“It is only be becoming more fully aware that we begin to see clearly.” (bell hooks, 1992)
bell hooks writes about colonization when referring to social representations of blacks in film, tv, and narratives within our lives. This colonization exists all throughout society in hidden and visible threads of life and certainly is present in the segmented and segregated way many of our towns, cities, and schools are run. I read this article the same weekend I saw Black Panther in the theatre and it is sobering to think about how anomalous this movie is (one with an all-black cast that embraces African knowledge, power, and culture).
In terms of my own project, an investigation of the redlining in Long Island towns and community, this reading spoke to the need for me to become “more fully aware”. I am aware of my privilege as a white male and I want to be cognisant of decisions I make so as to not further the imperialist and colonialist mentality. I know there are areas where I am perpetrating this mentality yet not aware of.
This weekend, I listened to a podcast by Reveal (The Center For Investigative Reporting) which highlighted how banks deny mortgages to people of color in order to keep those people out of certain neighborhoods. Banks refused to admit this, but the stories and data offer stark proof of this racism. My multimedia post for this week is the website that Reveal helped create: a searchable map that documents the lending disparities amongst people to get a home mortgage.
http://apps.revealnews.org/redlining/
My own project is beginning to take shape in my own mind as well. I will create a map of Long Island towns and communities painted over with black, white, and red paint. The color of the town or community will be determined by the majority ethnicity as determined by the 2010 census. The borders between the towns will be painted in start red paint. I am currently going through the data to get a clear idea of home ownership ethnicity in each town. The goal of these colors is to evoke an emotional reaction. Clearly separating the towns in black or white, for me, evokes Jim Crow segregation in clear and dangerous ways. The Red border (all borders are permeable) is passionate, violent, deadly, and for some, lovely. There will be other layers within this painting, but I am not yet sure what shape they will take.
Hi Nick –
I really like the visual elements you are adding to your project and how thoughtful you chose the border colors. I’m just wondering who you envision as the audience. It seems as though your purpose is to raise awareness (as you’ve talked about in your post). Is it overall awareness? Or can it be as specific as the awareness of the people who live in Long Island? Perhaps it might be interesting to get reactions to the art from residents who fall in different sections of the map.
Lauren,
Thanks for your response. I appreciate your idea of including local reactions to the map once it is created. I’ve been thinking a lot about who my audience is and I imagine inspiring people to become “fully aware” is one of my goals. I look at my colleagues in my school building and in grocery stores around town and wonder how to get out from underneath these oppressive views of personhood and upward mobility. I know this is a dangerous way of thinking, because it puts me on the pedestal of imparting knowledge on others. Perhaps, after creating what I imagine to be a stark map, your idea of including reactions from people will help foster a more participatory and less banking model form of engagement.
Thanks for your comments
Nick
I am thinking about the concept of painting areas with solid blocks of color. It conveys the point of continued and systemic racism and segregation, but it conceals the conflict that must rumble within each geographic area making those areas seem formidably closed to transformation. Borders are permeable, but what that means is that to some degree they don’t even exist and so everything is permeable (not just borders) and subject to change. It seems to me that while it is worthwhile to starkly paint a picture of continued oppression, it is also worthwhile to identify the possibility of change. Can your maps do that as well? I think of an ink blot that spreads (maybe that image seems to pathological), but the idea of possibility seems important to me. Is there any way that the maps can be empowering as well as scathing?