gentrification
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Rutgers Professor Rails Against ‘Little Caucasian Assholes’ Gentrifying His Harlem Nabe, Even Though He’s ‘a White People’
A white Rutgers University professor went off on the entitled “little shithead” gentrifiers who have taken over his Harlem neighborhood (yes, you read that right). James Livingston wrote a Facebook rant on Thursday that was flagged and taken down by the social media platform after he went to Harlem Shake, a high-end burger joint half…
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‘I’m From Here’: Washington, DC, Natives Fight Back Against the Whitewashing of Chocolate City
When I arrived in Washington, D.C., more than two decades ago to attend Howard University, one of the first things I noticed was the diversity of black people, all different kinds: rich ones, poor ones, bougie ones and the natives, born and raised in D.C., who introduced me to mambo sauce, go-go music and New…
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Pastor Fights Megachurch Gentrification With Sign Telling Black Folks to ‘Stay Out of White Churches’
In a Birmingham, Ala., controversy involving the mayor, a black church, gentrification and a white megachurch, an Alabama pastor is being accused of reverse racism after displaying a sign in front of his church that says, “White folks refused to be our neighbors.” New Era Baptist Church is located in the West End section of…
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#MovingInWhileBlack: Former White House Staffer Accused of Breaking Into His Own Apartment
Here’s an updated list of reasons why the cops have been called on black people: #BreathingWhileBlack, #WalkingWhileBlack, #HoldingACellPhoneWhileBlack, #EatingAtTheWaffleHouseWhileBlack, #SittingAtStarbucksWhileBlack … and now you can add #MovingInWhileBlack. And that’s just what happened to former White House staffer Darren Martin as he was moving into his Upper West Side apartment in New York City. Martin, a…
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What We Mean When We Call White People ‘Colonizers’
I’ve included references to East Liberty—a neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s East End—in pieces I’ve written for VSB, Ebony, Slate and GQ, and it’s peppered throughout my book. There’s an entire chapter, for instance, devoted to the changes it’s undergone in the past 20 years. I do this because it’s where I spent many of my formative…
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You Have to Be Perfect or Lucky (or Perfect and Lucky) to Buy a House If You’re Black
I’ve learned through age, maturity, meditation and Lisinopril to not allow myself to be bothered with certain things that might have irked me 10 or even five years ago. Basically I’m learning to give less fucks because fucklessness is a form of self-care for me. But there is (at least) one strain of conversation that…
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The Race: How I’m Gonna Get in Shape, Fight Gentrification and Celebrate Kwanzaa in 2018
I know what you’re doing this week. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is when you start digging online looking at gyms, low-cost personal trainers and yoga classes—because this year you’re going to get in shape. Seriously, no excuses this time. Mind you, there’s always a risk for black folks trying out New…
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97-Year-Old WWII Vet About to Be Evicted From His NYC Home. Merry Effing Christmas
A 97-year-old World War II veteran—one who was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by the Japanese—is being kicked out of his Brooklyn, N.Y., home, according to a report. The Rev. James Blakely says that he’s being evicted from his apartment in the New York City borough some five years after, he says, it…
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Dear 24- to 45-Year-Old White People Who Live in Urban Spaces: Why Don’t You Put Curtains and Blinds on Your Windows?
A house in my neighborhood was recently purchased by a man who looks to be in his early to mid-30s. I haven’t met him yet. But after being his neighbor for a month, I already know about the size, make and model of the TV in his living room; his affinity for wearing robes during…
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Black Lottery Winner Invests Winnings Into Rebuilding Fla. Black Business Community
After winning millions in a lottery jackpot, a Florida man has decided to use his money to revive a district once known for thriving black businesses. “This commitment that I feel, that I have to go to that community and put my money where my mouth is,” explained Miguel Pilgram. According to Black Enterprise, in…