Brittany Lowman
May 8, 2014
HIST380E
Title—subtitle
The South Bronx, New York City: another northern portrait of racial divide that naturally occurred in the span of less than a century, or a gradual, but systematic reformation based on the mistaken ideology of white supremacy? A quick glance through contemporary articles on The Bronx borough convey a continuation of less-than-ideal conditions, though recently politicians and city planners have begun to take a renewed interest in revitalizing the Bronx. (HU, NYT) Some common conceptions of the Bronx remain less than satisfactory—indeed, some will still express fear or disgust, while some others have expressed the fundamentally incorrect racial ideas studied here—but others recall the Bronx with fondness, calling it a once “boring” and “secure” neighborhood.(BRONX HIST JOURNAL, p. 1) What are we to do with such radically different accounts between The Bronx of yesterday, and the impoverished borough of today? If we speak in known, contemporary cultural stereotypes, then segregation is strictly a Southern design, but natural otherwise—but to record this as a natural occurrence, no different than a seasonal change or day turning to night, would be to ignore the underlying problem. The changing role of white Americans from majority to population minority in the Bronx, coupled with the borough’s title of “poorest urban county in America” (as of 2012), is the result of careful orchestration and a repeating story of economic and political gain superseding civil rights. (GONZALES, BRONX) (BRONX HIST JOURN, HARD KNOCKS IN BRONX @ poorest note ) It is not coincidence.
Noticing the influx of immigration and population boom in Manhattan at the end of the 19th century, a man named J. Clarence...
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... it effectively locked African Americans and Latinos into the poorly-kept and badly outdated rental properties.
Repeatedly, politicians, activists, landlords and even many of the residents themselves echoed the sentiment that nothing in the South Bronx mattered: it became “an area not worth saving.” The Charlotte Street that once represented promise as long as the family worked hard had crumbled, becoming just another target for planned arson. Most arson plans spread by word of mouth in the hopes that the fires would hit only buildings themselves, yet not everyone escaped the flames unscathed. Using a 1982 interview with Charles Lefkowitz on the subject of fire victims, Jonnes quotes, “One kid caught in it was a crispy critter by the time we got to him. The other two were badly burnt.”
TALK ABOUT WHY THE SHIFT TO BURNING. PAID ARSONISTS. YOUTH. CHARLOTTE STREET.
When people think of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, they think of crime and violence within the neighborhood. I myself have thought this about Bedford Stuyvesant before I did research and actually visited the neighborhood for myself. Bedford Stuyvesant in my opinion, has two different sides. The side the media portrays to us, the people, and the side people who actually visit/live in the neighborhood see for themselves. My visual representation above shows the two different sides of Bedford Stuyvesant. The first image shows the typical view of what people think of when they think of Bedford Stuyvesant, the projects. When people think of this neighborhood, they think of project buildings housing low income black families. The media portrays Bedford Stuyvesant as a
Originally published in 1999, Mary Pattillo’s Black Picket Fences explores the circumstances and conventions of the Black middle class, a group that has experienced both scholarly and popular neglect. In the Acknowledgments section of this work, Pattillo details the mentorship she received as a graduate student from William Julius Wilson at the University of Chicago. She recounts that Wilson often encouraged his students to extend, and even challenge his scholarly works, and that this urging provided the impetus for her research on the Black middle class (xiv). The challenge Pattillo (2013) refers to, becomes quite apparent when comparing her work to Wilson’s 1980 piece, The Declining Significance of Race. In this work, Wilson (1980) contends that in the industrial/modern era of the United States, class has surpassed race to be a salient factor of social stratification. He supplements his argument by referencing the progress and achievements of the Black middle class, relative to the “economic stagnation” of the Black underclass (p. 2). Pattillo (2013) offers a
The loss of public housing and the expanse of the wealth gap throughout the state of Rhode Island has been a rising issue between the critics and supporters of gentrification, in both urban areas such as Providence and wealthy areas such as the island of Newport, among other examples. With the cities under a monopoly headed by the wealth of each neighborhood, one is left to wonder how such a system is fair to all groups. Relatively speaking, it isn’t, and the only ones who benefit from such a system are white-skinned. With the deterioration of the economic status of Rhode Island, and especially in the city of Providence, more and more educated Caucasians are leaving to seek a more fertile economic environment.
