Jennifer J. Nelson’s “Panthers or Thieves”: Racialized Knowledge and the Regulation of Africville focuses on the stereotypical, one-sided, approach that faced most research studies and publications about Africville in the early to mid- twentieth century. The Black community of Africville was understood to be a poor and racialized slum; ultimately key factors in its demise. The city of Halifax viewed it to be their “dump” where all social services were lacking, social conditions declined and a history of poverty was going to be indicative of how the region would be defined in the years before its destruction (Nelson 121-122). It became known to
Signify many things in the dominant community and for outsiders generally: a slum; a repository for the wastes of society; a site for danger, degeneracy, the lawlessness; a social problem; an object of pity, a site of attempted social reform and rescue; a place of daring escape and transgression (133).
The decision to do away with the long-standing community was reflected in academic studies and city-commissioned planning reports as a means t...
The case of the so-called “Black Donnellys” is indicative of social and community relations during the nineteenth century in Upper Canada. Characterized by frontier agriculture, a growing but weak authority structure, and an influx of emigration, mob justice complemented the legal system nefariously. The arson of the Donnelly's home, as well as James Senior's imprisonment demonstrate the role of these two powers in society. I will argue that Upper Canada during the mid to late nineteenth century reacted to increased crime with both community power, in the form of vigilante justice, and legitimate authority, in the form of the penitentiary system; this uptick in crime coincided with settlement of the land by British emigrants. The factors that surrounded this phenomenon were emigration, land, crime, vigilante power, and legal enforcement, particularly the role of the Kingston Penitentiary.
Toronto is a city that is simultaneously rich in its ethnic diversity, yet paradoxically finds itself constrained by its colonial heritage. This is important, as colonial representations of race pervade history across...
This article study will define the important aspects of space and racial identity that are defined through Canadian Constitutional law in “When Place Becomes Race” by Sherene H. Razack. Razack (2002) the historical premise of a “white settler society” as the foundation for spatial hierarchies in the Canadian society, which reflect a racial divide in the community. The white settler society was based on the Anti-Terrorism Act, within Canadian law, which reflects the post-9/11 culture of the Canadian government that has become racialized in the early portion of the 21st century. Razack utilizes the important method of “unmapping” to reconstruct the racial histories that
There are many examples of cities reforming itself over time, one significant example is Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. More than a hundred years after the discovery of gold that drew thousands of migrants to Vancouver, the city has changed a lot, and so does one of its oldest community: Downtown Eastside. Began as a small town for workers that migrants frequently, after these workers moved away with all the money they have made, Downtown Eastside faced many hardships and changes. As a city, Vancouver gave much support to improve the area’s living quality and economics, known as a process called gentrification. But is this process really benefiting everyone living in Downtown Eastside? The answer is no. Gentrification towards DTES(Downtown Eastside) did not benefit the all the inhabitants of the area. Reasons are the new rent price of the area is much higher than before the gentrification, new businesses are not community-minded, and the old culture and lifestyle of the DTES is getting erased by the new residents.
Vancouver currently maintains an image as a sort of maternal ethnic melting pot, a region rich in cultural diversity and with a municipality that is both tolerant and welcoming of various displays and traditions. However, upon closer examination of recent history, it becomes clear that the concept of the city embracing minorities with a warm liberal hug is both incorrect and a form of manipulation in itself. The articles Erasing Indigenous Indigeneity in Vancouver and The Idea of Chinatown unravel the cultural sanitization that occurred in Vancouver at the turn of the nineteenth century as means of state domination. Through careful synthesis of primary documents, the articles piece together the systematic oppression suffered by BC indigenous
Furthermore, both articles “Gentrification: A Positive Good For Communities” and. “The Deeper Problems We Miss When We Attack ‘Gentrification’” exhibit their opinion on the positives of gentrification and the potential of “revitalization” in low-income urban communities. Badger argues that gentrification brings nothing more than further opportunities for urban communities while integrating citizens of different social classes. Furthermore, she continues to question if gentrification is in fact the monster that brings the prior expressions against gentrification where she says “If poor neighborhoods have historically suffered from dire disinvestment, how can the remedy to that evil — outside money finally flowing in — be the problem, too?”(Badger) Stating that the funds generated from sources external that are brought into these communities can’t be problematic.
...ng for conditions and situations, the habitants of a cultural society will reflect what that society may bring to them.
Most of our children want to grow up in a peaceful community where they can live their lives and become successful adults” (“Your City”). Because this area has been subject to consistent historic change, its past is rocky, which accurately mirrors the struggle of the African American people. In order to achieve a better understanding of both the African American community and its cultural hub, it is essential to know the area’s unique cultural history. From Renaissance to riots, drug wars, violence and poverty, Harlem’s history as the cultural epicenter of America’s Black community may shed some light on the evolution of its current culture, people and stereotypes. In the 1920s, Harlem, New York had reached a cultural peak; “it became the most famous and influential black American ghetto” (Weisbrot).
Sherman Alexie’s Gentrification first sets out to show the effect a white man has on his black community, but ends out taking a deeper dive into the protagonist, instead. Gentrification is littered with the internal struggles this person faces as a minority in his community. The white protagonist of this short story appears very self-conscious of his race, perhaps even apologetic.
The theme examined East St. Louis and its non-favorable living conditions, a black community profoundly in lack observably beneath the poverty line breakable due to dangers of non- stability with few jobs and meager pay as a result of a fiscal deficit. City hall, the administration building of a municipal government, a representation of power appearing to be powerless without wealth. Constitutes an area of emergency as it becomes clearer the reality of this adversity is regarded within the social problem perspective on a macro level. According to Kozal (1999) “The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development describes it as “the most distressed small city in America” (Pp. 343-35). By far, this illustrates social problems are not necessarily self-inflicted”. Certainly this tragedy is a c...
Twenty years ago, Stack sought to explain why the impoverished area was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is unstructured would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined – or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the notion that “distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat...
Coatham, V., & Martinali L. (2010) The role of community-based organisations in sustaining community regeneration: An evaluation of the development and contribution of Castle Vale Community Regeneration Services (CVCRS), International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 30(1/2), 84 – 101.
Since the first Africans arrived in what is now present day America in the 1500s, there has been reaffirming data supporting the importance of community to people of African descent. Despite large efforts to destroy this aspect of the African experience, many African Americans have maintained their kinships especially when the foundation is birthed from ethnic parallels. As a result of this affirmation, Dr. Mary Pattillo’s assertion on the present day black middle class and their commitment to restoring their community of North Kenwood- Oakland in her book, Black on the Block is no surprise. However, what is shocking is that the same declaration cannot be said for the African American middle class during what Dr. Pattillo deemed the ‘Black
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
Before African Americans moved to this area, Harlem was “designed specifically for white workers who wanted to commute into the city” (BIO Classroom). Due to the rapid growth of white people moving there and the developers not having enough transportation to support those people to go back and forth between downtown to work and home most of the residents left. Th...