The gentrification taking place in New York City's borough of Brooklyn inspired Chika Dunu to write a piece for Ebony lamenting the fact that her neighborhood has changed. She notes that the gentrification sends many negative messages to native Brooklynites.
I am a Brooklyn native. Born and raised. Iβm too young to have partied with Rosie Perez at Wesley Snipes' parties that are said to have envied Diddy's; old enough to remember the East vs. West Coast beef starring Biggie and Tupac and the funeral of the former, which brought Brooklynites young and old to the streets in mourning. And now, old enough to witness neighborhoods change aesthetically and financially at a time when I'm thinking quite seriously about where I might live and raise my own family.
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African hair braiding spots, West Indian restaurants with smells thatβd detour you from an original destination, barbershops youβd avoid walking by due to the cat-calls of men further emboldened by the confidence of a fresh line-up, bodegas that made a serious hero sandwich, dirty streets and overflowing trash cans. It wasnβt always pretty, but it was my βhood β held together with culture and imperfection.
My Brooklyn was the outline of hopscotch sketched into sidewalks with colored chalk; loud chants of βarrreee-youuuu-readyyyy-readyyy-steaddyyβ¦β and double-dutch battles. It was water ferociously pouring from fire hydrants; late nights sitting on the trunk of someoneβs hoopty; the sounds of ambulance, police sirens combined with lilting accents.Β It wasnβt the Brooklyn of Lena Dunhamβs Girls, a post Sex and the Cityβ mini-Manhattan. In fact, they avoided it at all cost. It wasnβt trendy based off real estate and infrastructure, but was cool because Biggie said it was. Hell, it was cool just because. We said so.
Read Chika Dunu's entire piece at Ebony magazine.
The RootΒ aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.
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