This post looks at Weld's approach to gentrification, points out some blind spots, critiques the response by those promoting gentrification, and provides some data that highlight the downside of neighborhood change.
First, there seems to be little in terms of displacement in census tract 24, home to Avondale and parts of Crestwood. There has been only a 5% change in terms of the demographics in the census tract. However, property values have risen dramatically, to the tune of 61% over the past ten years. This is more than the increase in property values of Homewood and Mountain Brook, but less than the increases in downtown Birmingham. If this trend continues, widespread displacement will be inevitable, particularly of low-income residents. One of the Weld series' largest blind spot is the lack of voices representing low-income renters. They have almost exclusively interviewed privileged white residents. Are low-income residents' rents increasing, are they contemplating moving to a cheaper zip code, and are landlords attempting to push them out?
(In fairness, I'm not under any illusion about how difficult it may be to develop the connections necessary to get an interview with renters who may not want to get caught up in a political fight.)
As an artifact of this blind spot, the response to the most recent gentrification series post "Leaving Crestwood" displayed an incredible amount of privilege and entitlement. Posters wrung their hands and navel-gazed about a privileged white resident leaving the community- all of these lamentations coming from other privileged whites.
In an earlier article by Nick Patterson, "New Students, New Parents, New Reality, and Change," the author documented how white residents make decisions about school choice. Tellingly, the residents highlighted in the article consulted other whites when deciding about which schools their children should attend. (The Bigas stated that they changed their mind after consulting with Reverend Brandon Harris, a white man.)
Does this really look like integration, a situation in which white residents' community looks not unlike the community that s/he would have in Homewood or Mountain Brook? Maybe this is untrue, but the articles, with a dramatic lack of black protagonists, portray a lily-white community within a larger black neighborhood. The articles give the distinct impression that gentrification and neighborhood change are driven by a small cadre of privileged, white advocates of a type of economic development that can best be termed municipal trickle-down economics.
I'm quite pleased with the gentrification series from Weld, and this critique is just an attempt to make it better. The series has spurred conversation in Birmingham that otherwise never would have happened. However, there are blind spots that need to be addressed in future articles in the series, and the number one blind spot is "are there people experiencing displacement pressures?"
Not sure why I want to expend energy responding to this, but....really? Where to start....first, to accuse those responding to "Leaving Crestwood" of navel-gazing in a blog of 'critical musings'? Musings, yes, but just because you throw around labels picked up from your beloved theorists does not render them 'critical'. Define 'white privilege' please?
ReplyDeleteTrust me, the so-called 'hand wringing' comes from real people with real jobs and [often] real mortgages and real children that they have to send to real schools staffed with more real people. So, when they are done with that, in their spare time they'll do some hand-wringing over the lacunae (see, I went to grad school, too) in a series of articles in a city weekly.
I sincerely commend you for marking along the way that you are addressing the people and issues in this Weld series. Textual analysis; I get that. But I would urge caution when invoking names of people like Brandon Harris, whom you (derisively?) dismiss as 'a white man'. Again: really? I don' t have the time or energy to unpack everything wrong with that 'diagnoses' of yours. But, you clearly have no idea what that man does on a daily basis for his neighborhood, his church, PTA....I don't know what else, but I'm sure there's more.
Don't know much about you, Zac....how you spend whatever spare time you have. Maybe you attend neighborhood meetings, etc. But judging from the laziness of your 'critical' musings, I'd guess not. If you are that concerned with 'displacement pressures' maybe instead of running around screaming "the privileged whites are coming!" you could get your hands dirty. There are plenty of people working to make this city better and I'm sure they would welcome your help.
I will say it, because I am not sure Zac will. He started his own organization to do the work. So his hands are dirtier than most peoples in the whole city.
DeleteSo please, check yourself.
DeleteThis is the general tone and gripes of commenters who don't like to be criticized. It's immature, but common. Move along; nothing to see here.
ReplyDeleteWow. Not about me, Zac. It's about my friends and neighbors, like Brandon, the Bigas, and many others. My point (and yes I get a little prickly on this topic, since I'm in the mix, so to speak) is addressed to your alleged 'criticism'--there is no there there.
ReplyDeleteLet me ask one simple question, if you don't consider it too immature: are you concerned about Weld's journalistic coverage of displacement or are you concerned about actual displacement? I honestly can't tell from the blog post.
You have yet to make any substantive critique (though you've engaged in gratuitous ad hominem attacks). The only thing that you have said is that "these are my friends and they are good people," which is sort of the opposite of an ad hominem attack. No one is disputing any of that, but intentions aren't what matter here. Neighborhood change and the role of whiteness in that are what matter, and your utter lack of ability to have a conversation about race without getting "prickly" is quite immature, but unfortunately also quite common among whites. If the drivers of neighborhood change are almost exclusively white as the Weld articles and my experience suggest, then that is a problem, but that should be no revelation.
