Final Project Part II

In the last blog I discussed the final project that my partners - Julie, Cynthia, and I put together.  The documentary was extremely enlightening, and even viewing it again in class made me more aware of some of the comments that I missed when watching it the first time.

On KAZI 88.7 talk radio, Jose (didn't catch his last name) - president of the East Side Community Neighborhood Committee, spoke on the detriment of gentrification.  While many people may be unaware that this pushes poor minorities out of their communities by raising property taxes and making living unaffordable, gentrification is able to fester and grow.  This will continue to develop unless we have meaningful conversation and spread awareness in these neighborhoods and communities.

The fact that there is a planning committee, made up of majority Caucasian members, that make decisions for the East Austin Community and report to town hall is appalling.  These residents are mostly newer residents of the East Side and have done nothing to include the residents that have lived there longer.  This ties into White privilege, which has been a theme in this course all semester long.  I don't believe that these conversations should be had in order to put Whites down, which some people can often take it as.  I do, however, strongly believe that this is something that needs to be discussed and the word needs to be spread about this.  I myself, had no clue and was not aware of this until I was informed by Julie, one of my group members.  When talking to my grandmother about this in the video, she was astonished at the fact that this group even exists.

I propose that inviting more minorities and residents of East Austin to these meetings could have the potential to render these conversations and possibly include these long-term residents.

Eastside Austin Community Project - Gentrification and its Toll

For the synopsis for this project, Cynthia, Julie and I have decided to post our summary onto my blog. This project has given us each a deeper insight on gentrification and what it means for the East Austin Community. What are your thoughts on the topic?

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Gentrification of historical African American communities, such as East Austin, has interrupted the once close-knit communities that served as protective factors for African American families. Karenga and Karenga (2007) argue that the Nguzo Saba (or 7 principles) comprise the fundamental value system to sustain African American families, communities and culture. These principles are: faith, unity, self-determination, collective work and business, cooperative economics, and purpose.

Our project sought to raise awareness of the impact of gentrification on the East Austin community.  Within our group, each of us had our own unique and personal connections to wanting to become involved, but through our diversity, we were united in wanting to contribute to the East Austin community. While Cynthia’s interest was fueled by her thoughts that East Austin was losing its roots due to heavy gentrification, Julie’s interest came more from her learning in this course and via a previous project in a social justice class.  Jasmine’s involvement came from a combination of learning in the class as well as a conversation with her grandmother about how the neighborhood she lives in used to be.  In this conversation, her grandmother expressed the nature of how the neighborhood was once a unified place, heavily using many of the Nguzo Saba principles. Overall, our combined perspectives were used to make a change and bring awareness about the impact of gentrification on the East Austin community.

In an article on Gentrification, the past, present, and future outlook on East Austin is highlighted.  The article speaks of how West Austin, also known as Clarksville, was once majority African-American and now is majority Caucasian.  Given these facts, the projected outlook on East Austin is that with the rising property costs and new developments, it too, will become majority Caucasian.  The article states, “The example of Clarksville in West Austin serves as the direction that things will no doubt go in East Austin” – (Emery, 2003-2006, p. 1).

The goal of this project was to collectively gather interviews and information about the gentrification that is in full effect east of I-35 and to raise awareness. The East Austin Contact Team was a committee that caught our eye through Julie’s connection to one of their members. This team is a group of Caucasian residents of East Austin that have moved into these neighborhoods recently.  The team meets monthly to discuss changes that should be made in East Austin, and report to the City Planning Commission about these necessary changes.  Their desire for improvement of the community is great, but highly flawed in its process.  The committee, being all White except for one member, has not sought to include older residents of the community or minorities.  This was seen as a huge problem in the opinions of our group, seeing how a small sector of this community was making decisions that excluded the whole of its residents.

This sparked a new direction in the plan of our group.  Seeing how the Contact Team was operating motivated us even more to want to get these interviews to them.  Revealing the thoughts and emotions shown through our video interviews laid the foundation for our hope that the Contact Team would change its approach and become more inclusive of all members no matter how old or what race they were.

We plan to forward this video compilation to Joy Casnovsky, a member of the Contact Team, so that the video will be shown in one of their upcoming meetings.  This video can be used in a variety of ways to unite the community of East Austin and to implement unified planning on future changes and to increase discussion amongst residents about this phenomenon.

