[Ken H]

So your conclusion is the RACIAL MAKEUP and CULTURE of the population is the most important factor that influences the thriving or decaying of a city?

Yes.

I know of no majority black city in the US that is NOT riddled with crime and decay. I know of no city in the US with a black population of under 5% that IS riddled with crime and decay.

Can anyone provide examples of cities where the above is NOT true?

[x]

I know of no majority black city in the US that is NOT riddled with crime and decay. I know of no city in the US with a black population of under 5% that IS riddled with crime and decay.

An American city with an African-American population under 5% is what? A suburb? A big town? If you have a city of large enough size, all other things being equal it will have a large Black population and it will have big city problems.

The cities with the smallest Black populations are Provo UT and Brownsville TX. Both have had corruption problems in recent years, if the newspapers aren't lying. Lowell MA manages to have fewer than 5,000 Blacks (under 5% of the population). Still, it doesn't have a reputation as the nicest place to live (sorry, if anybody out there does live there).