A Busy Week in Race: Fight Over Public Space Draws Our Attention
We never have trouble trying to find something to write about regarding race, politics and communication. (Stephen pointed out Wednesday [Sept. 19] on the Internet radio program “Outside Voice” that this is evidence in and of itself that we have a long way to go on the issue). Each week, we sift through the stories that have arisen and try to focus on one to analyze. This week was tougher than most. Here were the top contenders:
Fred Thompson joined the list of Republicans bailing out of Tavis Smiley’s presidential forum this coming Thursday.
Cornel West gave a mind-blowing appearance plugging his new CD on Smiley’s PBS program (reinforcing Stephen’s long-time belief that he keeps his Afro not for political reasons, but because his brain is too big for his head, and he needs to protect it from the elements).
Isaiah Thomas revealed that he believes black men calling women “bitches” was not as troublesome as white men doing the same thing.
There was a big turnout for the protests in Jena, Louisiana, as that little town continues to have a spotlight shone on its blatant bigotry.
And, the one we finally decided on. . .
Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley charged spankin’ new alderman Brendan Reilly of caving in to racist attitudes on the part of his constituents who are trying to keep the Chicago Children’s Museum from moving to Grant Park.
The young Mr. Reilly beat long-time incumbent Burton Natarus this past spring to represent the 42nd Ward, which contains the Loop and other parts of central downtown. Property values have soared in the ward where most of the residents are white, and nearly all of the property-owning constituents are very wealthy. This is particularly true in the area near Grant Park where park and lake views from the high-rise condominium buildings drive prices even higher.
The situation arose because the museum has outgrown its current home at Navy Pier. On Monday, Daly, who supports the move, lashed out at opponents: "You mean you don't want children from the city in Grant Park? Why? Are they black? Are they white? Are they Hispanic?” Criticism of Daly’s comments were swift and harsh. A Sun-Times online poll reported that, as of Sunday morning, 79% of some 5,700 respondents do not think that “the opposition to kids [sic] museum is a racial issue.” Well, then, that settles it. An unscientific poll of people, some of whom may not even think that the Jena situation is rooted in race, say it’s not racist.
The truth, however, is that Daly’s claim is disingenuous. There’s no reason to suspect that poor and/or minority children would be flocking to the museum, which charges (at present) $8 per ticket to get in. Children of all classes and colors routinely frolic noisily at the fountain in Millennium Park, so it’s difficult to imagine that kids walking to and from an indoor attraction would be reason for alarm. Residents seem most upset about allowing a for-profit entity in public space.
For his part, Reilly called the mayor’s claims “ridiculous.” That may be going a bit too far. While we are not at all persuaded that the residents’ motives are racial in nature, it’s not ridiculous to consider it. It’s natural that the folks who live in the area would want to protect their investments by keeping property values high. And it’s no secret that part of America’s systemic racism is manifested in housing patterns that result from property values dropping when people of color begin to live or even frequent the area. That’s why “white flight” from urban areas has resulted in “suburban sprawl” until recent “gentrification” of some urban neighborhoods. So while Mayor Daly is wrong in this case, the claim is not “ridiculous,” or, as another opponent of the move stated, unduly “insulting.” Any accusation of racism is an insult to someone who does not believe he or she is racist. As we consistently argue in this space, though, it’s a claim that we all need to take more seriously if we are to move forward toward racial equality.
Like all American cities, Chicago has racial tension and racial issues that are both derived from and perpetuated by its segregated housing patterns. But the Lincoln Park zoo, which is free, is located in the heart of one of Chicago’s most posh neighborhoods. Public space, particularly near the lake, is part of Chicago’s tradition and part of its appeal as a tourist destination. So are its museums. However the current controversy is settled, there will continue to be tension between the haves and those who speak for (or claim to speak for) the have nots and have-too-littles in America’s great urban centers.
* * * * *
Mark your calendar! It was confirmed this week that we will be debating one another regarding “Who Can Use the N-word” on October 26 in Naperville, Illinois. The debate, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Centennial Hall (White Activities Center) on the campus of North Central College, time TBA. We’ll post more details when the event draws closer. TWIR readers in the Chicagoland area are encouraged to attend and to spread the word to others interested in race, politics and language.
posted by Stephen & Charlton @ 9/23/2007 10:28:00 AM
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2 Comments:
Unfortunately, you seem to have bought into stereotypes regarding downtown residents. That's a shame.