Changes can be made to improve East Austin and to keep the Nguzo Saba principles running throughout the community, but discussion and awareness must be brought in first.  We believe, through this project, that we can help bring about this change.      

References

Allen, B. L. (2012, April 11). (J. McElrath, Interviewer)

Burditt, G.  (2012, April 18).  (J. Burditt, Interviewer)

Emery, M. (2003-2006). East Austin Gentrification. Austin Now .

Higgins, A. (2012, March 30).  (C. Martin-Carnline, Interviewer)

Gilson, C. (2012, April 10). (J. McElrath, Interviewer)

Karenga, M & Karenga, (2007).  The Nguzo Saba and the Black family:  Principles and practice of well-being and flourishing.  In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black Families, 4th Edition (pp. 7-28).  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage

King, C.  (2012, April 7).  (C. Martin-Carnline, Interviewer)

J. Casnovsky (March 19-April 19, 2012)

Turner, B.  (2012, April 18).  (J. Burditt, Interviewer)

Service Learning Projects - East Austin and Gentrification

For the service learning project that I am apart of we are attempting to spark dialogue, conversation and awareness around the gentrification that is currently impacting the Easy Austin Community.  East Austin, a couple of decades ago, was comprised of mostly minority residents.  Recently, there has been heavy gentrification going on in the East Austin community. 

What sparked my interest in this project was a conversation with my grandmother about how things once were in our neighborhood. I grew up in East Austin and she has lived there the majority of her life.  My grandmother informed me one night of the togetherness and sense of the Nguzu Sabaa principles that were carried out throughout the neighborhood.  Once before, people would work together, would help each other out when bills were due, buy groceries for residents who could not afford it, bring in speakers to speak to the neighborhood on ways to use less energy and lower their bills, etc.  It was pretty much like a community that worked together.  I took a look at how my community is now and realized that it's completely different.  I also noticed the fact that the East side of I-35 is becoming heavily populated by more Caucasion people, and that more minorities are moving out.  I had to think to myself why this is happening and what the effects are. 

In efforts to enlighten the East Austin Community and spark conversation about these changes, my group mates - Julie and Cynthia, and myself came up with the proposal to create a documentary that would raise awareness and gain more insight on the positives/negatives of these changes. 

To implement and carry out this vision, we have each collected video interview of past and present members, as well as activists for the East Austin Community. 

We will combine these interviews to share it, pass it along, and perhaps come to a conclusion and create more awareness surrounding these recent changes.

Hip Hop and What it's Done for Black Culture

How much rap did you watch when you were a teen?  I remember coming home everyday when I was growing up to shows like Smart Guy, Sister Sister and Evan Stevens, etc.  I also remember that when 5:00 rolled around, it was time for 106 & Park – BET’s top ten video countdown.  Never did I stop to evaluate what was being shown on this program.  Almost every video featured women who were half-naked and men with champagne bottles and big jewelry.  The lyrics were not uplifting at all either.  Not all of these videos were like this, but the majority were.  What has changed now?

After viewing the video shown in class I realized that not much really has changed in the realm of hip-hop.  I had seen this video before in another class some years ago, and viewing it again made me even more aware to these things that the Black community is faced with in the world of Hip Hop.  The commentator in the video stated that Hip Hop is the cancer to Black people.  This is sad, to think about a genre that we are the face of, is seen as negative and portrays negative images.  My qualm with this is that showing one side of what Black people go through is fine, but the positive sides need to be shown as well.  It would be nice to have a more intellectual type of hip hop blown up with rappers like Lupe Fiasco and Common to name a few.  These will never be the face of what people first think of though, because as people will say “sex sells”.  In watching a documentary on video vixens on VH1, a commentator noted that “crack sells” too.  Just because it sells and cashes out does not mean it’s good or beneficial, it can actually be something that tears a community down. 

The article on Images of Sexual Stereotypes in Rap Videos and the Health of African American Female Adolescents really opened my eyes to the discussion of the effect of hip hop on young women.  One has to wonder why and how more and more women are wanting to be in videos or to date “bad guys”.  I can remember even from my middle school years that I, too would make jokes and comments with my cousins about being in music videos.  We would always argue about who’s going to be the girl by the pool, who would be the “main girl” of the video, and who would just be in the back blending in with the rest.  That’s usually the recipe for music videos.  The face that the desire or aspiration to be in a music video was prevalent says something about the effect to which these roles are glamorized among young girls.  The study, which found that the more young females are exposed to these types of videos and messages means the more that they will be willing to date young men who fit the role that these rappers put on, to accept dating violence, and to be engage in more risky sexual behavior really is astonishing.  I have to ask myself what can be done about this because it’s not just something of the past, it’s very much still a current issue.

