Forum Replies Created
-
-
My photos are from the Bronx during the 70s and 80s. The Bronx started as an immigrant neighborhood that was further desolated and isolated after a highway was built through it. This is typical of urban renewal projects; they targeted minority neighborhoods and often made conditions worse for people by using slum clearance rather than actually providing opportunities and better living situations. I wanted to choose these photos because I felt that the Bronx embodies the black spatial imaginary that Lipsitz mentions. The people living in the Bronx were forced to rely on each other and their community to get products and resources they needed and wanted. This idea, mixed with oppression and violence, led to the birth of hip-hop.
Without this segregation, the abandoned buildings, parents having to work more than middle or upper class families, and the blending of cultures from POC communites, hip-hop never would’ve been created. I think there is a sense of pride that comes from being from the Bronx, and that comes from the culture they created despite the system working against them. The Bronx was physically destroyed by government projects and social violence but that pushed the community to create that “spatial imaginary”. While it was still a struggle for people living there and it shows patterns of segregation going on all over the U.S. it also shows how communities of color have been able to reclaim space and fight against the system of oppression. (honestly, I tried to shorten what I was had to say and I know there is a lot more to this history but I tried my best)
Photographer: Mel Rosenthal
Sources:
https://ny.curbed.com/2016/5/27/11798880/south-bronx-mel-rosenthal-photos-nyc-1970s-mcny
-
I chose these images to represent segregation between schools in America. I think a lot of people still have the idea that separate can be equal when it cannot. As we briefly mentioned in class one day, large amounts of funding for schools come from property taxes; therefore, school funds and quality is somewhat dependent on home values. On top of that, those who can afford to, often send their children to private schools. Looking at the historical racism and oppression in this country brought about by Jim Crow Laws, redlining, and other discriminatory policies, people living in expensive neighborhoods and those who are able to send their kids to private schools are predominantly white. This has led to generational lack in education which continues to feed systemic racism in our country. When people in lower socioeconomic classes have limited access to higher education — along with many other amenities — there is no opportunity for upward mobility. It is important to see how these discriminations have historical roots and how they have been institutionalized. America has a single story of being able to achieve success by yourself and based on your own ability and drive. But the reality is that marginalized groups have been so oppressed that reaching similar levels of success across socioeconomic and racial groups is nearly impossible, and this has partly been achieved by the continuation of school segregation based on income levels and housing districts.
Source: https://twitter.com/estl189/status/851157725765672961
Posted on ESTL twitter, no photo credit.
Photo of East St. Louis high school students volunteering at Lincoln Middle School, one of the lowest performing schools in America which “happens” to be in a predominantly poor, black area of town. As somebody who grew up in Missouri, I know that East St. Louis has extremely high crime rates and dilapidated buildings but nobody really looks into why that area may be that way or why it is mostly only people of color living there. It is interesting learning about all the policies put in place over the years that have lead to the oppression against communities of color as opposed to the stories one always hears about it “being their own fault”.
-
For this week’s photo I chose a recent photo of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This photo was taken this year and is used in this article about her recent fight against cancer. However, this is not why I chose a photo of RBG.
RBG is not considered an activist by most people and in fact she is not truly an activist and certainly would not have been considered one during the 50s and 60s. While she was going to school and building her career during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, most of her notable accomplished happened in later years. So why did I choose her for this forum? I chose her for two reasons. The first is because I think she represents the progress that the Civil Rights Movement shaped for women. She not only benefitted from the work done by well known activists, but by seeking higher education and pursuing a career in government during the mid-late 1900s she showed what women are capable and can excel in places previously only available to men. My second reason is a little less positive. I think the recent releases of RBG and On the Basis of Sex show that aspects of the Civil Rights Movement live on today, have evolved, and continue to be necessary.
While those movies are a tribute to Ginsburg’s work and history, the popularity of them show another story. These movies are not only an inspiration for young women but show that having strong female role models is still a necessity in today’s world. The Civil Rights Movement changed so much for racial minorities and women, but inequalities still remain and it is important that people don’t turn a blind eye. I chose Ruth Bader Ginsburg because she not only shows how activism can be as simple as working hard and supporting a cause but also because she has been a modern example of how the Civil Rights Movement is ongoing and just as important now as it was in the past.
