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The readings pertaining to the multiracial transition of New York City into majority-minority neighborhoods illuminated on the racial groupings of West Indian Blacks and African Americans. Americans who cannot see past their skin color constantly group these two groups that seek to differentiate themselves from one another due to their different cultures and traditions together as one race. Rodgers goes into discussing the political relations between West Indians and African Americans. it doesn’t make sense to me why the two groups would have any political alliance between them. If they were to do that then the rest of the population will definitely group them together as one race and culture. This is counter-productive to their goals of differentiating themselves to preserve their culture and heritage.

A similar argument can be made with the racial groupings of many people such as labeling of all Asians as Chinese, all Latinos as Mexicans, and all Muslims as Arabs. The stereotyping of any group is offensive, but as we become a more integrated community it becomes harder to identify oneself to someone who would not understand the complexity of their identity. As Americans become more multiracial it is important to understand key differences to peoples identities as to not offend anyone and realize that people are different as individuals. People can choose to self-identify with whomever they want and they can call themselves whatever they want. It is not the job of the rest of the population to judge on whether they are acceptable to their society. There only needs to be a mutual understanding of people’s different needs and whether society accepts the groupings of people is irrelevant.

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: JACKSON HEIGHTS; After a Landmark Label, Chain Stores Are Moving In The New York Times July 30, 1995, Sunday, Late Edition – Final

This article talks about a community discussion as result of “…designation of the neighborhood [Jackson Heights] in January 1994 as a historic area protected by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.” Due to the presence of many cultures in JH, some want to minimize the clashing and uncoordinated business signs and store décor. Bright colors and signs compete for attention and this is trying to be changed. Six national chains joined the plethora of other stores. “The store opened last July and was followed by McDonald’s, Jeans West and a Nine West outlet.” Some inhabitants disagree with this and wish to preserve the diversity and authenticity of Jackson Heights.

Art Imitated Life, And Life Loved It The New York Times July 25, 2004 Sunday

This article talks about the Colombian community reaction to the screening of a movie called “Maria Full of Grace”. Minorities are not always the first to be represented in major films such as this one, so an obvious response was felt in Jackson Heights where there is a large Colombian population. Continuously, Jackson Heights served as setting for some scenes in the movie. This could show how the neighborhood is blending in with popular film culture and having its voice be heard.

Currying favor in Queens . Jackson Diner is the real deal for Indian food Daily News (New York) December 11, 2011 Sunday

This article focuses on the presence of Indian cuisine in Jackson Heights. The author jokes that there will be no pancakes or milkshakes found in the area. This diversity makes Jackson Heights special and America special. Who wants to continuously eat the same foods? “Although 74th St., dubbed Little India, is full of South Asian food offerings, Jackson Diner remains a favorite among the neighborhood, and those who are wise enough to board the 7 train.” Food can be seen as a bridge to new cultures and a deterrent to racial tensions.

(I’m commenting on some of the reading due last week since we haven’t yet discussed it in class)

It is disheartening to read about continued racial segregation in terms of residential neighborhoods. But I was slightly (though by no means fully) comforted when I read in Crowder’s piece that West Indians do not face as much segregation as African Americans. Though the West Indians may have had to work harder to convince American White society that they were different from their African American counterparts, they have basically proven that skin color is not a barrier to becoming more integrated into nicer, White neighborhoods. Nor is it a barrier to being more accepted by Whites in terms of employment opportunities and socioeconomic statuses (even though there are many middle class African Americans that people seem to forget about).

Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that the relative success of West Indians will have that much success in getting African Americans more integrated and accepted into White neighborhoods, or for ameliorating institutionalized discrimination. After all, most people are aware of the unique status and predicament of African Americans throughout American history and today. They have this almost ingrained stereotype embedded in virtually all Americans (perhaps even amongst themselves?) that may play a factor in their exclusive discrimination throughout American society. But when we talk about a new type of Black ethnicity such as West Indians who have no previous history of discrimination in the United States, there is room for them to be accepted more so than their unfortunate African American counterparts (though not fully because they are still somewhat Black).

We all know that ideally, skin color should not be a criterion for the residential composition of a city or for employment opportunities. This has been proven to a fairly decent degree by the West Indians, and will hopefully at some point begin to extend to those of African American origin as well.

And what’s the deal with calling them West Indians? We’ve already corrected Columbus’s mistake in calling Native Americans “Indians” – let’s correct this gross mistake of calling people of Caribbean origin “West Indian”!

Kasintz

It’s amazing how in Jackson Heights diversity is completely taken to another level.  The Jews, Ecuadorians, Colombians, Indians, Bengalis, Filipinos, Peruvians, Koreans, Hondurans, Dominicans and Chinese all cohabit this one relatively small piece of land and still manage to create a huge community together.  Although Latinos and Asians are now the dominant immigrants found there, a white population also remains.  Although these different cultures are able to lead life together without any major disputes, the Black community seems to have remained well away from all these other ethnicities.  The Chinese have spilled out from Flushing into Jackson Heights but the Blacks do not consider settling or spilling into Jackson Heights despite the fact that they have two neighboring communities.  Not only are the Blacks wary of intruding but the different ethnicities settled in Jackson Heights are also wary of wandering into the Blacks territory.  

