Urban Issues and Actions

In an effort to cut back on spending, many professionals in big metropolitan/urban areas who do not spend much time at home find themselves taking away hours or outright firing their nannies and hired servants.  Most of these professionals who work as financial accoutants, stockbrokers, lawyers, etc. have nice homes that need to be kept up as far as maintance and they also have children who should not be forced to raise themselves because their parents work too much.  Instead, these professionals hire nannies and maids who are usually paid under the table so that their homes are kept attractive, their children are in good hands, and also the parents who are working so much can take time off to themselves when they need it.  As a result, the professionals and hired servants find themselves bonding because there is a lot of trust, guidelines, and understanding that goes into allowing someone to gain access to your home and loved ones.  So therefore a friendship forms.  However, the problem comes where some of the workers the professionals hire are not legal citizens or don’t have other available job opportunities so now they are stuck on the street and their families suffer because of this as-well.  So, what’s happening is basically the economy is so bad off right now, that CEOs of companies are forced to layoff or make cut backs with their employees who are the professionals, and the professionals has to do the same to those who are literally filling in for them at home which effects the the hired house-worker’s families thus creating a depressing state of economy.  Hence the word “trickledown”.  Will the economy get better?  Sure it will.  But will it get better in time to save those who are being hurt financially by it now?  Probably not.

The Richmond Convention Center is going to become the next 7th St. Farmer’s Market – unused, forgotten and wasted money. After a year and a half of living in this city with so much potential I have decided that there are two reasons why Richmond will never be a place that people desire to visit: perennial identity crisis and a lack of regional representation abroad.             The identity crisis of Richmond should be studied like a disease all cities ought to fear. This is the city where British royalty came to make a new life, the city that produced nearly all weapons during the civil war, the region that at one point was the breadbasket of the world, and wanted to be (and very well could have been) the New York of the south. Slavery in this city was a way of life and left an indelible mark on the identity of Richmond. For an entire century after the Civil War this city (and the state) worked to segregate, oppress and ruin the black population that was fast becoming the most affluent community of formerly enslaved people anywhere. The American dream might have prevailed. What happened in the years between Appomattox Courthouse and today? The city lost everything. Lost the aristocratic appeal of urban plantations and European beauty, lost the progressive image of a capital that didn’t need northern reconstruction troops, and finally lost the prosperity and influence of being the largest industrial city in the south.            As a result, the majority of people who live in the greater metropolitan region do not truly know the city like it ought to be known. When I ask someone from Massachusetts where they’re from they usually say Boston even though they live an hour south – Boston is a city with pride. If someone from Chesterfield County tells me they’re from Richmond I would love for them to tell me how incredible it is. I want them to tell me about the hole-in-the wall Cuban food and the diverse population – the booming college town with VCU and MCV bringing people from all over the world who are willing to take the city in new direction. Unfortunately, when I ask them about Richmond they are thinking about Monument Ave., the Civil War and perhaps the state capitol. Why would I want to visit a city that hasn’t moved on from the past? Unfortunately, the city has moved on, but the minds of the people who live here are still stuck in the past.            As ambassadors for the city when we leave, how will we represent this place where we spent four years of our life? Don’t forget the past and the history that makes this city great, but also don’t be afraid to let the city redefine itself after one hundred and fifty years. It is not the same city and the country should begin to realize that.

At the end of every year the Congressional Quarterly Press releases its list of the safest and most dangerous cities in the United States. The methodology of the report seems straight forward, honest and unbiased. The Congressional Quarterly Press looks at the number of crimes in a location in relation to the number of people, and the types of crime committed. The list is then shopped to different news sources for them to spread the hysteria of the dangerousness of certain cities around the United States. For those who are interested the cities which made the list are:

1.       New Orleans, LA

2.       Camden, NJ

3.       Detroit, MI

4.       St. Louis MO

5.       Oakland, CA

6.       Flint, MI

7.       Gary, IN

8.       Birmingham, AL

9.       Richmond, CA

10.   North Charleston, SC

If you take the time to Google the top ten most dangerous cities you will see news story after news story, blog after blog, about people disparaging about their city’s appearance on the list, and people bemoaning the fact that their city is not on the list, despite the amount of crime. What we do not get is the truth behind the statistics.

                The first thing to look at is how the list is presented. It is called the “Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities”, when in fact it truly represents the cities with the most felonious crimes. However, framing it as the top ten most dangerous cities adds a value judgment to it with an element of sensationalism.  The word dangerous  has certain connotations and resonates with certain groups of people, and this is what causes the list to published year after year despite the FBI not using this reporting method since 2004 due to its representational inaccuracies.

