NY Times: Racial Shift in a Progressive City Spurs Talks (Portland)

Racial Shift in a Progressive City Spurs Talks
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: May 29, 2008



PORTLAND, Ore. — Not every neighborhood in this city is one of those Northwest destinations where passion for espresso, the environment and plenty of exercise define the cultural common ground. A few places are still described as frontiers, where pioneers move because prices are relatively reasonable, the location is convenient and, they say, they “want the diversity.”

Yet one person’s frontier, it turns out, is often another’s front porch. It has been true across the country: gentrification, which increases housing prices and tension, sometimes has racial overtones and can seem like a dirty word. Now Portland is encouraging black and white residents to talk about it, but even here in Sincere City, the conversation has been difficult.

“I’ve been really upset by what I perceive to be Portland’s blind spot in its progressivism,” said Khaela Maricich, a local artist and musician. “They think they live in the best city in the country, but it’s all about saving the environment and things like that. It’s not really about social issues. It’s upper-middle-class progressivism, really.”

Ms. Maricich, 33, who is white, spoke after attending this month’s meeting of Portland’s Restorative Listening Project.

The goal of the project, which is sponsored by the city’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement, is to have white people better understand the effect gentrification can have on the city’s longtime black and other-minority neighborhoods by having minority residents tell what it is like to be on the receiving end.

Once armed with a broader perspective, said Judith Mowry, the project’s leader, whites should “make the commitment that the harm stops with us.” That might mean that whites appeal to the city to help black businesses or complain to companies that put fliers on the doors of black property owners encouraging them to sell.

Yet what has been clear from the meetings this month and last is that talking about the impact of gentrification is easier than finding ways to reduce it. For some minority residents, the notion that white Portland now says it feels their pain is cold comfort.

“That’s been our history,” Norma Trimble, who is Native American, said during the question-and-answer session this month. “They take all you’ve got. They take your land. Now they want your stories.” ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/29portland.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

consequence of achieving social equality. Yes, the traditionally black neighborhood in Portland is being "gentrified." But what does that mean? It means that poor people are selling their houses at fantastic prices, and moving into much better neighborhoods. How is that a bad thing? Because they will lose their black identity, their culture. But that culture was entirely a by-product of bigotry.

This has happened over and over in America. Success means homogenization. It has happened even to gay people. Our culture has been co-opted and we are being absorbed into the mainstream. The fight for equality implies a fight for "sameness." Do I like it? No, I don't. I hate it. Personally, I liked things better when we were oppressed, and had our own culture, and were on the cutting edge of things. But you can't have it both ways.

I go to a dental clinic in the black area of Portland. About a year ago there was an article about this in one of the local papers. In response to it, this black woman sitting next to me said: "Well, that may be true. But we still have the only Popeye's Chicken in town!" LOL!

The subversive sense of humor is the last thing to go I guess.

Honestly, while there have been people who managed to sell their homes and make some money, those were people who were already managing to do well monetarily. If you are struggling financially, what happens when your home value goes up, is that your property taxes go up, and a lot of folks who were on fixed incomes ended up selling their homes because of that and moving farther out of the city. Then you have renter whose landlords decided to try to make some more money and they ended up having to move farther out of the city because. Whole blocks of what was once low income family housing have been evicted, while the homes get some small fixing up (usually just a new paint job and some new cabinets, from what I can tell) and suddenly they're "condos" being hawked to the yuppies. So don't pretend that the majority of people are winning in this situation. This is still capitalism, somebody's got to lose.

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