Gentrification is quite problematic to me. While most White people feel comfortable moving into neighborhoods to “make them safer” there is little to no regard for the Black people that are displaced in the process. Most of these people are elderly home owners who have lived in these communities all of their lives and are suddenly displaced by young White families who have little to no knowledge of the Black community or its values- and most have never cared to know.

Black people don’t view gentrification as a positive because it's a culture stripping and take over that we have seen too often in this country. Law and order under this president is not designed to make things better for Black people, and there’s really no way around this one. He’s made his intentions perfectly clear. It isn’t just that Black people are criminals and some of our neighborhoods are dangerous for no reason. They may be unsafe for the same reason some White neighborhoods are dangerous- poverty and lack of access to jobs with livable wages, community programs to promote self sufficiency, and inequitable treatment by law enforcement and the judicial system.

This is a plan in the making for the past 400 years. Black people did not create this but are constantly blamed for systematic oppression. Police officers should be mandated to either live in or regularly volunteer in the communities they serve. If their first interaction with Black people is when a crime is committed, they will naturally develop a bias against Black people. Most White people can go their entire lives without interacting with a Black person. We do not have that same ability because White imagines are EVERYWHERE. For me this isn’t just something the Black community needs to solve. Those who are responsible for creating it in the first place must step up to help create solutions. Listening and communicating with Black people instead of talking over our heads would be a great start. Thanks for reading and I appreciate you taking the time to comment.