                The second point is to look at is how this may affect the people who live in these communities. While outsiders may view this list as a warning of places not to go on their next vacation, hundreds of thousands of people call this home. How can a healthy community develop if your neighborhood along with the rest of the country is constantly force-fed how dangerous you are? The media and our ‘reputable’ news sources are perpetuating a vicious cycle of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which sociologist Robert Merton believed that if you keep reinforcing a false perception then eventually going to believe it’s true. Calling a city one of the most dangerous cities in the country immediately pushes the negative to the forefront and disguises any positive work that communities may be doing within these cities. We as a society have become so much more attracted to stories of failure as opposed to stories of success that we only want to hear the negative.

                My final problem with this list is the fact that it gives no context whatsoever. It does not mention how Detroit suffered and is still suffering from mass deindustrialization which may help account for its appearance on the list. It does not mention that New Orleans was literally devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and due to extremely slow governmental responses people are still left without homes, jobs and resources. The list does not talk about the race tensions in Richmond California and how it was heavily influenced by the second great migration during and after WWII.

                My point is, every city has a history. A set of factors which has caused it to develop into whatever it is today. No city is inherently dangerous or criminal, as this list may have you believe. In fact, most of these cities are in the situations they are in because of a complicated set of factors independent of the residents who live there. So before we subscribe to such lists why don’t we think about what these lists actually mean, and what are they doing. They are labeling a group of people who probably as dangerous, when in fact they may just be lacking the resources and infrastructure which another city may have been lucky enough to have. For this reason more people need to take classes like the Urban Crisis in America. So they can take lists like this and unpack them and look at how the variety of historical, economic and social factors intertwine to cause these cities’ conditions. And then, instead of planning on how to avoid them during your next road trip or family vacation, maybe we can start brainstorming on how we can begin to solve the problems which these cities face.

 http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank_Rev.pdf

The film, American Blackout, addressed how African-Americans are being targeted in elections and how tactics are used to keep them from voting. Also, the film discussed the controversial issue of the 2000 and 2004 elections. According to the film, President Bush should not have won each election and the only reason he did was because many of the Black democratic votes were not counted. Reasons for the votes not being counted included black’s names were put on a list of convicted felons when they should not have been and voting machines in urban areas were missing which hindered voter efficiency. There were many scholars who discussed this conspiracy done by the republicans to get Bush and keep Bush in office. The film encouraged Blacks to take advantage of their right to vote and keep republicans from using tactics against them.  This film sparked a couple of questions, issues and ideas in my head and made me focus on past and present politics and the current presidential race.

Although I do completely support the fact that Blacks as well as any other group of people should take advantage of their right to vote, I question a couple of themes presented in the film. First, I question the directors’ findings that led them to assert that Bush really did not win the presidency and that his party had led a conspiracy. There has been evidence from other independent research studies on the 2000 and 2004 election that show how Bush really did win the elections fairly. So, obviously someone’s research is false because both sides of the story cannot be true. Which one should Americans believe? I also question the political leaders from the Democratic Party and their efforts to encourage Blacks to vote. I just find it too convenient for the Democrats to blame republicans for wrong doings because Democrats know that statistics show the majority of Blacks vote democrat. So, the best way to gain the Black vote is to convince them your party will give them benefits and that the other party is outright against them. My personal opinion is that the Democratic Party takes advantage of Black voters. Blacks need to be weary of politics and realize that politics is a game about power, money and votes. The Democratic Party needs as many votes as possible just like the Republican Party needs the votes and so there is a race to see which party can gain the most. The more Blacks who vote democrat, the better the chance the Democratic Party will have in the race.

 I think that Blacks tend to have unrealistic expectations from the Democratic Party. I am a Black woman and I am constantly amazed of the number of Blacks who are still waiting for a president from the Democratic Party to give them things such as reparations from slavery. Even though Obama is a Black man, if he is elected, he will not give Blacks reparations. Yes, slavery was a horrible inhumane act that was done to Blacks in American history and I am not trying to minimize the hurt, pain and oppression that it has caused. I just think Blacks as a whole need to realize that they may never receive the apology or reparations they are waiting for.  So, the question is:  If Whites never formally apologize or give reparations through a government publicized event, then will Blacks continue to perpetuate their state of oppression, pain and anger for generations to come? Isn’t there a way for Blacks to find true freedom through other means rather than wishing for whites to hand it to them? Isn’t there a way that Whites can admit that they are privileged over blacks simply because of race?  Isn’t there a way for true racial reconciliation in the future?  I really believe that slavery has placed a stronghold on the Black race and until the stronghold is broken, Blacks will remain in the state of oppression. The most important question is: Who can take away that stronghold and grant freedom to Blacks?

