Homewood West is located in east Pittsburgh and is one of three neighborhoods that make up the Homewood community, along with Homewood North and Homewood South. Homewood West was once a prosperous neighborhood with an abundance of upper-class families and an economy that relied heavily on the city's rail system, making economic opportunities readily available and housing affordable and convenient (Allegheny County DHS 2010). African Americans were the first to live in Homewood. However, many white people moved into the neighborhood, causing tension within the community, at a time when racism was still a major factor in society. According to the Allegheny DHS (2010), in 1910, the population of Homewood was 30,000. The residents and workers who came to Homewood were skilled workers and small business owners (Allegheny DHS 2010). The social classes were those of a stable neighborhood; the upper middle class, the working family and the poor. This would change dramatically over the next century when a massive influx of African Americans migrated to Homewood. In the early 1960s, Homewood was 70 percent black (Allegheny DHS 2010). The riots that took place after the assassination of Martin Luther King caused damage to businesses, which led to the failure of the rail system, making it the main reason why demographic change caused the collapse of the Homewood Economy (Allegheny DHS 2010). This frightened middle-class white and black families, who left to seek more stable jobs in the city, as African Americans continued to flood into Homewood West's now unstable economy toward the end of the industrial era. Today, after the population decline, more than a third of people live in poverty, and 17...... middle of paper ...... but they use this senseless violence to get closer in as a community and see their trials and tribulations as a sign of strength as they overcome all these problems. Thanks to the positive and ambitious attitude of residents and programs like Operation Better Block to stop the deterioration of buildings and Homewood Children's Village which engages with children from the earliest stages of their lives, I truly believe that Homewood West can become a place where businesses can thrive. and parents won't have to worry about their children being caught in the crossfire of gang warfare on the way home from school. Nothing upsets residents more than seeing one negative media story after another, causing this negative stigma and driving everyone away. It's time for their voices to be heard and then we hope to hear a whole new story of Homewood West, one of peace and prosperity..