"I ain't even white." |
Southwest Philadelphia. My metaphorical home for the last 2 years.
Here are the facts, about which no one can argue with me because they are true:
Reference. In a study done by Georgetown University, 35% of jobs require at least a Bachelor's degree and 30% of jobs require some college or an associate's degree. That means 65% of jobs are off limits to anyone who has not set foot in a college class. If you combine Southwest Philadelphia with the surrounding neighborhoods (West, Germantown and Point Breeze), the population is approximately 610,000 people. This population is 82% black. It is the 4th largest concentration of native-born/ethnic African-American people in a community in the country, who can trace their ancestors to slaves in the South in early America. The only communities with larger ethnically black populations are Brooklyn, Detroit, and South Side Chicago. Crime in Southwest is also particularly high. I would like to focus particularly on gun-related crime. In the last 3 months, there have been 24 aggravated assaults with a firearm, 2 criminal homicides, and 19 robberies with a firearm. All in Southwest Philadelphia. Of the gun-related murders in Philadelphia in 2014, 81% of the victims are black, 88% are male, and 62% are between ages 18-34. Of the shooters, 95% are men, 73% are black, and 48% (half) are ages 18-24. Reference. Now, in a recent speech made by President Barack Obama, he said: "We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer, or even a book." Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. He has been criticized and shamed for this statement. However. Please look at the very first statistics I cited. Think of actually how difficult it is for my students to get their hands on a book. Where did you get your books? School. My students aren't going to school. They're trying to make money. Sometimes criminally. They're getting kicked out. They're homeless and couch-hopping. Where should they get books? How did you learn how to get a job? You didn't really. You learned how to read. And write. And follow the rules. And set goals. And took silly career aptitude tests. And someone from school told you to apply for college. And you may very well be in tens of thousands of dollars of debt like me... but you are living a literate life. The power that a lack of education has on one's life is grossly underestimated by white, affluent America. Please look at the Southwest Philadelphia community, that I have experienced through my students first-hand, as a prime example of the twisted problem of poverty+education+race. All 3 of those things go together in the most unfortunate way. In Southwest Philadelphia, there are 0 bookstores. Literally 0. There is 1 free library. (Someone please tell me the last time you went to a library.) There are countless guns accessible to my students via men in their lives. And there are many people reading this now that say, "Well, these people are criminals, and they shouldn't sell those guns on the street." Except you're already forgetting the amount of poverty in Southwest Philadelphia. It is scientifically proven that poverty makes desperate people do desperate things, including participating in an arms race with whatever block my students are beefing with in order to ensure they can shoot first. And why are all of my black students in poverty? Are there some white people? Yes, some. But I said, this is the 4th largest population of ethnic, native-born African Americans tracing back to slavery in the United States. So someone please, please tell me that the effects of slavery are not at all related to the poverty and lack of education seen in this community. Then many people say, "Well they should work harder, get a job. I worked hard, and I'm okay." Good for you. If you have never lived in poverty, please stop. If you know how to read, and you do if you have gotten this far, also stop. Because please explain to me how 59% of the population with no high school diploma is supposed to "work hard" and "get a job" when 65% of the jobs are actually off-limits to those people. And can we ignore the fact that the 41% who do have a high school diploma from the city of Philadelphia do not actually know how to read? So many of my students graduate from us below a 6th grade reading level. Think about job applications and tax forms and mortgage papers. Would you hand that to your 6th grader and assume they didn't have questions? It pains me to say that all of this began with race... when white, "Christian" America decided it was acceptable to withhold basic human rights to an entire people of dark skin. They could not learn how to read. They were not human. As a follower of Christ, I am ashamed at what was done in the name of Jesus to my African-American brothers and sisters. Appalled. Disgusted. Literally nauseous. From there, they were "freed" to be shoved into ghettos, and until 1964 were still not entirely legally human. 1964 was only 52 years ago. To think that systemic racism over hundreds of years can be entirely eradicated in 52 is logically inconsistent. You do not have to be a member of the KKK to have systemic racism ingrained in your mind. I have been working for the last 5 years to remove bigoted patterns of thinking from my own brain, and I still catch myself judging in a way that does not reflect that "all men are created equal." I do not want to fight with my fellow white people. (I can say that there are white people and black people. There is a difference, and that is okay). I want to talk. I want to listen. I want to brainstorm solutions for equality and peace, which are terms so vague, I'm not sure what they mean anymore. I want to be a bridge. I'm a small one. I may be rickety, but I want to be one. To cross waters of racism and misunderstanding, of apathy and indifference, of violence and conflict. I am a bridge. It is the one time I will let you walk all over me. But, no. I will not let you debate what I know to be true. There are not 2 sides to facts.
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AuthorA young woman trying to figure out why she matters and where she belongs in a struggling, urban culture. CategoriesArchives
November 2016
All stories, opinions, and suggestions are written strictly by the author of this blog, and do not reflect the opinions or stance of Communities in Schools of Philadelphia.
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