“In Jackson Heights, Movers Respect Turf Rules” 2010-2012

Although the movers in Jackson Heights are competitive and possessive of their turf they are not enemies.  They do not appreciate any other movers to move in to their part of the market but they do not actually fight.  In fact, when they find out about a fellow mover, colleague, who is having some sort of trouble they immediately band together and try to help in whatever way that they can.  This can be visiting a colleague at hospital, raising money for a family or just offering blatant support.

Maslin, Sarah Nir. “In Jackson Heights, Movers Respect Turf Rules.” The New York Times. 25 Mar, 2012.

“Living In/Jackson Heights, Queens; A Neighborhood Traveled in Dozens of Languages” (2000-2010)

Jackson Heights is so diverse in terms of varying ethnicities that “some people call it a utopia of diversity.”  The fact that such diversity are existing all together causes a rise in the real estate market prices.  It is compared to Manhattan with a thriving real estate market.  Real estate firms are realizing that the properties in Jackson Heights are potentially very profitable and so they are entering the same market by opening up business and branching out into Jackson Heights. 

Jackson, Nancy Beth. “Living In/Jackson Heights, Queens; A Neighborhood Traveled in Dozens of Languages.” The New York Times. 17 July, 2005.

“Tuberculosis Case Leads City’s Health Dept. to Test Students at Queens School”

A seventh-grade girl who was reported to have the disease, tuberculosis caused much concern at her school.  The officials notified all the  parents and all the students suspected to have been in contact with her had to be tested in case they had been exposed to the bacteria.  This caused the officials to find that at least nine other students had the same disease.  Their cases were not , however, related to the girl’s case.  It was presumed that they contracted the bacteria from their homeland, as they were all students who came from countries that have a high rate of tuberculosis.

Archibold, Randy C. “Tuberculosis Case Leads City’s Health Dept. to Test Students at Queens School.” The New York Times. 5 Feb, 1998.

1990-2000

QUINTANILLA, BLANCA M.  “CIVILIAN COPS TACKLE JACKSON HTS. CRIME.” Daily News (New York). (July 11, 1995 , Tuesday ): 624 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2012/04/04.

This article discusses the large amounts of crime in Jackson Heights in 1995. At night there are “drug dealers, prostitiutes, crack addicts, and thieves,” says resident Mildred Farancz. In order to tackle the crime the community organized a new program known as the Jackson Heights Action Group’s Civilian Police Patrol. The program allowed citizens to watch over their own neighborhood and report any malicious activity to the police. The police encouraged this group to keep watch to prevent any crime trends in the area.

2000-2010

BECKER, MAKI. “KORAN FUROR IS RESOLVED COPS APOLOGIZE TO MUSLIMS FOR MISHANDLING HOLY BOOK.” Daily News (New York). (December 13, 2000 , Wednesday ): 470 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2012/04/04.

This article states the tension and misunderstanding between the police and Jackson Heights Muslim community in 2000. Jackson Heights is home to many street vendors outside of stores who sell a variety of things from books to toys. Some of these vendors at the time did not have proper permits to show officers. An incident occurred when police officers removed a table of merchandise from two Muslim men selling copies of the Qur’an and other religious texts. The police officers did not realize that these texts were religiously important to the community and began stuffing them into bags like they were any old books. This sparked an issue within the community and the officers later apologized.

2010-2012

NIR, SARAH. “Traffic-Free Plaza Roils Little India in Queens.” The New York Times. (March 19, 2012 Monday ): 777 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2012/04/04.

Recently in Jackson Heights there has been a transformation of a once busy road into a plaza that is only open to use by pedestrians. 37^th road between 73^rd and 74^th street is a very busy place featuring many businesses such as restaurants, butcheries, video stores, and even a movie theatre. The neighborhood has been divided in their thoughts about the closing of the street. Some business owners believe it is ruining their business due to the barren plaza that has become less busy. They claim that not many people even use the plaza and there are only a few chairs and large construction boulders in the middle of the street. Others believe it is good for a change to have a space for pedestrians to relax within the busy place that is Little India.

I had never heard of a “Muslim World Day Parade” in New York City before reading this article.  It never occurred to me that since we have a parade for practically every other culture, perhaps we have one for Muslims too.  It’s good that despite the nationwide animosity toward Muslims after the 9/11 attacks, the city still looks for ways to reach out to them.

Unlike other New York City parades, this one begins with the marchers transforming the beginning of the parade into an “outdoor mosque.” The floats in this parade take the shape of the three holiest mosques of Islam.  This makes it very unique compared to the other cultural parades that are associated with New York City.  The Muslim culture is demonstrated through the floats, marchers, and dancers, as in most other parades.  One of the most interesting features of this parade is the abundance of banners and signs that carry the word of Islam.  Some of the banners say things like, “The Qur’an is the guidance for all mankind.”  This can be looked at as a way of trying to recruit members to their religion.  Other signs bear facts about Allah and the prophets of Islam.  Whereas other parades would have advertising banners or something completely unrelated to the culture, it is obvious that the people of this parade are proud to be Muslim and want to demonstrate that to the onlookers.

Ever since the Muslim stereotyping began by 9/11, most of the nation has felt bitterness and resentment toward the Muslim culture as a whole.  While this is within reason, it is not necessary to “phase out” all Muslims.  It is natural for Americans to feel this way toward them, but there is a point where they need to realize that the September 11 attacks were not carried out by all Muslims, and therefore not all Muslims are terrorists.  This Muslim World Day Parade is a start.