.png)
Yvonne Lian, 2020
In the memoir ‘Becoming,’ Michelle Obama eloquently tells a ‘becoming-of-age’ story of an African American girl who is cultivated from a segregated and disadvantaged neighborhood into a well-educated lawyer and a loving mother and wife. Her story is an inspiration to her people who constantly live in fear and trouble. Michelle Obama is the daughter of two hard-working parents who gave everything to their two children. Their investment paid off when Obama got into Princeton despite all difficulties and dismay stemmed from unfavorable circumstances. One of which is a dismissive assessment from her teachers in school. Yet, though guidance from many female mentors, she grows strong. Later in the memoir, she accounts her story as the first African American First Lady. Striving to provide for all the people whom she served, she launched several campaigns and nonprofit initiatives to mentor children; events she held in the white-house is also a reminiscence of her jazz parties back in her grandparents' house. She hopes to motivate youths from disadvantaged backgrounds just as what her mentors once empowered her.
One of the issues that trouble Obama’s upbringing is her neighborhood. Not only haunted by violence and poverty, but the south side of Chicago also bear racial segregation and white-flight. White prejudice is such that when black entry into a neighborhood is achieved, that area becomes unattractive to further white settlement and whites begin departing at an accelerated pace (Excerpt from American Apartheid, Massey and Denton, 1993). Obama recalled moving into a better neighborhood as a kid. Yet as she grew up and as more black families joined the neighborhood, she realized that most families have already moved out. This tells the story of classic white-flight and black apartheid, which is attributed to white prejudice. However, this racial segregation also feeds into the persistence of intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage in these communities.
After the Civil Rights Movement that happened during the 50s, atrocious racial segregation that took place every day were finally being addressed. Nevertheless, the progress of the social movement did not ease out the disadvantages African Americans faced in society. Among Northern metropolitan areas, for example, blacks, no matter what their income, remain highly segregated from whites. (Excerpt from American Apartheid, Massey and Denton, 1993). Instead of barging into the white neighborhoods, most middle-class and lower-class African Americans remain inside the black belt. This constraint, however, may be involuntary and a continuation of injustice in history. In the housing market in the 1960s, blacks were denied the opportunities to locate a house outside of the black neighborhood simply and solely because of their race. They were seen as unacceptable tenants who would irritate their neighbors. Moreover, brokers would direct them to the housings in such areas. Outright racial-based refusals were common. White prejudice is the unfortunate truth that keeps black Americans from incorporating into white neighborhoods. Black Americans expressed a strong preference to live in desegregated and racial-parity neighborhoods. In fact, 63% desire to reside in a half-black and half-white neighborhood (Excerpt from American Apartheid, Massey and Denton, 1993). However, they found themselves living in a black neighborhood years later, even when they bought a house in the originally white neighborhood.
The persistence of intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage is inextricably linked to location and place (Florida, 2013). The racial segregation has long-lasting effects on the disadvantaged poor black communities. As Obama recalls, “Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, hardly anyone in my neighborhood had the chance to continue their education past high school. And while neither of my parents had gone to college, they were determined to see me and my brother go on to higher education because they knew it would lead to opportunities they had never dreamed of for themselves.” Similarly, as told in The persistent Geography of Disadvantage, "Two-thirds of black children who were raised in the poorest quarter of US neighborhoods a generation ago now raise their children in similarly poor neighborhoods" (Florida, 2013). It is argued in the article that family neighborhoods affect the quality of living and many dimensions of people's lives, such as the people with whom they interact, the quality of schools, and the people around them. The poverty level in these neighborhoods persists partly due to the low levels of education the children receive.
Reference:
1. Douglas S. Massey, Nancy A. Denton. (1993) American Apartheid. Harvard University Press. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674018211
2. Florida, R. (2013). The Persistent Geography of Disadvantage. CityLab. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/07/persistent-geography-disadvantage/6231/
3. Obama, M. (2018). Becoming. Crown Publishing.
Comentarii