Housing Rights

-

     With the traumatic events that occurred this week, I find it hard not to mention how important it is that we support each other the best we can, and support is something that can be found in communities, no matter what the community looks like, or who the community's citizens are. With this, we can look at the current and past housing situations that many families face. 

After our discussion in class about how segregation still affects multiple areas, especially Metro Detroit, I searched the internet for more information on Metro Detroit and its housing situation. Luckily I found the U.S Census Bureau's Quick Facts on Detroit City compared to the rest of Michigan.

U.S Census Bureau QuickFacts

This study yields information similar to what we discussed in class, but seeing this information compared to Michigan as a whole shocked me. The amount of Black or African American individuals in Detroit City is about 78.3%, while the amount of Black or African American individuals in the whole of Michigan is only 14.1% (as of 2019). But what shocked me the most was the median household income for Metro Detroit and Michigan, $30,894 and $57,144 respectively. 

When the annual income gap is this huge, how can we blame anyone for staying in a community where they can afford to live? I do believe that we should have the right to live wherever we want, but how? Low household income means lower education rates, which then relates back to low household income. 

If I live in a community that not only offers support, but also makes me feel like I fit in, then we could get through the tough times together, and stand together in support for other communities. I certainly wouldn't know the struggle that Black and African American communities faced during times like The Raisin in the Sun, but I do know what being in a supportive community feels like.

Comments

  1. Veeksha SudhirDecember 5, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    I agree with your post, I think we leave out the financial aspect of living in a certain community. We should also have the ability to be happy where we live and it is a psychological fact that we are happier and more comfortable when we are around people of the same race. This allso plays a big role in the build of our communities today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EvaDecember 5, 2021 at 8:33 PM

    You highlighted the issue of the trap of communities like those in Detroit excellently. It's so easy for us to tell people that you could live anywhere you want, but in a place where money is such a crucial part to deciding where to live, is that statement really true? Lower-income places can't afford to pay as much in taxes for public schooling, let alone to pay tuition for private schooling. It's a bitter loop, really.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's in a Name?

-
Image
     With this being the first 12 AP blog, I think introducing myself and talking about the origins of my name would be a better way to start the school year.      So the name Shambhavi (Shum-ba-vee). Having a unique name already distinguishes me from others. My name usually isn't something that people are able to pronounce correctly the first time. Instead, I'll get a few mispronounced versions of my name before the right pronunciation.      As a child, my appreciation for my name was much lower than it is now. I wasn't used to being the only unique name in between other Toms, Sallys, and Jims. In third grade, I chose to go by SGS which is my initials rather than my full name, which I wasn't able to continue for more than a week because of my teacher. Growing up my parents told me how my name was chosen, but the weight and significance of the name took longer for me to understand.      Shambhavi: the name of a Hindu goddess and the feminine version of Shambhu. Whenev
Read more

Diving Into the Wreck

-
     Defining and finding meaning line by line of any written piece has never been my strong suit, but with the poem my group chose for the poetry panel project, I find that it's necessary to understand every line in the poem since each line holds a valuable meaning that develops the underlying message of the poem. We are, I am, you are by cowardice or courage the one who find our way back to this scene carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths in which our names do not appear.      The stanza above is the final stanza in the poem Diving into the Wreck . During my first read of the poem, I found myself confused with what the poem was trying to say, at first glance the poem was really just about the speaker going on a dive to explore a wreck that she witnesses. Now since this is the poem from my group's poetry panel project I won't give out any spoilers, but I do want to mention that I admire how each and every word from Rich's poem carries weight to it.      Cathy Park
Read more

This I Have Learned

-
Image
           Walking into the classroom 12 AP room, everyone was new to me. I ended up sitting at the same pod as Cecelia and Alex (Sonnet joined us a little later), these were people that I had never spoken to before.       Now, since in AP Lit we had to almost always have pod discussions, the four of us, considering the fact that at least three of us are introverts, had a hard time making conversation at first. Those first few days of awkward silence and stagnant conversation is a memory that will always stay with me because since then, I've learned how to communicate my thoughts and ideas more freely with my pod always supporting me (plus Lily:) ).     Throughout high school, if there is something that I have learned and consistently tried to improve upon, then it has to be taking every opportunity I can get rather than letting some slip past me. I have always been finding myself letting good opportunities get away because I haven't been proactive about taking action on them.
Read more