Critical Project II/Human Geography: Changing the Landscape

I live in Baldwin, New York, the town where I went to high school 30 years ago. In this country we often hear the phrase, "The neighborhood certainly has changed." We all know what that means: too many people of color moving into a community that was predominantly white, ultimately leading to its perceived demise. Property values will inevitably decline and we'll lose too much money on our investment. The solution? Let's get out of here before it's too late; a concept known as "white flight." Ironically, in 2007 Money Magazine ranked Baldwin 25th among the 100 best places towns to live in the US largely due, to its diversity.

There is no biological or genetic basis for what we call "race." It is a concept born out of the slave trade which defined the early American economy and used to justify why some people should be denied certain rights and privileges that others took for granted ( http://www.pbs.org/race/001_WhatIsRace/001_00-home.htm). The racial practices that still exist within our communities, our schools and where we work are part of institutionalized racism; rooted in our government and laws . With all the legislation and programs designed to protect the civil rights of all Americans we've still fallen short.

You can't help but notice that some neighborhoods never "change." Housing plays a huge part in shaping our country's cultural landscape and therefore how our children learn, an area where institutionalized racism is still very prevalent. Regardless of the barriers that housing regulation and reform have attempted to break, there are certain practices, spoken and unspoken, that prevail and help maintain the status quo; separate but unequal.

Unfair housing practices keep people of color at bay relegating them to certain neighborhoods; to schools where academic performance is substandard; where teachers are less qualified; where resources like books and computers are limited . As a result they are denied access to a quality education and the opportunity to compete for jobs with the earning potential required for home ownership in more upscale neighborhoods with better schools. And so the cycle continues....

As long as the dominant culture is perceived as superior the cycle will continue. School assimilation policies, curriculum and rules promote the values of the dominant culture (G&C, p. 19) and by their very nature suggest that it is superior to other cultures. What kind of message does that send about one's identity and place in society? Not a healthy one and certainly not one that is conducive to real change.