On the final day of class, I thought to myself. I was wondering what we were going to do, although I knew that we were going over the book Street of Hopes, which I enjoyed reading during Thanksgiving break.  The book was different than any other book, in a sense that it brought a much needed hope. As we were discussing some of the important aspects of the book, I thought about saying something. It was strange because normally I don’t speak in class - not because I don’t know the issue we are discussing about, but because I am not comfortable speaking in public. Speaking in public is one of my biggest fears. But that day I had an urge to say something… something that I had learned from the book. But again it was my fear that won the battle; I didn’t say anything. Although I was disappointed at myself for not saying anything, I knew I could always write about my thoughts in my blog. That consoled me for a while. However, when Dr. Howard then asked about what we have learned through our experience this semester, I once again wanted to say something. I was just waiting for someone else to start, but when everyone started talking, I had already decided that I couldn’t talk. “But why not?” I thought to myself. But the answer was always the same: I am not comfortable speaking in front of everyone. Because of this, I was resisting it until everyone was done and there were only couple of us left. At that point, I felt as if Dr. Howard was looking at me and expecting me to talk. Maybe that is the reason I decided to say something, but whatever the reason was, I was finally able to speak. I remember talking about how I analyze Nepal and America constantly. This class has offered me a unique way at looking at the American society. It has provided me with so much knowledge on society and community that I constantly find myself analyzing how I grew up in Nepal and how people grow up here. In the process, I constantly ask Dominique about German society and find myself talking about different aspects. Although I admit that I disliked the long readings we had to do, finding it sometimes to be so boring that I would come close to giving up, when I look back today I realize how much I have gained from this class. I have gained an immense knowledge about the history of American society and also the structure of it. Now I feel as if I am aware of many problems in the society. Before, I constantly found myself criticizing the society for not being able to do well, but after taking this class I realized how difficult of a process it is to do something. I have also learned a valuable lesson through this class. If you want change, you have to dedicate your time towards it, as a society can be better if the people living in the society are well informed. That is when people can take action.

Cary, North Carolina is a suburb of Raleigh where I have lived for most of my life. It is the largest town in North Carolina, and CNN names it as the 5th fastest growing city in the country. In 2006, Money magazine listed Cary as the 5th best place to live.

If ethnic diversity, mixed-income housing developments, architectural variety, and accessible public transportation make an area healthy, Cary has none of the above. The town seems to be almost solely white, middle or upper class families. (The 2000 census recorded about 80% white population, and the median family income is  $98,360.) The architecture is mostly bland. The typical Cary house is described as “five over four with a door,” meaning five windows over four windows with a front door

Public transportation is essentially non-existent, or at least not used by Cary residents. The town is mostly comprised of affluent suburbanites. Because of Cary’s proximity to both the Research Triangle Park (the largest research park in America) and many prominent universities (UNC Chapel Hill, Duke), many residents of Cary have jobs in academia or research.

It is clear what makes Cary an excellent place to live. There is a lot of new development; new grocery stores, shopping centers and restaurants are at every corner. There are many good public and private schools. The average resident is well-educated and well-off. The weather is warm and sunny, and the landscape is pretty.

It also clear to me what Cary is lacking. It does not have socioeconomic or ethnic diversity. In one word, it is boring.

Cary brings one central question to my mind. Why are the standards used for magazines and newspapers in ranking the best places to live not the same standards used by social advocates? Although it has many advantages, I don’t consider Cary a healthy town. How can we change this? Do the same things that make Cary lack diversity also make it an attractive place to live?

I open up my blog with a seemingly easy question; what is the American Dream? Is it a  specifc meaure of wealth, a mindset, or an illusion? I purposefully call the question “easy” because everyone seems to use it as if they have a clear idea in their mind what it is. In times of economic struggle, politicians preach that nothing can stop America’s people from achieving the American Dream. Immigrants over the years have crossed into unknown lands, with nothing in their pockets except the hope of finding the American Dream. Families with hard circumstances fight on noble in order to ultimately reach the American Dream. These scenarios beg the question, if it is something that seems so concrete in our minds, than why do we have such a difficulty defining it?

