton Rouge Parish, accounting for nearly 8% of the parish’s total tax revenue.
The findings highlight how seceded cities can take resources from the predominantly Black communities they leave behind, in a process known as “white fortressing.” These white fortresses are often able to further their pre-existing advantages by constraining resources to the left-behind underrepresented areas in the form of public school funding, access to local revenue, and zoning control.
Those in support of St. George’s formation say it’s a long time coming for residents who reportedly have yet to get a return on the taxes they contributed to East Baton Rouge Parish.
“St. George’s taxpayers provide two-thirds of the revenue to the East Baton Rouge Parish government with only one-third of that government’s expense in return. Incorporating a city would reverse this unjust circumstance to an extent,” St. George’s website states.
Source: Critics Say the ‘White Fortresses’ of Georgia And Louisiana Perpetuate Modern-Day Segregation
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