On Friday, December 5, 2003, at 10:27 AM, Eric Oines wrote:
It is not enough to strive to empower people of color, though that is a most worthy goal. White folks must *relinquish* power to those who have traditionally been marginalized. This struggle virtually destroyed the Central Neighborhood NRP group several years ago and it is a serious issue in many organizations today.
Eric, I seem to pass pretty well as a "white person", but I find I don't have much power to relinquish. Let's see, I have dominion over that portion of well less than an acre of land here in the 'hood that I've been able to fence in so the gangbangers have difficulty appropriating it. I have a couple of operable vehicles which I pay a ridiculous amount to insure because I have an address here in the 'hood. At least I have them until the gangbangers take the trouble to torch them, they mostly can't handle glow plugs, parking brakes, and a stick shifts so there unlikely to succeed in stealing them (hint- simple no cost anti-theft device: set your parking brake). I also have a 116 year old house and a small garage for the gangbangers to take over when I go on vacation.
White folks in Minneapolis are still running the show for the most part. They make the rules, enforce the rules and change the rules as they see fit. Anti-racism supposes that white folks ought to give up their privilege, accept the perceptions and experiences of people of color as valid and real, and work to improve those experiences for all. This is not something that City Hall or agencies can do. This is something that individuals do, individually. This involves personal change - and that is why it is so difficult.
Please see inventory of "power" above. The real power is not held by us poor white trash that inhabit the 'hoods and trailers, but by the big corporations that have abandoned us then overcharged us for goods and services to add insult to injury. Remember Schweiget's, Grain Belt, Milwaukee Road, Continental Baking, Honeywell, Emrich Baking, etc.. Take a look around the hood at all the empty shells of buildings that once employed thousands. Note the names of big corporations in the faded signs on the walls of those empty factories and bakeries and such. Then get home, check the mail, and open up a bill from your insurance company that's twice as high as it would be in an exurban zip code.
But the key aspect is that it all depends on individual change in action and attitude of the majority culture - that is - white folks. Racism is our problem, not the problem of those who suffer because of its affects.
Well. I've held on in the hood as long as I can, how many more gunshots and Mr. Porters must I endure? I'd be tempted to park my trailer here for a while and give the city another chance, but inspections won't let me do that. BTW, my Black co-workers have pretty much moved to the suburbs too, along with increasing numbers of Latinos and Asians. So blaming a particular race for the abandonment of the hood isn't going to pass the smell test, never mind fly.
You can have plans and policies which promote or even force desegregation, but there are folks (in and out of government) who will always resist, who will find the loopholes, who will sneak out the back door rather than accept true integration.
Agreed- the City of Minneapolis' pattern and practice of diverting criminals into the 'hoods to prey on the poor working class folks that are stuck there continues unabated.
checking the heat tapes and piling the snow along the baseboards in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
p.s.: I'm considering doing a post on the viability of moving some of our houses out of the containment zones to nicer places- any interest? While a lot of our historic houses are too tall for the usual highway moving, we do have a navigable waterway right in the middle of our city with enough clearance under the bridges for all but the tallest Minneapolis homes. Or heck, if you can buy a barge cheap enough you could just moor it along the river and drive the city nuts- they'd have no authority over it whatsoever!
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