I believe that the American Dream is in its purest form is hope and determination. The American Dream is different among each individual. A good example of this is this video, which shows a different measure of reaching the success of people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRt8j0OBjuM 

In many was pop culture has drastically changed. There have been many occasions were my parents give me the all to familiar line…”We I was your age…(fill in the blank, by alluding to a much simpler more moral decade). I have always wondered if my parents nostalgic sentences had any value to them. Are times getting worse? Are the youth of today becoming more promiscuous? More sexually forward? And lastly, if the progression us up and up, at what point will the “scandalous” behavior of teenage stop?In order to tackle this question perhaps it is best to talk about underage drinking. On college campuses today, most of the social activities circulate around alcohol and parties. Many teenager think that it is harmless. But along with underage drinking also comes larger social problems such as; sexism, rape, gangs or physical violence. Although teenage drinking is not necessarily the cause for such problems, there is most definitely a correlation between them. For instance, earlier this year a fraternity email was sent to the school saying that at their parties, boys should find a drunk girl and create physical contact with her (different syntax was used to describe this in the email). The fraternity email represents a cultural mindset of America youth. Many times students will drink so that they get engage in sexual activity. This mindset, in many was perpetuates sexist roles and the lack of respect for others in society. For teenage males, they can often think that girls are just physical objects. For teenage females, they act accordingly trying to fill in the role that has been placed before them culturally. These statements are of course drastically generalized, but if you watch the modern day tv shows, they are completely void of morals or gender respect (shows like Gossip Girls, Entourage, or other MTV reality shows). Undoubtably, popular culture entertainment and lifestyles has had an grand effect on the American youth, and in return the American youth will have a grand effect on society as a whole.

I am a firm believer that everything has consequences. I wonder what the consequences of teen drinking and promiscuous behavior will be for our generation as a whole.

Given the current economic state of our country, Americans could benefit from a lesson in humility.  Foreclosures and job losses are much closer to home than many middle class Americans are will admit.  Homelessness is not a farfetched occurrence for any family especially if someone does not prepare for a crisis in advance.  Recognizing financial problems is the first step to preventing a housing crisis. 

A perfect example is the story of a man from New York who had lost his job.  After applying for several jobs with little success, he decided to take a more drastic approach.  Dressed in a suit and tie, he went onto the streets of New York with a sign reading “Almost Homeless”.  He gave out resumes and even had a few televised interviews, thus increasing his visibility to potential employers.  This man acknowledged the fact that his resources were running low and he and his family were going to be unable to live at the level they were accustomed.  He put aside his pride for a moment to ensure his family would be taken care of.  While it may not be necessary to carry around a sign, going to organizations like Virginia Supportive Housing for help is not below anyone.  We all need assistance at some point and the only way to receive it is to humble ourselves and ask. 

As a sociology major and women studies minor, studying inequalities, observing them in real life, and examining remedies to them are some of my passions and what I believe to be my life’s work. However, I must admit that sometimes studying these subjects can be depressing. Sometimes I lose hope that America’s inequalities can ever be alleviated. With a history so entrenched with discrimination, inequality, disappointment, racism, sexism, classism, and prejudice, America far too often fails to appear to me as a land of opportunity and hope. When I look at the effects of America’s history of oppression on various aspects of day-to-day life (such as housing, transportation, economics, employment, and education), it is extremely too easy to point out the problems that persist in this country. Where’s the hope for change? Where’s the hope for a better America?

I guess I could say that the hope is in the election of Obama, or maybe even the increase of minimum wage. But even more tangibly I could say that the hope is in a class of eager students willing to learn about the Urban Crisis in America. The fact that such a course is even offered in universities today is a sign of progress because it signifies that America is finally starting to acknowledge some of its problems and shortcomings. More importantly, it is raising up a group of leaders who are learning to become passionate about alleviating some of these problems. Yet, I believe the ultimate sign of hope is in the individuals that comprise such a class. Whether these individuals have come together to learn more about AIDS in the community, gangs in the community, segregation in education, homelessness in a city, or the effects of gentrification on displaced people, they have all come together for one common purpose. My hope is that the individuals with whom I shared this class will continue their quest towards improving our country’s social, political, educational, and economic conditions.

The next time I ask where my hope for a better America is, I’ll simply think of the individuals in my class. My hope for a better America is in us. I pray that we continue to carry the torch.