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The Effects Of Gentrification On The African American Community

450 Words2 Pages

In this article from the NAACP’s monthly journal Crisis, the authors highlighted how gentrification negatively affects minorities by displacement, in particular those from the African American community. Furthermore, they made the argument that this systematic force needs to end in order to combat the spread of economic inequality. To back up their claim Portland, Oregon was used to back up their thesis of gentrification hurting the economically disadvantaged, because while it is cited as being the model gentrification hub, as well as one of the more progressive cities in the nation, African Americans have continually bore the brunt of the city’s continued rapid urban redevelopment with being priced out of their own neighborhoods, such as the …show more content…

Therefore, to help fight gentrification one must also seek the causes of economic disenfranchisement. Reading this article reinforced my belief that not enough is being doing to help alleviate the needs of the poor or the working class, we as a society would rather just throw money at the problem via entitlements, grants, etc. Without even understanding the issues that are helping to expand or compound the problems, things such as institutionalized racism, the black white paradigm, minorities feeling disposed and out of place in America. These problems exist in many communities throughout the country, yet there is a tacit denial to them and it is just swept under the rug, as if we as Americans would rather ignore than confront. Gentrification is much like this, some see it as progress but to many it is the erasing of cultures that have historically being disenfranchised by those in positions of privilege. While this article focused primarily on African Americans, it has not just been this community that has suffered (albeit they have taken a brunt of it), groups such as the working poor, women, gays, Latinos, the list is endless have had to fight an uphill fight to make their voices heard and understood, and this why economic inequality, as well as the issue of gentrification need to be addressed, because the cries and concerns from the residents effected by it are valid and

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There has to be a realistic solution that can be put into motion to benefit everyone involved. Referring again to his article “Is Gentrification All Bad?” Davidson argues that urban renewal, if done right, is not a monstrous custom that it is painted to be; nevertheless, he reasons that gentrification depends on who does it, how they do it, and why they do it. As a resident in New York, a city where gentrification is as widespread as the common cold in winter, Davidson speculates that those who go into a neighborhood with the intention to renovate houses, or abandoned buildings ought to have a good reason for it. The author points out that “Gentrification does not have to be something that one group inflicts on another…” (Davidson 349), rather, he suggests that everyone, the gentrifiers and the locals, be on the same page when it comes to developing their

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In Benjamin Markovits’ You Don’t Have To Live Like This, the reader experiences gentrification and views it from several angles. Because Detroit is a majority black city, being about eighty percent black, the racial tensions are severely heightened through gentrification. In context, race truly makes the first crack in the foundation of the gentrification project. Through the use of stereotypes, Markovits analyzes racial tensions throughout the novel and therefore, better satirizes and negatively characterizes gentrification in the United States. Robert James as a wealthy white man plays a pivotal role in the novel because he provides the funds for the entire gentrification project in Detroit.

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Many proponents as well as advocates of gentrification like to use in many regard as code words to back up their claim that gentrification brings “revitalization” “urban renewal” and more importantly “enhances” the community. However, these are what many who are critical of gentrification deem to be “ code words”, because they appear to be ones that exude positivity when they are in fact not expressing the full story of the argument, because underneath this creeping positivity. There still exists this form of stereotyping that minorities, or those from lower socioeconomic means cannot create something that is unique or successful on their own. Furthermore, what existed in their communities before gentrification was one that brought little to no value to society.

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One way in which this fear is implemented is by increasing the inequality between races. Urban planning, in particular, has played a large role in this as it has historically advantaged some people while putting others at a disadvantage. From gentrification and racial disparities in law enforcement to practices such as blockbusting and redlining, it is apparent that policies and decisions made by city planners were not designed to benefit everyone equally. Particularly the Housing Act of 1949 and the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Both of these policies displaced residents through the use of eminent domain and condemnation laws (Budds, “How Urban Design Perpetuates Racial Inequality – And What We Can Do About It”).

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Lance Freeman, an associate professor of urban planning in Columbia, wanted to investigate if there was any displacement going on in two predominantly black neighborhoods that was briskly gentrifying. Much to his dismay, he couldn’t find any correlation between gentrification and displacement. What was surprising to Freeman was his discovery, “poor residents and those without a college education were actually less likely to move if they resided in gentrifying neighborhoods”. (Sternbergh, 19) Freeman adds, “The discourse on gentrification, has tended to overlook the possibility that some of the neighborhood changes associated with gentrification might be appreciated by the prior residents.” (Sternbergh, 19)

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