How many times have you heard, or even said, this? Since when did "ghetto" become an adjective and what and who is it usually meant to define? The answers to these questions are tied to common sense (stereotypical and ahistorical) understandings of links between poverty, race, residence and behavior. And, maybe, another way to categorize groups of people and reinforce artificial divisions in our society. What do you think?
Shakirah wanted to get at the bottom of these and other questions that we've been talking about in our African American studies class so she decided to step out of class and take her questions to the streets. Her mini-ethnography gives us a glimpse into how others are thinking about issues related to race, community and identity. Check out her methodology and findings below!
Here are some of the questions I posed to some of the people in my community. I asked these questions to two females ages 49 and 14, and two males ages 33 and 24. Below are the questions asked with the names, ages, and their responses?
*Describe Ghetto? What does it mean to you?
*Will we ever escape the Ghetto Mentality?
*Beyond Obama/Cory Booker do you think there are any positive role models, in the community?
*Do you think the local drug dealers are becoming the new Ghetto Activist? And if so how does this affect the community?
*Where do you see the Ghetto/Black community in the future?
Jacqueline 49 years old
Being ghetto or living in the ghetto has nothing to do with being Black, or just because you hear the word ghetto you shouldn’t automatically think of people who are African American. The ghetto terminology started in the European States in London and it was due to there poor living conditions, which were beneath the poverty line. Now that the tables have turned over time ghetto can now be viewed as a racist comment, ghetto is almost next to the word nigger. To be ghetto is to be poor and impoverished due to the riots. The word ghetto was brought about by the mainstream music, similar to how the word hoe and bitch are thrown around. Furthermore, the word ghetto means nothing to her and is just a word described by the Europeans and we just adapted to it.
Yes, we can escape the mentality of the ghetto through education. But we must first re-learn who we are being African-American and that being African-American is a culture and our culture that is rich; and has been rich even before slavery.
As role models we have Queen Latifah and Whitney Houston, which are a few of has made an impact on the African-American community. These are just some of the few people who actually came from within our community (Newark, NJ). However, if jobs weren’t so scarce and if the white collar professionals hadn’t moved out of the community, there would be a lot more positive people in the community.
As far as drug dealers becoming the next activists, children should be taught the difference. They should look past the drugs, money, and clothes; you must learn to look towards your own goals. Drug dealers in the community destroy the very fiber of the community, it kills hope, motivation, and it’s just a vicious cycle.
In conclusion, the ghetto as we see it will change and the change is going to come from education.
Chantalle 14 years old
The ghetto means to be hood, street, and people being shot. Or subjecting your-self or being around people who use broken grammar. We can escape the ghetto mentality through education. In the actual community as far as to where we live, we don’t have any role models. Chantalle stated that if we did have a model in the neighborhood, “they probably couldn’t make perfect attendance.” However, she saw Eldris Alba as a positive role model. Younger boys in the community are more likely to look up to the drug dealers in the community, which will in turn only make the community more violent. In the end, the future of the community will either be dead or in jail.
Haasim Daniels 33 years old
The ghetto can be seen as low class, urban, and filled with people who learn from the streets or who only know nothing more then street knowledge. We as African-Americans can escape the ghetto mentality; we are already doing it now, through hip-hop music and Obama. We definitely have several role models: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Quincy Jones as far as music. The drug dealers are the least of out worries and are not the next ghetto activist. As far as the future of the community, we are eliminating each other. It’s to the point to where we’re even letting the cops know by informing them of when we’re going to take each other out. (Comment was made due to the recent shootings that have taken place in Newark, that were gang related)
Dreamer 24 years old
The ghetto is described as hard, bootleg, an area where people make due with what you got in the ghetto. Every Black person isn’t street/ghetto and don’t have that mentality. Any Black person who can make a difference is someone to look up to. When it comes to the downfall of the community due to drug dealers; you have some who give back to the community and you have those who are only in on the take and only care about their monetary gain. We can stand out on top if we work together to help build the community, but how can we look toward the future of the ghetto if we cant even help ourselves as well as each other out. Other races stick together and help each other, why can’t we as Black people do the same?
-Shakirah A.
What do YOU think? How would YOU answer Shakirah's questions? Did you notice any generational or even gender issues in her interviewees' responses? What questions would you ask your friends...family...neighbors?
2 comments:
I definitely enjoyed reading the response's from different members of the communities. It's an eye-opener to hear how people feel, and the way they discuss the issues that we pose in class. After readings these responses, I noticed that within the younger generations, there seems to be a feeling of hopelessness toward the future of the ghetto although they suggest very positive ways for uplifting the community. I think it is very possible for the black community to overcome the ghetto mentality through education and self-awareness that change comes from within first. I think as younger generations, we need to want to change ourselves first by straying away from the mentality and then by helping others.I thought it was sad when the 14 year-old stated that the ghetto community would either be dead or in jail in the future, although that does mirror a lot of what is happening in the community today, these are not the only solutions. One point that I found to be brought up more than once especially by the male gender was the fact that we as African-Americans need to stick together. I fully agree with the male gender on this issue, and believe that it is proven that together we make our biggest accomplishments. Just look at our latest President elect. It speaks for itself.
The ghetto terminology will always be viewed as the life of people living in urban and poverty area but that is not the truth. Everyone speaks ghetto one way or another, if you say "AIN'T" you ghetto, if you wear white tees you ghetto. It does not matter where you are from, when you do something outside of the eye of someone else, the first thing they say is "You ghetto". They don't say you different or creative. The fact that African Americans don't want to stand for what they are shows that they will fall for anything. Life is what you make it. I may speak ghetto, but how smart am I is what matters. I can change the way I speak and dress, but how many can change how educated they are that fast? Not many. African Americans who live in the ghetto are just as equal to the person who lives in the suburbs. People living in poverty may not have the money to get by but have a story that sends a message.
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