racism

Recently I’ve been thinking about Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Van Jones, and Greenbridge.

When tension around race comes up, our society has a really difficult time differentiating between individual incidents of incivility and patterns of bias. South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson thinks that an apology for his single act of disrespect is enough. But others see his “You Lie” comment towards the President to be part of a larger racial pattern questioning Obama’s authority. Henry Louis Gates saw being arrested in his own home in the light of a larger pattern of racial profiling. The police officer who arrested him thought he was just arresting a guy who threatened his authority.

Closer to home, Greenbridge and its developers continue to come under criticism for gentrifying Northside, and some attacks this summer called the Greenbridge developers racist. UNC-NOW and other Greenbridge critics see this project as a part of the larger pattern of African-American displacement in Chapel Hill. Not surprisingly, Greenbridge’s developers say they’re just one project impacting the neighborhood, and one that came relatively late to the gentrification party at that.

Who woulda thunk it? I agree 100% with this statement by Fred Black:

Community activist Fred Black ... said many people who complain about panhandlers really are talking about something else: "being different in Chapel Hill."

"We have a perception issue," Black said. "We're talking about the perception of threats in downtown Chapel Hill. People use the verb panhandle as a convenient label for what they don't look like."
- chapelhillnews.com | Foy: 'I want people to vent', 2/21/07

I really hope this doesn't spark yet another tirade against the poor people who are forced to live on the streets due to misfortune, mental illness, and lack of community support. Instead of panhandling, let's talk about poverty in Chapel Hill and what we are doing about that!