A Bitter Take on Gentrification
This opinion piece from Friday’s Washington Post may have been written by a resident of the nation’s capital but we suspect it might have some resonance here in Brooklyn. Here’s what I see: long-term African American residents leaving the city, and not by choice. Their old neighborhoods are being taken over by young, white professionals…
This opinion piece from Friday’s Washington Post may have been written by a resident of the nation’s capital but we suspect it might have some resonance here in Brooklyn.
Here’s what I see: long-term African American residents leaving the city, and not by choice. Their old neighborhoods are being taken over by young, white professionals who are the beneficiaries of educational and social opportunities that this African American population never had. Many of these African Americans raised families in the old brownstones in my neighborhood, but they rented from absentee landlords who now have been more than happy to sell out to developers. A historically disadvantaged people has been disadvantaged once again.
And apparently there is a memo I didn’t get. The one that says: “Whenever you see a non-white person in the neighborhood, be sure you strike an immediate hard look on your face to be sure they know you are not friendly.” What are they thinking? Do they wonder who lived in these houses before the developers ran them out? What the hell do they think racism is anyway?
Not surprisingly, the comments are where the action is. Reactions ranged from “It sounds to me like you have a serious chip on your shoulder” to “I’m white, college educated…etc. But I know what he’s talking about” to ” Mr. Carlso confuses demographic change with racism and, in turn, becomes racist.” See the entire story and all the comments here.
I am white and have lived in 80%+ AA density neighborhoods (for lack of a better explanation) for more than a few years. When i moved back to a more white neighborhood, i was reminded how generally more “cold” the white city culture is – which brought back memories of my initial impression of how welcoming AA communities are (after all, they are more empathetic to what the white person in an A-centric neighborhood feels like).
As you get closer towards the epicenter of “cool” white city vibe the chill becomes quite frigid – just between white people. So even if you are AA from the burbs, this general mindset might be interpreted much more dramatically than it deserves. HOWEVER, i know plenty of “corporate” city “invaders” – even open-minded ones – that never had an AA friend and really have no clue how to (re)act. While still light years ahead of 10, 20 years ago – there is probably “something” to the “feeling” of the perceived indifference but not as objectively correct as they think. More lack of culture perception / reality and awkwardness than racial.
Also, yes the concept of anyone being “native” to a neighborhood is obnoxious. Ask the palestinians what they think of israel and vice versa.
The author also didn’t see the countless (liberal) academic studies that show the problem to be a poverty one. Being geographically isolated from the endless sea of trailer parks probably skews the perception, so this could be forgiven. However, the circumstances indeed are different, proximity to wealth is a double edged sword. I’m not sure people in detroit are complaining about the same experience. Though i’m fairly certain they have found another circumstance to blame. And i’m not certain their president buys into that one on a wholesale basis either.
The author also didn’t see the countless (liberal) academic studies that show the problem to be a poverty one. Being geographically isolated from the endless sea of trailer parks probably skews the perception, so this could be forgiven. However, the circumstances indeed are different, proximity to wealth is a double edged sword. I’m not sure people in detroit are complaining about the same experience. Though i’m fairly certain they have found another circumstance to blame. And i’m not certain their president buys into that one on a wholesale basis either.