ReplyDeleteZac, I'm the Brandon Harris of "white man" fame (guilty as charged.) I think you raise some valid criticism, particularly that (1) gentrification has some pretty nasty downsides, such as marginalization of the poor. I have been uncomfortable calling what's happening in the Avondale area "gentrification" for that very reason. It makes me want to wring my hands to be associated with that downside. The 'G' word was chosen by Weld (if my memory serves). I see my own choice for public schools as motivated by a desire to counteract at least one small part of the process of marginalization by ensuring that my energy and resources go toward support of the public schools (I would say "tax dollars," too, but I live in a church-owned house, which ironically limits my choice of schools!).
ReplyDeletePutting my kid in a public school is only one part of the equation for addressing the process of marginalization, but it's a choice that has proven to be invaluable in a related matter about which you raised concern: (2) our decisions were made in a white-decision-making vacuum. True (for me, anyway). I am white, I live a fairly privileged existence, and I hang out among white friends: this was the only context within which I could make my decision about schools (which, interestingly, was the same context of the subject of the "Leaving Crestwood" article). However, I also was making my decision within the context of my role as pastor of a big church on a major intersection at the heart of the Avondale community. I knew, theologically, ethically, and spiritually, that I needed to be connected with our community, that I needed to be engaged with the people of color, the poor, and the marginalized. And, as Mr. Avondale School Parent, I have had the opportunity to do that in a robust and enriching way. My involvement in public education as a dad has opened doors to relationships with people who are different from me (something, not coincidentally, my child is experiencing too!) And, those relationships have spilled over into my other roles in the community.
I think our only hope for counteracting the negative effects of the G-word is to be intentional about cultivating relationships across racial, class, and other social divides.
And, permit me a moment to brag on my congregation, but we are excited to see that these relationships are forming through our work with the school and our other forays into the neighborhood. We want to see all people in the Avondale area benefit from the economic renewal underway. That's why through our community development initiative Avondale Samaritan Place we're focusing on our neighbors at the margins, working *with* them at the points of their vulnerability (housing, food, education). Perhaps given the need it's a small effort, but it's yielding fruit. I'd be happy to give you a tour of ASP and talk more about our church and how we see the community changing. Just look me up at www.avonumc.net.
Brandon - I appreciate your honesty. Obviously, you are more aware of racial dynamics than many other of your friends. I would say that building relationships aren't enough. Communities must build alternative institutions, such as community land trusts, which I have suggested on numerous occasions in numerous places. It is also important that existing institutions or new institutions such as the Birmingham Land Bank Authority are created and work in such a way as to mitigate the impacts of gentrification. We are already doing this work, and you will probably see a petition come across your Facebook feed in the next couple of days. We met with Councilor Sheila Tyson today on this issue and we are on the same page.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm sure you know, being white is not evil or anything like that. But, it does come with certain consequences such as having privileges and unearned advantages. So, calling you white was not meant as an insult, but as a statement of the social conditions in which you were shaped.
There is the rather subtle but important phenomena that though there is some perceived integration, whites and blacks seem to be largely separate though they live in the same community and sometimes neighborhood. This is not integration.
ReplyDeleteZac, as a Biga, and a white Biga, I would like to voice my $0.02. Our (the privileged white Biga family) story was highlighted in Weld as voices from outsiders. We just moved to Birmingham from North Dakota, where we had no previous knowledge of the racism or segregation that plagues Birmingham. When we started looking for housing, we were being subtly forced to look at homes in places other than Birmingham. When we got to the bottom of it...apparently it all had to do with schools. You are absolutely correct that Weld has dropped the ball and perpetuated the white privilege man's drive to gentrify this area of Birmingham.
ReplyDeleteHowever, where you have failed is to call US out as those white privileged people driving that desire for gentrification. One thing that you are not aware of is that we are working very hard with many community members to try and maintain the neighborhood. I am opposed to more white-driven businesses in Avondale. We need to bring in more community-inclusive establishments that can serve that area and not jsut bring people in from Homewood for a night of good beer drinking.
We (the Biga's) are not in this to increase the value of our house...we are in it because we believe in Birmingham, and we believe in our community. All of it. There are amazing things going on between Crestwood, Woodlawn, and other surrounding neighborhoods. White, black, brown, etc. are all there and are all included. NO matter where they come from. And, yes, Weld has failed to highlight those efforts.
As for the schools, this one we fight, and this one we fight hard. And yes, when the movement started...it was all white. There you are NOT wrong. But in less than 2 years, we have expanded to blanket ALL children at Avondale and in our neighborhoods...even if they don't go to Avondale...whether they are white or not. The simple fact is that yes, we are white. And our immediate neighborhood is also white. The school is not. It is not what I would call integrated either. Yet. That is what we strive for. And I, as a white woman, walk into my son's school and can't help but smile. That school is our community. It highlights what is so amazingly awesome about this area of Birmingham. It is a safe place for our children, where they play together, learn together, and live together. And they don't care what someone's skin looks like. Students, teachers, parents, alike.