Charles, Camille (2003). The dynamics of racial residential segregation. Annual Review of Sociology, 167. Retrieved from http://jstor.org/stable/30036965.
Vigdor, Jacob L. From Immigrants to Americans (The Rise and Fall of FittingiIn.) New York:
Many writers focus their works of written art on life situations. They focus on drugs, poverty, stereotypes, young adults living in a difficult world, and of course a topic that has been present for many years, male domination. Abraham Rodriguez Jr. in “The Boy Without a Flag” captures all these themes and more in his Tales of the South Bronx, that relate to the lives of many Hispanics and minority residents of the United States.
Pratt, R. A. (1992). In The Color of Their Skin: Eduation and Race in Richmond Virgina 1954 - 1989 (p. 4). Charlottesville: The University Press of Virigina.
Dumenil, Lynn, ed. "New York City." The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2012. Oxford Reference. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.
Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
The Civil Rights Era was one of the most important period of the social history of the United States. By the 1950’s, Unyielding segregation was the rule throughout the country, not just in the south. For decades, suburban neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington was majority whites, while the majority of the black population settled in the central parts of the city by force. Further, more than half of the black population lived in poverty, could not apply for many jobs or dealt with unfair employment practices and limited opportunities for getting an education, and their children forced to attend segregated schools. Today, Seattle is considered a progressive state with a reasonable record of racial integration; however, a few decades ago, Seattle, Washington was a very segregated city, with a long history of racism, prejudice, and racial segregated practices. Many stores, restaurants, hotels, and other commercial establishments, as well as hospitals had color barriers.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
An outburst in growth of America’s big city population, places of 100,000 people or more jumped from about 6 million to 14 million between 1880 and 1900, cities had become a world of newcomers (551). America evolved into a land of factories, corporate enterprises, and industrial workers, and, the surge in immigration supplied their workers. In the latter half of the 19th century, continued industrialization and urbanization sparked an increasing demand for a larger and cheaper labor force. The country's transformation from a rural agricultural society into an urban industrial nation attracted immigrants worldwide. As free land and free labor disappeared and as capitalists dominated the economy, dramatic social, political, and economic tensions were created.
In the early twentieth century, immigrants poured into Manhattan via steamships with the hopes of creating a better life for themselves. Steamship technology changed history because it brought people from all over the world together and gave them opportunities to start a new life in Manhattan. The steamship gave immigrants an opportunity to make the American Dream come true from themselves, however it was uncommon for immigrants to actually make their American Dream a reality. In his novel, Manhattan Transfer, John Dos Passos demonstrates the impact that the steamship and technology has on Manhattan. Although the steamship is what gave people access to Manhattan, it was not long before immigrants realized that Manhattan was the root of
While, Coates focus on Chicago’s struggle for rights in housing in terms of blacks and whites, there are more diverse examples of this in other cities. New York City is home to many neighborhoods of varying backgrounds and races. New York City has everything from Little Italy to Chinatown, but are those places restricted to people of that ethnic background? Legally, the answer is no. You cannot be denied housing because of your background or beliefs. However, this does not stop people from being denied anyway. New York City, while the most culturally diverse city, is also the most segregated. Many may see this isn’t a issue but it
During the last 10-15 years of the Progressive Era, more than 15 million immigrants arrived in the United States— a number equal to the total number of immigrants that arrived in the previous 40 years. In 1910, three-fourths of New York City's population was made up of either immigrants or first generation Americans. Unlike earlier immigrants, the majority of the newcomers during this time came from non-English speaking European countries. Immigrants mostly traveled in from...