As I walked through the gallery and perused the various photos taken by Jill Freedman, I considered a few things:
- How pervasive poverty truly is.
- How close it hits home.
- Where do we go from here?
Now, I know these photos were taken in Washington D.C. during the 1960’s, but it almost feels like absolutely nothing has changed. Minorities are still disproportionately living below the poverty line, and no action is being taken by local governments to remedy the problem. This isn’t just a problem affecting Washington D.C. either — it’s sadly a nationwide phenomenon, even in 2017. Growing up in New York City, I feel like most people are guilty of being desensitized to the larger issue of homelessness that is present. We see it every day for the most part, and we’re numb to it — at this point, it’s such a common sight, you don’t consider the possibilities beyond that. One doesn’t stop and consider the deeply troubling underlying issues, and that’s the problem.
That’s the problem that Jill Freedom called to light in 1968, and it’s (sadly) still relevant now.
I mean, when you think about it, it’s incredibly harrowing that this is still a problem. There is still no sense of economic justice for the impoverished living anywhere in the United States, not just within the more densely populated regions.
On a placard next to the photographs, there is a message: “If you forget about things like traffic lights and dress shops and cops, Resurrection City was pretty much just another city. Crowded. Hungry. Dirty. Gossipy. Beautiful. It was the world, squeezed between flimsy snow fences and stinking humanity. There were people there who’d give you the shirts off their backs, and others who’d kill you for yours. And every type in between. Just a city.” This simple paragraph calls into light the disturbing disparity that is especially common in urban areas. If you take out all the attributes typical of an urban environment and you break the city down to its very fundamental components, it’s simply a place where humanity strives to coexist. In an attempt to mesh together, often times, the underlying problems are evaded. There are people who are willing to give, but there’s also many who are in desperate need. It’s all simply covered up by this pervading notion of a centralized city community, and no one considers the very individual groups of people that make it all up. The lives and hardships of individuals are faded in the background; a reminiscent reminder of the worst case scenario: an outline of what not to be, an outline of what to strive past. Not people.
And that’s the problem.
