Gentrification: Colored Middle Class

Hailey Sellers-Francisco

Professor Lapriore

English- 100 (TA)

28 April 2016

Gentrification on the Colored Middle Class Over the course of time, a German-born British sociologist named Ruth Glass invented the term “gentrification” which is the renovation of areas and districts to meet middle-class needs and expectations for a living environment. Glass mentioned that gentrification happens when the “working class quarters have been invaded by the middle class… until all or most of the working class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed” (theguardian.com). Although Glass glorifies that gentrification will improve living and society as a whole, many people believe state officials are using this to

In the article, “The Disregarded Consequences of Gentrification in This New York City Neighborhood,” Darnell L. Moore states that “the changes in racial demographics and the social economic status of residents tend to be two of the most prominent features of gentrification” (mic.com). Many African American, Latino, and colored communities are being ran out of their houses and neighborhoods to find new homes and are being displaced with ‘higher’ people of society. In San Francisco the Mission district is home to the hispanic community; this district is packed with the hispanic culture through murals and events that happen in the streets, however, many of the generations that have lived there for fifteen years are more and being kicked out of their houses and are being pushed out into the east bay areas like Pittsburg and Antioch. In the article “Gentrification Spreads an Upheaval in San Francisco’s Mission District,” journalist, author, and editor Carol Pogash talks about the increasing rent in the Mission District due to emerging Silicon Valley techies. She mentions a story of a woman currently living in the Mission District who fought her case in court for eighteen months before winning against her eviction, but since the eviction she is in jeopardy of losing her family owned empanada restaurant because the people in her area are being ran out of their homes with no money. Gentrification is literally taking the money under this woman’s feet for the benefit of the government. In Washington D.C., where the president himself lives, the African American community has been targeted for redevelopment due to the deterioration of the community itself and the nature of the environment. In the article, “Beyond Gentrification: Hundreds Of DC Residents Being Forced From Their Homes,” author Sean Nevins speaks for the African