July 2, 2008
Richmond Voice: all black people are poor
The Richmond Voice has published another racist and poorly written piece on gentrification (previously), this time looking at Manchester:
Faison says she went to the library to investigate the history and found out the neighborhood was predominantly white. The high-dollar homes could be a clear indication that the neighborhood eventually will become what it was. Faison explains they are seeing high-dollar renovations on surrounding homes and $200,000 condos for sale. She adds, at those rates and prices the area will become too expensive for Blacks to reside in. [...] Although this plan is supposed to include everyone one question remains will Blacks be able to afford it?
Is the article meant to spark a conversation, or is it meant to spread misinformation - or both?
This is one of those “Oh boy, take a deep breath” types of articles.
The Voice is a black newspaper to be sure, but wouldn’t it be a better approach to talk about the housing crisis in general, and how the economy is affecting us all. Everyone is feeling the squeeze, and it aint goin’ away soon.
I can see how long standing residents of that area are seeing a dramatic change in the area, and most of them happen to be black, but is it a good argument to make the statement like “Although this plan is supposed to include everyone one question remains will Blacks be able to afford it?” What about the middle class and upper middle class Blacks? I know many.
I think it would be more thought provoking and productive to say “How can our cities retain their longtime and fixed -income citizens and attract new development and encourage new residents to move in?
The article talks about $1500 a month residences, but they also say that 3 and 4 students are paying that rent - not one student.
This is a complex issue. It should not be written about it such a black and white way - literally. Nowhere in the article is there any discussion about possible solutions to the issue, or other perspectives. In my mind, that would have been better journalism.
What is the Richmond Voice’s aim here? How does it serve it’s readers? How does it serve the community at large?
According to the press kit for advertisings, most of the readers of the Voice fall into one the categories they have termed “affluent”: http://voicenewspaper.com/clients/voicenewspaper/RichReaderProfile.pdf
So, to whom are they trying to appeal?
The article is poorly written but if it were not for that last question, “…will blacks be able to afford it?” the piece wouldn’t be so racist.
The woman, Faison, that John quotes above also said she “…believes poor Blacks and whites along with the working-class are slowly getting moved out of the neighborhood.”
Growing up in Richmond, I remember seeing a lot of dirt poor white families, especially around the Hull Street area and in Oregon Hill. Where did they all go?
A lot of the poorer white families from Hull Street and Oregon Hill have moved further south along Jeff Davis or over to Mechanicsville.
I’m so embarrassed by this article. An unbelievable over simplification. Great! Thanks!
Here is an interesting article from Time Magazine that goes into what happens in a gentrifying neighborhood.
Yeah, South of Broad in Church Hill is teeming with blacks and hispanics.
That part of the city went through restoration in a different way, at a different time. This study seems more applicable to other, currently gentrifying areas — think Jackson Ward, Church Hill North, Union Hill, Fairmount. While none of these areas have much in the way of a hispanic population, the line “that at least one group of residents, high school–educated blacks, were actually more likely to remain in gentrifying neighborhoods than in similar neighborhoods that didn’t gentrify” struck me as relevant, and matches up with my experiences in the neighborhoods.
Bear in mind Church Hill was originally settled by more affluent whites.
My parents were far from affluent when they purchased a south of Broad Church Hill home in 1965. At times, they were starving artists. Around us, some buildings were boarded up and/or dilapidated.
There are still lots of old timers South of Broad and not-so-gentrified homes.
I don’t understand the blanketed contempt for people trying to fix up neighborhoods? I agree that development is, at times, really bad and irresponsible. But most of the time, regular people move in and fix up homes. They live in the hood and they contribute.
Gentrification is used as a pejorative all too often. There are middle class Hispanics and Blacks who have moved in on my block, having bought recently renovated homes. Are they gentrifiers? Are they the bad folks that are driving out the poor blacks?
[...] their signature style, the Voice article first simplifies a complex issue and then throws in a dash of racist paranoia by [...]