You may be familiar with a series of stories called Humans of New York, which is run by the photographer, Brandon Stanton.
I love viewing every story shared on the HONY facebook page; the small snippets of the lives of New Yorkers exemplify why I chose to live in Brooklyn. The photographer is able to capture a human connection in the facial expressions of all of his interviewees in a city that’s known for being cold and isolated.
Imagine my surprise when I viewed the first of many shared photos of residents in Brownsville, NY (the neighborhood where I live and teach). If you’re familiar with the HONY series, you might think the first Brownsville interview was with Ms. Lopez or Vidal, the young man who spurred a huge fundraiser for his middle school. The first post in Brownsville actually featured a man.
Outside of a housing project building, the man describes how he was stabbed with a screwdriver at 15 years old while waiting for the school bus, leaving him paralyzed. Thousands of comments from around the globe sent him warm wishes, prayers, and good thoughts. More posts of new residents followed, ranging from Vietnam veterans to high school students.
Then the photographer featured Vidal. A boy who attends a local charter school, Vidal looks up to his principal Ms. Lopez. After Just a few short weeks, HONY managed to raise over 1 million dollars to fund a “Send our kids to Harvard” college trip, summer programs for the charter school’s scholars, and a scholarship fund named after Vidal. Worldwide donations have poured into support this school and it’s students, and the publicity has even sent Vidal to the White House for a meet and greet with President Obama. It all sounds wonderful; now these students finally have a chance to escape the “underserved” neighborhood where they grew up and lead successful lives.
All thanks to a college trip to the most prestigious ivy league school in the nation. (Nevermind the fact that Columbia University, another Ivy, is a mere subway stop away, in the same city where these students live.)
It’s awesome that this school now has the funds to do something meaningful for its scholars. However, the implications of this entire story touch on something very disturbing with the way our society views black children in black neighborhoods.
The infatuation with black children
Brownsville is an infamous neighborhood in New York City. When viewers saw the first post of the man in the wheel chair outside of the massive housing project, no one rushed to start a kick starter campaign to ensure he was taken care of. No one was concerned with whether or not his building is completely wheelchair accessible or if he struggles as a differently-abled man living in a neighborhood that doesn’t provide elevators at local subway stops. What is it, exactly, about black children that moves people to action? Is it their supposed innocence, or lack of self-advocacy? The idea of “pulling yourself up by the boot straps” is an out-dated perspective that pervades our society. Adults should be able to care for themselves by finding a job and a place to live, This Darwinian mindset leaves many Americans, including those with mental illness, falling through the cracks of a socioeconomic system that promises an equal opportunity for everyone.
Just send them to Harvard
The idea of sending a group of New York scholars all the way to Massachusetts on a college trip seems excessive.There are incredible schools right here in Manhattan (NYU, Columbia, Fordham, Hunter) and Brooklyn has plenty of post-secondary options for students. Why not send these kids on a tour of some of these universities? What is about Harvard that instantly presumes success? In my own biased opinion, I would love to see these scholars go further south to visit an HBCU so they can be exposed to the many, many options available to them outside of the nearly unattainable goal of ivy league universities.
The reality is, many of our students will not attend a four year university after high school. This would make our economy completely unsustainable, but it also ignores the fact that some children simply don’t want to become doctors and lawyers. Some of them want to open their own businesses or become carpenters (among other things that do not require an ivy league degree.) Community colleges and smaller state schools are great options for those who do not want to leave home (or cannot, due to family obligations).
Let’s preface this by saying that I’m sure Brandon holds only the best intent when he interviews New Yorkers around the city. I’m sure when he and Ms. Lopez imagined the idea for a fundraiser for the Mott Hall Academy students, they only wanted to do something good. But, when a white, male, privileged photographer comes to a neighborhood like Brownsville and deems that the only opportunity for it’s children to “find a way out” is through Harvard, there’s a problem. White people have, for what seems like an eternity, swept into countries, cities, and neighborhoods seeking to make a difference. They go on mission trips to spread their religion. They teach English in third-world countries. They take a year off after college to “find themselves” by serving others.
This situation is no different. Starting a fundraiser like this supports the notion that people of color cannot advocate for themselves and be successful without the assistance of white people and the cultural capital they can provide. The community of Brownsville needs more than financial support to reinvent itself, especially if the trend of gentrification in Brooklyn pushes itself even further east.
We have to encourage our children to advocate for their own success. By telling them that a four year university is nearly their only avenue to success, we’ve done them a disservice. Communities like Brownsville need compassionate leaders that are willing to invest in what matters for the long term.
Musings of a Burgeoning Brooklynite 