Author: shainugeorge

Shainu George

Response 5 of 5

Ethnicity, Sexuality and Race in Defining the People of New York

This book focused on how NYC played a major role in the homosexual world. This book challenged three myths in the gay world. The first myth is isolation. One would assume that there was no place for gays in America in the 1900’s. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. By 1930, gay neighborhoods were created in Greenwich, Harlem and Time Square in order to escape the anti- gay hostility that was present everywhere else in the city. The second myth was invisibility. Contrary to popular belief, gay men boldly announced their presence through their red ties and bleached hair. The final myth is internalization. There was a large amount of gay men who rather than internalize the hatred that they received from others, would boldly announce their homosexuality. This theme of sexuality is relevant to this class particularly because gay people make up a population of NYC. Gay people felt more inclined to stay in the city over other places. The gay neighborhoods in the city became a safe haven for homosexuals. Homosexuals were more inclined to move into Greenwich Village, at a certain point, than any other neighborhood because of its tolerance for nonconformity or eccentricity. This is specific to NYC because New Yorkers are more likely to accept ‘outsiders’ compared to most other places. The term ‘outsiders’ could refer to anything from immigrant populations to gay people.

Questions:

1)    Where did gay women stay during this time period?

2)    Did heterosexuals live in the gay enclaves when they were popular? How did they feel being surrounded by so many gays?

Shainu George

Week 11

Response 4 of 5

This article, “Selling the American dream myth to black southerner as: the Chicago Defender and the great migration of 1915-1919” discussed the reasons why southern African Americans were eager to move up north. One reason was the push pull economic theory. Certain factors were pushing and pulling the African Americans decision on whether or not they should stay in the south. Factors that pushed them out included disadvantageous terms of trade and unfair distribution of property. Things that pulled them were employment opportunities and promises of fair pay. Another theory as to why this population chose to move up north was the socio-economic theory. This states that social unfairness and the maintenance of family relations is what motivated migration. The author argues that another important factor of the great migration was the publication of the Chicago Defender, the most read black newspaper in the United States at that time. It influenced the myth of American Dream through three stages; southern discontent, land of hope, and action. It rallied up the blacks in the south by highlighting certain aspects of the American Dream. I agree with the author, Alan Desantis, in that the Chicago Defender played a major role in the migration of black southerners up north. The Defender was important because it had all of the thoughts and ideas of the blacks written down on paper. The fact that it was written out for them probably made it more appealing. The people that wrote the newspapers were literate, and therefore probably smart African Americans. So, if they believed that the American dream could be pursued up North, why wouldn’t it be true? Another reason why I believe the Defender had a big impact on migration is because African Americans read the newspaper. “In 1919, its shipping manifest included over 1,542 small towns and cities throughout the south such as Fry’s Mill, Arkansas; Bibsland, Louisiana; Tunica, Mississippi; Yoakum, Texas; and Palataka, Florida, which each brought over one hundred copies of the Defender per week.” A copy of the Defender was available to everyone in the south. If someone didn’t own a copy they could borrow it from someone or hear about it in church or at the barbershop. The Chicago Defender became the thing to talk about. Once more and more people started talking about the ideas of the Defender, an increasingly more amount of people would feel comfortable with the idea of pursuing the American dream up north.

 

Questions:

1)    Were there other popular black newspapers at that time?

2)    Did certain white people try to stop the publication of the Chicago Defender?

 

 

 

 

 

Response 3 of 5

“Take the A train to Little Guyana: Immigrant Enclaves in NYC” – Kirk Semple

The article discusses the diversity and large presence of different cultures that are now present in New York City. It examines how certain areas of the city have a popular ethnic group. The presence of these ethnic micro neighborhoods is good in the sense that immigrants are able to come to America and fit in. They don’t need to face as much discrimination or as much of the struggle that immigrants have experienced in the prior years. By living in neighborhoods populated by your own people, you can come to America and live with some sort of comfort.  This is beneficial because immigrants from all over the world, and not just Europe, are more eager to settle somewhere in New York City. But it also makes me question if these ethnic neighborhoods are adding to or taking away from the diversity of the city. Yes, more immigrant populations will come to the city. But are these people interacting with people from countries outside of their own. Mr. Lovlu from Kensington, Brooklyn said, “You don’t have to learn English to live here. That’s a great thing!” In his Bengali neighborhood, he doesn’t need to learn the language of the country to make a living. However, if Mr. Lovlu only speaks in his native tongue how many interactions does he have with non- Bengali people in a day? The definition of diversity is a blending of different cultures. How can we diversify if the populations don’t even interact with each other? By strengthening the wall of separation between each neighborhood we only add to the xenophobia and racist thoughts.

 

Questions:

• What is the point of having a diverse population if we only talk to people from our own country?
• Why is Little India not represented in this article?