The article on Enhanging Critical Consciousness in Young African American Men:  A Psychoeducational Approach was an uplifting source to the problematic outcomes of the images and messages in hip hop.  The Young Warriors program aims to educate young Black men on the messages that are put out in hip hop, and engages them in dialogue and discussion amongst themselves about these things.  I love the fact that it creates a space where young Black men can come together, look up to other respectable Black men, (creating alternative positive images for them), and where they can learn to openly discuss issues with other men in general.  The article also incorporates three of the Nguzo Saba principles.  The creed of the program promotes Kujichagulia, Umoja, and Imani.  This is a beautiful aspect of the program because it gets backs to the foundation of coming together as a community to improve as a whole.  I think that it’s great that these young men are addressed because they can then pass that on to the young women that they are friends with, come across, and potentially chose to date.  Not only are they coming together to be able to discuss these things, but those discussions, I’m sure, do not stop just at the program.  This is an example of a solution that has a lasting and spreading impact to tear down the problems associated with the Black community.

Baraka School, Achievement Gaps and "Acting White"

THE BARAKA SCHOOL FOR BOYS

Viewing the film about the Baraka school for boys initially gave me a lot of hope for the young men who were featured in the film.  I was so excited for them and the experience that they were receiving to be in a classroom setting where they were given more attention and were placed in an environment where they could simply be boys void of all of the stress they were under back in their homes, neighborhoods and school systems.  What Baraka did not do for the boys was give them an alternative.  The school, in a sense failed the boys.  The lok on their faces when their mothers told them about the discontinuation of the school was heartbreaking.  I immediately felt for them and their families facing the brunt of being left behind, once again, without a better alternative for these boys. 
After reading about the achievement gap in Michigan for Blacks to Whites, I realize that a lot of barriers were preventing the boys of Barka from succeeding.  As for systemic barriers - their classroom sizes were large so they were not receiving the attention and help that was necessary from teachers.  Also, is 76% of Black boys were not graduating from schools in Baltimore, one has to ask what's going on with the school system.  If it is a school system not invested in the children at the school, then most will fail for sure.  Individual factors that effect the Baraka boys being in the 4th quadrant lie in the fact that they each really do want a better education and to make something of their lives, but don't have the resources to do so. 
As for the differences found in the article on The Achievement Gap, I think that these findings are relevant. All students need to feel a sense of belonging. If Black students are walking in to a school where teachers may be holding racial stereotypes against them, this can hinder their learning experience.  As discussed in class, we are plagued with a nation that does not value school, teachers who may be discouraged from the desire to empower and believe in students because of giving up soon or the lack of education on how to deal with various populations of students.  In order to combat the issues faced by the lack of value on education, it's crucial that parents begin to take matters into their own hands, but then again what about parents who may have to juggle multiple jobs.  It's a tough situation, but there is hope for all of this. 
I believe that there is more so structural oppression that is going on that forces this gap for Black students.

Am I Black Enough?

In the study done on Black schools and acting white, I have gone through this.  Not in the manner that is talked about so directly in the article, but more so in my demeanor.  Oftentimes my peers at school, especially in elementary and middle school would call me "white girl" or "mixed girl" because of the way that I talked.  Since I did not use slang or talk the same way the other students did, I was called out on it.  In both middle and high school I was in magnet programs.  These magnet programs consisted mainly of  White and Asian students.  With me being one of the few Black students in these programs, it sometimes caused a rift in my relationships with Black students at school. I don't believe that "acting White" should be associated with excelling in school.  This is a misconception that has been internalized by Black students and perhaps some other minorities as well.  Since when did making good grades become something that only White students do?

Racial/Ethnic Identity

Reading Tatum’s article on Family life and school experiences:  Factors in the racial identity development of black youth in white communities and learning about the different stages of identity development opened my eyes.  I realized first off that identity development is vastly different across racial categories.  While “minority” races have to come to realize that they are minorities and the White race is dominant, White privilege is very much seen and discovered in the White identity model.  Learning about the different case studies of various Black students revealed people of color going through the different stages of identity.  

