Gentrification: Class Discussion

Is Gentrification really a race thing?

In class this past week we talked a lot about gentrification and its involvement with race. We discussed how predominately black communities or communities that had mostly residents that were minorities, were targets for Gentrification. Specifically Harlem, we discussed in class after reading the article “The End of Black Harlem” written y Micheal Henry Adams, that Harlem was the mecca for black culture. It was as he states “a home for people fleeing oppression and seeking opportunity”. That it was, as many African Americans migrated to Harlem fleeing harsh conditions, lack of opportunity, and racial discrimination in the South. This created a black capital, and a birthplace for so much culture and black history. To now see that it may be the end of that because of gentrification is heartbreaking. The displacement of the people results in the displacement of culture. What I can never understand is why we cannot revamp cities without displacing working or middle class people, and not just in Harlem but cities all over the country that have been centers for creative expression like Brooklyn, New Orleans, Chicago, and others. We also discussed gentrification in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the conflict between the Hasidic Jew community and the hipster biker community. I found it interesting how the Hasidic Jew community effectively removed the bike lane simply because they did not like the type of people the bike lane was attracting, and how it was done so efficiently for them. Yet in predominately black neighborhoods concerns are either not heard, or met quickly or at all. It really makes you wonder, is this about race? Are black and communities with minorities not respected enough to get their needs met, without displacing the community? Also where are these people supposed to go, when they came here because the were previously displaced?