So tonight (Thursday) is Camden City Mayor Dana Redd’s State of the City Address. The event is at Rutgers, in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Campus Center (326 Penn Street) and starts at 5:30pm. You can register here. All my students are registered — we’re going together, and it’s brought up an interesting question for me. How should we talk about Camden? Because the glorious commercials about the waterfront, and the people “saving” Camden rub me (and many residents) the wrong way; they often ignore the city’s struggle and appear to ignore the vast majority of its residents as well. But focusing exclusively on the city’s crime scene and violence also gets criticized by residents. I’ll argue there’s a third way: one that starts with love and compassion for the city, acknowledges the pain of those struggling here, and focuses on everyday life, not criminal life.

Last week I went to Cooper Ferry’s Annual Meeting. It’s an event I annually struggle with; there is something about the suits and ties (literally meeting in a shark tank on the waterfront) that misses the spirit of the city. But there was real progress in this event. For one, the mayor gave a general address — not the state of the city. That matters. In the past, residents had to pay $125 for a ticket to a private event to hear the state of the city. Now, it’s free (though, I’d still love a location in a neighborhood! Maybe the Kroc Center, or even the Neighborhood Center next year?). 

The event also chose to highlight some of the strong women doing work in Camden — which is wonderful. I quibble with the selections (the focus on institutions and new businesses, the lack of a Camden resident) but it remains that there are some tremendous women doing work here in the city and they deserve to be recognized. Kudos. 

But the panel fizzled. Camden became the prop for each panelist to explain how its organization was playing the hero role in the city. Nowhere in the panel was the Camden I know and love — a Camden with vibrant people, deep roots, thriving sports and great food. Instead, Camden was the receptor, the patient in need of help.

 

An impressive list of participants on the Women’s Executive Leadership Panel at the CFP Annual Meeting #CityOfPromise pic.twitter.com/GayeIM287j

— Coopers Ferry (@coopersferry) February 15, 2017

My own Chancellor, Phoebe Haddon, focused on the tremendous number of hours students volunteered (800k?) in the city. It was a celebration of Rutgers’ efforts in the region. 

But it’s not a particularly complete view of the city or Rutgers role within it. As we discussed last week, the Rutgers-Rowan board is currently using eminent domain on Broadway. Paul commented on that post, saying: 

Rutgers has been a very poor “neighbor” to the City of Camden and to those who enjoy, respect and protect the city’s historic fabric. Promises not kept; demolition by neglect; seemingly wanton destruction of architectural gems in the name of progress, replaced with uninspired and tedious modern buildings with little thought given to the surrounding historic buildings; and even supporting facadism. The Wilson Eyre house is a prime example of Rutgers approach to Camden. Purchased by the university in 2000 and then allowed to deteriorate without any maintenance efforts for the ensuing 14 years until someone thought it could be used as a writers’ center. Roofing tile loss, brick decay and a whole host of other issues faced the contractors retained to complete the rehab. Instead of maintaining the original fabric, the contractor had to find vendors for modern replacements in attempt to replicate what should have been preserved. Respect the city’s rich history, Rutgers, and be the neighbor you should have always been!

It rings hollow to talk about Camden just as the place being helped (not harmed) by the complex web of institutions around it. And without discussing the positives that already exist, it makes Camden seem like just a receptacle for the the good will of others. 

The opposite approach to talking about Camden is equally as frustrating. Recently, I saw some pushback from residents on Facebook about Greg Adomaitis (who has long done good work on Camden)’s latest piece about Camden residents worrying about gunfire in the city: 

The only fatal Camden City shooting reported so far this year has been the police-involved shooting of Jose A. Fernandez-Ventura, who was wounded during a domestic violence call and later died at the hospital.

For the 26-year-old Cramer Hill resident, gun violence is a fact of life here. He made mention of Christopher Mitchell, a 34-year-old city man and close friend who was gunned down at a park a block away from Saturday’s at 7th and Clinton streets.

“This ain’t no place to live,” he said when asked if he’s considered moving out of Camden, later conceding that he simply “feels comfortable” here. “S*** like this happens.”

Years ago, when things were at their worst in the city due to state cuts in municipal aid, residents resented the rash of coverage that focused exclusively on crime in the city. They felt it only captured a small part of a resident’s every day life. 

There’s a challenge here. I’m going to struggle to talk with my students on Thursday after the Mayor’s address. One one hand, too rosy of a picture of the city seems disrespectful and dishonest; it ignores the struggles and challenges and paints over them with a tail about downtown and institutions. On the other hand, tales of gunfire stray into stereotype territory and capture little of what Camden is like on a day-to-day basis. 

I often go back to something longtime Camden reporter (and now columnist) Kevin Riordan once told my class when I first started teaching here: he said that more needs to be written about Camden’s day-to-day life. 

I’d add to that. The best writing about Camden is familiar enough with the city to know and love its quirks: its restaurants, the joy of a Camden High basketball game, the way everyone is on their porch the first day of spring (and last weekend!), and the million little traditions or hidden places that people interact. This is where the heart of Camden exists, not on its waterfront or inside the fences that “protect” new and old corporate headquarters. Writing about Camden need also at least allude to its complicated history with the surrounding region (which includes red-lining, and a history of “dumping” county facilities into residential neighborhoods) and the same with local corporations (which rarely pay taxes or hire residents). That doesn’t mean that some corporations don’t do wonderful things. It just means that a “we’re here to help you” rings hollow (and often could be followed with, and because our tax deal was too good to pass up). 

Reorienting our Camden discussions around the history and people of this place, and the way that they build something beautiful in a city with a myriad of challenges, reframes the entire development discussion. Subaru, Holtec, the 76ers are joining something, not saving something. And there are opportunities to connect to the best of Camden (rather than focus so explicitly on protection from Camden). If this mix of residents and businesses, Eds and Meds and local restaurants, longtime businesses and start-ups, is going to blend, we need to stop pathologizing  Camden and stop ignoring the city’s challenges. We need to see the day-to-day life in the city, and build on its beauty where we find it.