The case study that most resonated with me from the article in terms of my own experience was that of Janice.  Janice grew up in a mostly White neighborhood and went to a majority White school.  Not until she went to college did she begin to really learn about her Black heritage and history.  This is where she reached the “encounter” stage and began to immerse herself in her Blackness as part of her identity.  While I definitely did not grow up in a majority White neighborhood, (it was majority Black and Hispanic), and I do not relate to her under class and SES, I the middle and high schools that I attended had magnet programs which I was in.  These magnet programs consisted of majority White and Asian students, me being one of the few Blacks.  I had White friends, but we never really did hang out outside of school.  I had Black friends, but was considered an oreo and sometimes even called “stuck-up”.  It was not until people really began to get to know me that the latter of these diminished from being associated with me, but the first never really left.  People would always say that I “talk White” or “too proper”.  I never really understood this and found it strange that in order to be considered Black, I had to talk a certain way, or that Blackness was always associated with using slang and mispronouncing words.  Coming to college and taking AFR courses taught me a lot about Black History that was immensely watered down throughout elementary, middle and high school.  I can say that I have reached the internalization/commitment stage because I have internalized and found a sense of pride and resilience in my Blackness.  This is communicated through my service learning project because we have come up with a model to promote positive ideas for improvement in the Black community in East Austin.  Through this project I feel strongly that we will be able to promote more Black people to get involved in the changes that are being made in the East side and to be proactive about these communities that are being heavily gentrified.  Racist jokes are no longer funny to me, nor am I passive about them as I once was.  Tatum describes in her book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, two forms of racism – passive and active.  Active racism is the kind people mostly recognize – the KKK and other White supremacist groups.  Passive racism can be noted in simply sitting back when someone of color is being oppressed, and doing nothing about it at all.  I mentioned racist jokes as an example because even entertaining these jokes, or just sitting back and not calling them out can be seen as an act of racism. 

Stage of racial identity intersects with concepts of privilege because it is a privilege in itself to not have to think about one’s race.  Very early on, children of color notice that they’re different, that there’s something different about them.  White children may not have to grapple with this.  White privilege has an effect on my daily encounters for the simple fact that White people are hold individuality, whereas I hold my entire race on my back.  If I do something off or strange, it is not just another person doing this, it’s “those Black people always do _____”.  As an example, my friend was telling me at dinner today that the majority of her colleagues at work don’t do much, they often just “look busy” but don’t really do anything.  She expressed to me that these people are White, and that she feels that there is no way she could get away with doing the lack of work that they do.  I noted that this was because she is Black, and Black people will always be looked at or watched more closely than our White counterparts.  This is just one example of many where White privilege effects me in my daily life. 

Affirmative Action and "Reverse Racism"

When Edden presented the class with a case about affirmative action in class on Tuesday, I immediately felt a shock come over me.  In the class prior to this one, the discussion was on how racism is alive and thriving today.  This article in the Daily Texan added to this idea.  After reading the article, it appears to me why people would feel as though it is racist to have affirmative action and call it "unfair".  I really took the time to try and figure out where this guy was coming from in his argument to abolish affirmative action all-together.  He mentioned poor Whites needing more assistance over well-off Black applicants; which is not taken into consideration.  One thing about this argument is that even for poor Whites, they have a higher value than that of some wealthy Blacks.  In the Tim Wise video that was viewed in class, this was discussed.  I feel as though oftentimes, especially in this day, many people like to overlook racism or brush it to the side as if it doesn't exist.  This backlash against affirmative action in the name of "reverse racism", in my opinion, perpetuates even more racism upon minority communities. 

From the responses to this article, I was disgusted.  The very first response that I viewed was from a Black male student (supposedly), who argued heavily against affirmative action.  His views were extremely racist and conjugated even more of the stereotypes that have been adopted by society about Black people.  I feel as though his argument was out of complete and utter ignorance due to the fact that he claimed Black students on campus as "dumb", while he himself is a Black student.  This was very strange to me and could possibly be from complete denial of self and adoption of the majority culture.

