Reading Response 10/31

The readings for this week made me mull over some still unanswered questions of my own. I didn’t know how to respond or speak on For Many Latinos, Racial Identity Is More Culture Than Color because I feel it’s not my place to do so. In Confessions of a Black Gentrifier, the content discussed was relatable. As a transplant to New York City I guess I’m a gentrifier, although I see someone who moves to another city for education in a different population than someone who moves post higher-education. Since I was born and raised in a culturally diverse city that has seen my own neighborhood change right before my eyes, I have a keener awareness on my surroundings and a need to cultivate relationships in the communities I live in. The article described a black gentrifier as “simultaneously invisible and self-conscious” because you don’t want to stick out but you’re also not going to completely assimilate to your surroundings. The article points out how black gentrifiers often fly under the radar, whatever that means I’m not too sure. However, as a black gentrifier I find it extremely important to support black businesses and other businesses ran by people of color.

The second topic of interest brought up in the article is how one dresses determines the way in which people approach you, especially as a person of color. It’s interesting to look at this idea in the sense of gentrification rather than just as a minority. The way I dress in a particular moment can determine the way certain people decide to interact with me on the street. However, as a gentrifier the best thing you can do in a new community is create relationships with the people in your neighborhood and establish a line of trust no matter the way you look, act or dress.