Reply to Can Gentrifers Use Their Skills and Resources to "Make" a Great School?

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Reply to "Can Gentrifers Use Their Skills and Resources to "Make" a Great School?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I hope you're well intentioned, but you come off as super condescending.[/quote]

And naive, sheltered and stupid.   And white, 30 years old, and from Evanston, IL.  I have no doubt, however, that OP takes tests well and writes scintialting reports for her non-profit.[/quote]

Yes.  Publicly liberal, privately segregationist.  Oh, Democrats...[/quote]

You're going to blame them, after all the hate hurled in their direction?[/quote]

Hate hurled in this city is rarely, if ever, at Democrats.  We're all so busy vilifying Brian Williams for his lies, exaggerations, and outright fabrications that we're giving Hillary Clinton a free pass for doing the exact same thing.

The point remains that in this very Democrat city, we all talk a big game, but when push comes to shove everyone who isn't poor, either moves or becomes a closet segregationist.[/quote]

You seem to be forgetting that the segregation was already in place before the gentrifiers came along.

Gentrifiers buying homes in already-segregated neighborhoods are the exact opposite of segregationists.  
Gentrifiers sending their kids to already-segregated schools are the exact opposite of segregationists.
Gentrifiers trying to make those neighborhoods and schools more attractive to a more diverse group of people is the exact opposite of segregation.

Seems to me the argument is exactly backwards.

The resistance to gentrification is what is pro-segregationist.[/quote]

That is the easy narrative.  I think you can assume that the first people that move in are often more open, desirous of living in a neighborhood and more often than not see its price point as being a critical part of moving into a neighborhood.  I know as a white person that moved into Brookland in the 90's it was the cost issue more than anything that drew us.   Since that time we have seen much better off white and black families move into significantly upgraded homes.  The price point has significantly shifted.  This is good for older African Americans that are selling now, they should get the reward for a better market, but all those upper class families including myself are not investing as much into the community, especially into the schools.  They continue to be largely segregated.  I make myself feel better in saying I want a diverse school and we do attend a diverse school with no one group being the majority.  But gentrification really does represent choices of those that are wealthier, not increased power to the preexisting community.

[/quote]

Communities come and go - I'm not sure what you mean by "increased power to the preexisting community" - the preexisting community of 5 years ago is not the same pre-existing community of 25 years ago, which is not the same as the preexisting community of 50 years ago, which is not the preexisting community of 75 years ago, why would one particular snapshot in time of a community take precedence over all others?

And as for "increased power" - power to do what, and how would it be meaningfully different than what others want?  Gentrifiers want safe, walkable communities, with good schools and amenities.  Don't we all want that?  Where things might diverge is in real estate prices.  Gentrifiers want affordable houses, but they also tend to view their property as an investment, chances are they made far more of a financial outlay and sacrifice than the person who's been living there for 25 years, and as such the gentifiers want to protect their investments.  On the downside, it tends to drive property prices up.  But on the up side, the folks who've been living there for 25 years now have an opportunity to sell for far more than they otherwise would have ever imagined being able to get.  [/quote]

^^ The added supports and help that the poorer residents want most from local government don't grow on trees.  They come via tax base - which comes from having wealthier people, and specifically gentrifiers, coming back into the city. [/quote]

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