In Seattle, Washington there is gentrification in process, but is gentrification good or bad. The system of Gentrification can be defined as economically good or often biased and unfair, however, those who understand the exact nature and consequences of gentrification have an altogether different perspective depending on whether or not you’re displaced or displacing. Henry W. McGee, Jr is one such individual who understands that the cons outweigh the pros for the displaced people in central district of Seattle, Washington in his article, entitled “Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story” contends that this system is economically based but has racial discrimination resulting in the displaced people getting the shorter hand.
When it comes to African Americans buying property in the Central District decades ago, starting in the 1980s they first had to face racist and biased redlining policies which kept African Americans out of white communities for years. When these redlining policies were overshadowed by anti-discrimination in the 1977 acts provided by Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story, By: Henry W. McGee, “Mortgage Disclosure Act, and the Fairness in Lending Act.” after these two anti-discrimination laws became active it made it were African Americans could buy property in the same neighborhood as the European Americans. In the central district the price of houses were declining due to whites moving out of the Central District. For example, my great grandmother on my dad’s side of the family came down to Seattle from down south with here 5 kids and bought a house in the central district for 6,000 dollars. ever since she bought the house the property value has increased and increased rapidly which she still owns today.
Every year I can gradually see my little brothers football team (CD Panthers) become more diverse while ex-players start playing for Benson Bruins, as a result of the central district community becoming gentrified When I was a young teenager/pre-teenager my father always told stories about him being afraid to walk in curtain parts of the neighborhood in the central district. I never understood at that age in the time and era I was in, why he was scared to walk in curtain parts of a community that seemed so pure, since I always seen people with children, people walking their dogs and playing at parks simply enjoying the community.
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Later, in life as I got older I started to realize that the Central District used to be a community mainly owned by African-Americans. Eventually the offspring of the original homeowners in the central district usually sell their homes for various amount of reasons. For example, on my grandfather’s side of the family my great uncles and aunts recently sold my dead great grandmothers home which was located across the street from Garfield High School, since the property value increased, and they were established with homes of their own.
When the homes are put on the market the homeowners aren’t leasing, renting or keeping it black owned, instead they are selling to wealthy working whites and Asians supported by, Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story, By: Henry W. McGee, “forcing them to sell to younger… credit eligible buyers who in many instances were white.” this is the unfortunate outcome, because when the new homeowners face a raise in property value due to the process of gentrification they also face tax bills that are sometimes more than or very close to the mortgage that once existed to the original homeowners, even though they already paid off the house.
The increase in demand for money was not a minor problem for the new homeowners, young and inexperienced homeowners because according to, Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story, By: Henry W. McGee, “Most black families in the area report incomes of less than $15,000”. More often than not, with the variables in place sometimes the most economically smart decision would be to sell your property for more than you bought it for.
Last but no least as we seen why people become displaced in gentrification you’ll see how and why the system is biased and racist to the once predominantly black community. First a foremost if you lived in the Central District when prices diminished and you did not own any property you were automatically pushed out of the community when your contract was up. This was a common case because as the landlords property value go up , the expensive simultaneously increase as well.
Concluding from Henry W. McGee paragraph about the racial discrimination African Americans went through in the gentrifying era was that even though there was laws for anti-discrimination on housing in curtain areas so they couldn’t make it impossible for African Americans to be in the same neighborhoods as whites , however banks had no problem with charging African Americans 2.56 times as much as they should have in interest according to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, as stated in Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story, By: Henry W. McGee. When African Americans were over charged when buying the houses decades ago it will affect a percent of their profit negatively when it’s time to sell their property because they won’t receive one hundred percent equity back.
After analyzing the perspective of Henry W. McGee article, “Gentrification, Integration or Displacement? The Seattle Story”, we see that economically the displaced people cons are greater than their pros. In the system of gentrification located in the central district the once predominantly African American community went through biased and racist rules, such as property value going up, unfair interest, unfair equity rates , and raise in tax payments. These unfair procedures that happens when gentrification starts eventually seems more convincing to sell their parents old property to the wealthy, which are mostly Asian and White. Just as my family did with one of the houses we had established in the central district.
