Home and Gentrification

Last class we had a few members from Communities Unite come and speak with us. They brought up some points that really impacted me. John talked about that how the police running tanks through the neighborhoods and setting up riot lines did nothing to help ease the situation, it only exacerbated the pain members of the community were feeling and transformed their pain into intense anger. Also, all of the police action that was taken showcased to the children of the community that the police do not trust them. John also mentioned that the police action that is taken now, such as helicopters flying overhead on a nightly basis, only helps to serve these two previous points. I had not truly thought too much about how the police action would affect the children, but they are raised to be distrustful of the police because the police are already distrustful of them. Rochelle said that there are kids starving not even 15 miles away from our campus and that she “shouldn’t have to tell [us] that.” That was information we should have already known according to her, and in all honesty she is right. Being so poorly informed about the city we live next to and the people living in it is a detriment to us and to the people who need our help.

I feel that there is a lot more we can add to the radio series after just a couple of our classes. We now have a larger understanding of the historical reasons and context behind the issues that are being dealt with today.  This is information that needs to be shared with people, because I am fairly certain most individuals would be surprised to hear it. I believe that personal accounts of the hardships the African-American community endures will also be more impactful when the reasons behind why they are enduring them become clearer.

A question for next panel:

I would like to know if there is a particular policy that needs to be reformed more than others to combat racial disparities (maybe one that makes it difficult to prosecute police, or one that leads to higher incarceration rates, etc.), and what changes to that policy would you want to mak