Living in Philadelphia from 2002 to 2007, I watched the neighborhood which surrounded Temple University transform. Blacks were moved out and whites were moved in; we had many town hall and discussions about this topic as concerned students. Depending on who the speaker was we would hear different terms used to describe this process. If white property owners were speaking ,we learned that what was happening to the community was a “beautification program”. If Black community members were speaking, this displacement was called “negro removal”.

No matter how you frame the situation, gentrification was happening in a community that was historically black and becoming increasingly white. I have many thoughts on this topic that I will save for now but I want to share with you something I recently read. This piece is an honest reflection of what it’s like for a caucasian man who moves into one of these neighborhoods that is not quite gentrified yet. I bring to you the words of famed author Marty Beckerman and his well written piece “Gentrify This”.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

When I moved to New York, I only had two days to find an apartment. Rents in “affluent” neighborhoods with numerous “young professionals” are considerably higher than in “up-and-coming” neighborhoods. Whereas I lived in a luxury building in D.C. with a gym, pool, doorman, deck, chandeliered lobby and (most lavish of all) dishwasher, I was suddenly—thanks to my desperate rush and journalist’s budget—in a neighborhood where the only appetizing-looking restaurant is a McDonald’s, save for a Mexican eatery that gave me a gastrointestinal holocaust.

To read more of this article go to:

http://www.jewcy.com/index.php?q=post/gentrify

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJusbALMMKI&hl=en]

Today’s piece is not written by myself. I came across this piece via a very inspiring young woman who is committed to bridging truth and words to make profound statements that speak to communities of color. I hope you enjoy, I know I did!

Where black people meet the law?
by Ma’at

Where black people meet the law?
Where a single mother gets evicted from her apartment…
Because Bill, Bob and Dick moved in upstairs
Mary, Jane, and Sue moved in downstairs
And now her property value rises too high for her meager earning

Where the long are of the law shoves a hollow gun against the temple of a black man while shouting
“YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT”
Right?

Where basketball player signs a contract that gives his lawyer 40% when Mr. Esq. knows he should only get 10%
Where a 6 year old boy watches his mother sue his father for child support
He stares into a strangers brown eyes and wonders how that face could look just like his
Where a PO meets the guilty till proven innocent…..
Until innocent become guilty
Filthy
Right-less
Less than
Three fifths of a person
3/5ths of the men in prison
Yall though when slavery ended we became more than 3/5ths?

I’ll tell you where we don’t meet
We don’t meet in Law School
In a world where knowledge of the law provide the tools through the confines of this so called “JUSTICE SYSTEM”
SYSTEM yes
JUSTICE…it depends
Depends on who defends the rights you though you had
You don’t have shit…
Pause
You have what your lawyer knows (minus) your ignorance (minus) his ignorance (times) each previous charge
(Equals)… it depends

I walk into class my first day of class
The room filled with pink faces
Folks who see the world in black and white without the black
Issues in black and white, without the black
My blood pressure rises as a privileged woman raises her hand and implies that all black men who are not in suits are thugs
My brother is a thug…
My nephew is a thug……..
Where black people meet the law………

Where do black people meet the law?
In Us.. Law Students
Us… the privileged few with the knowledge to change
Educate
Inform
Inspire to rebuild that which has been done