Reading about the history on affirmative action and President Power's statement about the continuation of affirmative action was surprising.  I did not expect, for some reason, that the president would argue to keep this rule in play due to the fact that AFR and other Ethnic Studies programs are often the first to receive budget cuts when it's time to make those decisions.  Also, lowering the top 10% rule to admission of the top 8% lowers the chance of more diverse students onto the campus.  I'm supposing that somehow keeping affirmative action will uphold the school's stature for having diversity, which I use in much of a sarcastic tone.

As for programs that are combating these issues - the Longhorn Scholars Program seems to be one of them that is beneficial in bridging the gap between minorities on campus and providing a positive sense-of-self in a mostly White institution.  I believe that many of the minority groups on campus have created organizations for themselves to rise up from being a minority on this campus.  Programs such as Black Students Alliance and other multicultural organizations are positive spaces where minorities can join together and build more of a sense of belonging. 

Midterm Essay on Black Marriagebility Index

Let’s Get Back to Our Roots

Dear Pastors,

As an informant on the marriageability index for Black couples, I come to you in a state of grievance on this issue.  Black couples are facing an epic dilemma in these times.  No one is getting married anymore, if so, not to Black women.  This drastically affects the amount of Black couples uniting and actually staying together.  I believe that it is upon the shoulders of the Black church to keep Black couples together.  You all are the leaders.  You must unite, work on one accord, and fight to educate and bridge the gap in order to extinguish the plight of Black marriages.  The current condition of welfare, in addition to faded purpose of the original Black family lie the two overarching themes that have caused a rift in Black couples today.  I present to you a plead to join the fight to keep Black families together.

Welfare reform is a factor that has caused a rift in Black marriages.  According to author Robert B. Hill, the original intentions of welfare reform were to “provide assistance to needy families…end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, prevent the incidence of our-of-wedlock pregnancies, and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families” (The Impact of Welfare Reform on Black Families).  While the original goal sounds great, it has in turn caused a rift in the marriagebility index for Black couples.  Blacks have been the least likely to get married due to the stressors of welfare, making it much harder to keep a marriage, let alone a family, together.  Fathers with low-income are required to pay higher monthly child support and mothers are not able to attend drug treatment programs often, therefore terminating their welfare.  Not only are mothers and fathers impacted, but grandmothers are often left with the brunt of raising children even when they are elderly and feeble.  This makes it a lot more difficult for Black families to work. 

Not only is welfare a problem, but the “low ratio of quality Black men” (In Search of Love and Commitment, Audrey B. Chapman).  This low ratio of eligible suitors due to the amount of Black women gaining higher degrees and higher-paying careers.  More Black women are going to college, while more Black men are going to jail.  Something needs to be done about this rift.  More Black men need Black mentors.  A push to gain a higher education, or to pursue a different form of success is necessary.  More Black male role-models are needed in order to solve this problem.

Thirdly, extinguishing the stereotypes about Black women and Black men is a key factor.  According to an article on “African-American Women and the Male-Female Relationship Dilemma:  A Counseling Perspective”, “African-American men have tended to internatlize the dominant view of African-American women as “undesirable”, “domineering”, and “second-best”.  These are disgusting stereotypes and definitely do not represent the whole of the Black female identity.  We must lift one another up in a positive light. 

Getting back to Africentric theory principles is a key solution in solving all of these issues that effect Black marriageability.  The seven Nguzu Sabaa principles must be reinforced within the church, to unite African-Americans as a community and lifting up one another in a positive light.  This can be through creating small groups where Black men and women can discuss biblical topics as well as practice loving each other.  This can also be done via programs in the church that give back to the community such as providing rides for mothers on welfare and the elderly, providing a tutoring program for those in school of all ages, and a mentorship program for men of the church where they can openly discuss issues amongst themselves, as well as go into low-income areas of the city and create a bond and advisory relationship with Black male youth. 

Another theory that would be beneficial is Empowerment Theory.  This theory builds the self-esteem of Blacks and gives them the power to make a change.  With this theory, especially within the church, perhaps giving youth leadership platforms as well as more leadership roles throughout the church, this can take place.  Inviting members of all ages to practice community service together and giving back in order to make a change is a great way to solve this.

The marriagebility index of Blacks is at a plight, but there is hope.  I ask that you join in with me to solve this problem, and to fight to increase marriageability and effectiveness of African-American relationships world-wide.  Starting small can create a great change.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jasmine S. Burditt