We’ve had some wonderful debate on the Facebook page regarding Rasheda Weaver’s post about being a Black Gentrifier in the city of Camden. I’ve asked some of those commenting there for permission to repost to the blog. This comment is from Rutgers-Camden’s Assistant Chancellor for Civic Engagement Dr. Nyeema Watson. More to come in future days, and please join the conversation. Nyeema’s response refers to Rasheda’s own struggles with being considered an “outsider” upon moving to Camden, despite feeling she shares many aspects of personal history with those in the city:
Thanks Rasheda for sharing your story and thanks Stephen for providing this platform. Yes, I think the most important thing is that yes, while she certainly has a background that would made her relate and connect with many in the city, her middle class status does now frame how people will see and interact with her. I face many of the same challenges and have done the same sort of reflection she has (and I continue to reflect) but get a bit more of a “pass” because I grew up in this city and I chose to stay. However, I am certainly not the poor girl I was when I entered Rutgers-Camden as an undergrad 20 years ago. People who don’t know me in the city only see Dr. Watson and the woman I am now and I have constantly remind or tell people that I am of this city. I have to reflect on the privilege I have now amassed almost hourly depending on who I am meeting with and which “Nyeema” needs to be present – knowing that I carry all of me all the time but people only see or engage with or want to engage with — the side that feels most comfortable for them. The hope is that more people like myself and Rasheda, stay or come into the city so that as these changes occur there are voices that can speak to the impact it will have but we always have to also recognize that people will continue to see us a part of the change in ways that are negative or unsettling even if we don’t view ourselves that way.
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Very nice blog post .. Thanks for sharing
Very great essay i liked it … and got important information also
As another middle class person that lives in this city, I want to add another point. The politics in this city is crazy. Most of the decisions that elected officials make do not deal with the issues of poor people. That coupled with pavement that is rolled up at 5:15pm every evening creates a weird place to live.
And how can we ignore the violence or the schools. It’s easy to stay committed to the city when you don’t have school aged children.
The community is correct to be suspicious of middle class that are educated. Too often, people have used the poverty of this city as a place to study instead of a place to join. Those of us with degrees have a responsibility to do something to make this city better. We can’t just become co-opted by the system, become “the man”, and sell our souls to a corrupt system that oppresses the poor as we become careerists. Every time we are witnesses to injustice, we can’t just be silent because of the professional inconvenience. Our local government is tied to a political machinery that does not address an expansion of affordable housing to the surrounding suburbs. Many poor people that live in Camden are stuck.
Institutions look at planting trees or painting walls as community service or civic engagement when those activities may be great social exercises, but they don’t do much to tackle the much bigger issues of our society.
I know that it is safe and comfortable for some to attach themselves to the oppressors in the name of job security, but the rest of us educated folk must instead see ourselves at the Talented Tenth that DuBois wrote about over 100 years ago. That means sacrifice. We may not all be able to make $100,000. We may be looked at as agitators, rebels, or worse yet criminals, but we must fight politically with our vote, financially with our money, socially with our relationships, spiritually with our relationship with God, and mentally with our ideas, words, essays, blogs, and speeches.