I started Dr. Keith Benson’s Education Reform and Gentrification in the Age of #CamdenRising yesterday. And I was struck almost immediately by not just the scholarly contribution (important) but by the way his own story is woven into the research. 

I’ve been leaning on the expertise of @KeithEricBenson for years. Now I can just reference his book instead of texting him ;) pic.twitter.com/WitLO7sQtB

— Stephen Danley (@SteveDanley) January 25, 2019

I’ve been waiting on this book for ages — in part because I’ve seen the snippets Dr. Benson has shared via social media, or in conversation, and I know the meticulous research that went into it. But also because I do similar research, but I do it as a relative newcomer to a community with a rich culture. As such, I lean heavily on local scholars, activists and elders to help me understand the context of what I’m observing and seeing. 

Because of that, I’ve long believed that we need more pathways for community members to do high-level research on their own cities. 

It’s one thing to believe it, it’s another thing to see it in action. What strikes me, right from the beginning of the book, are the stakes. Dr. Benson writes: 

Through both my formal schooling and simply being a black man in a low-income city, I became increasingly aware of how systems and structures are active in silencing me personally, my city neighbors, and people like us through the county. We are forbidden from democratic participation–deliberately. We are silenced. We are dictated to, not asked. We are told what change we are going to endure, and to accept it. We are told the changes instituted are for us, for Camden. Bu change cannot be for people when they were never consulted and never included in the process, and never asked for their opinions or their concerns. From the views I’ve come across over the years it took to conduct this research, recent changes packaged as #CamdenRising is happening to Camden’s resident, not for. 

With that in mind, I wanted to find a way to get the voices of my disregarded and disenfranchised neighbors out into the public square.

I found this breathtaking. I’ve been thinking of all the justifications we academics have for writing — from self-interest (the tenure process / the job market), to intellectual (to get this important idea out there) or even for justice (communities ought to be heard or this research will improve lives). But little of it has the urgency or agency of Dr. Benson’s work. 

This is why we need pathways to scholarship for community — because the connection to the material, the intuition about the material, and the understanding of the research leads to more immediacy. It leads to more relevant work and richer work. 

I can’t wait to continue reading Dr. Benson’s book and see where that approach takes him. 

Tags: gentrification