As the Sun-Times reports, the neighborhood surrounding Grant Park is 35% non-white. It's a stretch to call that "mostly white" as you claim.
While the neighborhood is the second-wealthiest in the city, it is also one of its most diverse. You make the mistake of ASSUMING that just because residents are wealthy, they must be white. That's a shame.
In fact, the Sun-Times story features interviews with moms from the neighborhood and is a must-read for anyone who thinks this has anything to do with race:
"Who is he to say we're racist. He grew up in Bridgeport. Please. Give me a friggin' break," say Ariel Elliott, a black mother of three girls. "He owes the neighborhood an apology, or better yet, me personally.
"I don't think he knows about our neighborhood. I mean, has he walked his large tuchus over here to see the place? He has no clue."
Elliott, a former Chicago public school teacher, says she moved to the New East Side from the South Loop so her girls could grow up in a more accepting environment.
"We lived down the street from the mayor. We walked past his little sleeping cop parked outside his window, and we moved because it was so uncomfortable," she says. "My kids will tell you: The white kids played with the white kids, and the black kids played with the black kids over there. That's why we moved here."
Also, let's not forget that when former Alderman Natarus blamed slow downtown mail delivery on the fact that postal employees are black, Brendan Reilly was one of the first and few people to publicly criticize him.
Unlike Mayor Pritzker, Reilly attended all nine of the public hearings on Grant Park demolition, and he's in a good position to judge the views, tone, tenor and intent of local residents. Neighborhood residents have reasonable concerns about the increase in traffic that a 700,000 visitor a year museum would bring. They don't really care about the skin color of the people in the cars. They have reasonable concerns about 700,000 kid crowding into a playground where folks already wait up to an hour in the summer to push their kids on the swing. They don't care what color the people in line are.
And besides, as the Sun-Times reported in their editorial earlier this week, the typical visitor to the Children's Museum is a white six year-old.
That pretty much moots the racism argument in my book.
Why is this important? For the same reason your blog is important. There is real racism in Chicago.
There's racism in a mass transit system that is good at funneling low-wage workers downtown but terrible at moving visitors to struggling neighborhoods.
There's racism in a public school system that denies children of color the basic access to a fundamentally sound education (and tells them to pay $8 to go to the Children's Museum instead).
There's racism in a police force that lines Division Street with police officers every Friday and Saturday night to make sure drunken revelers get safely into their cabs -- while other neighborhoods echo with the gunfire of gang violence.
There's racism in our lack of affordable housing, affordable health care services, and the shortage of jobs paying a living wage.
With all of the real, obvious racism out there, any focus on Daley's trumped-up charges is a distraction from the real challenges facing Chicago. That Daley thinks we can be so easily fooled -- that's racist too.
We normally don't respond to comments on our blog, but we really wanted to address this one.
First, we want to thank Yellow Dog Democrat for drafting such a thoughtful response. But we wanted to point out two things.
First, it seems we are in agreement that Mayor Daly was out of bounds to suggest that the opposition to the museum move to Grant Park racist in nature. In re-reading the blog, it seems clear that this is our position. So we're on the same page there.
Second, with respect to your initial accusation of us buying into stereotypes, we couldn't disagree more with your assessment. Here's what we wrote: "Property values have soared in the ward where most of the residents are white, and nearly all of the property-owning constituents are very wealthy." As you note in your response, it is the second wealthiest neighborhood in the city, so we stand by the "property values have soared" comment, as well as the "nearly all of the property-owning constituents are very wealthy" comment. Even if it is possible to rent a unit for $1,000 a month, we clearly stated that it is the property-owning residents who are wealthy. They are. Further, we take issue with your interpretation of the word "mostly." Mostly means more than not. So anything more than 51% is "mostly." 65% white certainly qualifies as "mostly white." Additionally, according to the 2000 census, 42% of the residents in the city of Chicago are white (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/1714000.html). So compared to the city as a whole, that neighborhood is VERY white.
Again, we appreciate the thoughtfulness of your response, we're glad we're on the same page in thinking that the mayor was out of line, and we very much appreciate your reading the blog and noting how important it is.
Best wishes!
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