You should go visit the school sometime. You should walk around and see how parents of all backgrounds are coming together to better our neighborhoods. Not gentrify them. Check it out for yourself, and then let us know what you think about our privilege and how we are using it. I think I can speak for all of my friends from our neighborhood school and say that we are for helping all of our community residents, and not just our friends.
And, I would like to end with the fact that we also feel that Weld has dropped the ball. One, with the "New students..." article, they dropped the ball by not including other families. Had we been asked...we could have provided multiple non-white families facing the same questions and concerns. This one-sided article was unfair to them, and us. Two, the "Leaving Crestwood" article had zero newsworthy information in it. It only served to further drive home racism that brews in this lovely city. So, on those facts I agree with you. But no one in my circle of community friends has ever acted like 'oh poor me' or 'hey, look at what I'm doing'. To trivialize our efforts, with other community members, to make sure our neighborhood is safe and nurturing for the children that live there is where you have hit some nerves. We all know there is much more work to do..but all of the negativity geared our way makes it very, very hard.
From one white guy to another, you have a valid point concerning the Weld series: Do lower SES families/individuals experiencing displacement pressures? A discussion on changes in a community should be more inclusive. Many of us in the Crestwood community (at least those I communicate with), were disappointed that Weld did not provide a more inclusive discussion of the changes that are occurring here. While you point this out in your post, you (in my interpretation) make inaccurate assumptions about the thoughts and concerns of us, the “privilege white residents” of Crestwood. Mr. Patterson interviewed Peggy and I for well over an hour, and only a fraction of our thoughts and concerns were included in the Weld article. Just as the Weld article provided gaps in providing a proper discussion of the changes occurring in Crestwood, I would suggest that you have unwittingly (some could say arrogantly) simplified the depth of what this ‘gentry’ thinks about our community and the delicate balance between revitalization and gentrification. In fact, many of the things you have demonstrated support for in your blog (land bank, etc) many of us would applaud. All I ask, is when you call “us” out by name (and this is why it’s more personal than academic – and I completely understand Scott’s “prickly” response), you need to engage is some due diligence in your privileged white navel-gazing (I think these are your words). Not only do you get the facts of why my family (the Bigas) chose Crestwood when we moved to Birmingham (we didn’t meet Pastor Harris, until after moving to Crestwood), you never bothered to go deeper than the Weld article itself, instead you make very inaccurate generalizations of a “small cadre of privileged, white advocates of a type of economic development that can best be termed municipal trickle-down economics,” based on four articles in a local new paper. And this is where is where I call bullshit. If you are going to engage in armchair navel-gazed criticism about me and the people who are without question working for integration (not gentrification), expect backlash. If you’re going to engage in public criticism, please act more responsibly; gather more data. Everyone you called out legitimately welcomes criticism (and would largely agree with you), but your criticism of the Weld series is laced with ivory tower passive attacks on people you don’t know. This is where you, my friendly blogger are in error.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob. I try to refrain from listing my accomplishments because then people might think that I was arrogant. Of course, I get accused of that anyway.
ReplyDeleteTo be quite honest, when I think of integration, I'm kinda "meh." My personal opinion is that we should develop black neighborhoods without white people or white the help of specially trained whites with experience and knowledge about how to work in black communities. Key here is to help and not to lead. Whites should rarely be leading in black communities. Again, it takes a really special white person, with years of specialized training to assume a leadership role in black communities that will be constructive instead of destructive. Maybe, the Avondale gentry is that group, but I have very serious doubts about that with the exception of Brandon Harris, who I think "gets it" on some level.
After the black community is brought up to the level of the privileged whites who would be relocating there, then and only then is integration possible, though not necessarily desirable. Integration really should not be the goal because of the structural disparities, both racial and economic, are too great to create a functioning community, which appear to be some of the barriers that you all are running up against.
I don't care what is in your head or what your intentions are. If you are DOING something that raises property values and not doing anything to mitigate the impacts, you are culpable for gentrification. Gentrification is a structural, economic phenomena and can't be addressed with good intentions.
Finally, there is no negativity coming from me or any other critics. This is real life and you are white people trying to change a community that is majority black. You are going to get criticized for that, and the noise will probably get a lot louder if widespread displacement starts to occur. This is something that I've said in numerous places, but discussions about race can't cater to white sentiment as they often do. If you don't like being criticized you can a) do something different and/or b) stop doing what you are currently doing. As I know incredibly well, community work is hard, but we're willing to listen to critics and to change our behavior or to do something else. What this group is doing is not an unmitigated good, and finding ways to address the negative consequences to what is happening - displacement, should be high on your list. And make no mistake, gentrification is happening in Avondale. Rents are rising and as soon as the rent gap, the gap between actual and potential ground rent, becomes large enough, displacement will occur. What will you do then because I guarantee that good intentions won't carry you very far?