The Division Final Ethnography - Dazlyn Anderson

Dazlyn Anderson New Black Ethnographies Professor Shaka November 26, 2018 World Building Final Ethnography The Division How do you see the world in 20, 50, 100 years from now? Is it better? Is it worse? How has the world changed? How have humans changed? The study of ethnography is the study of people and cultures, how they interact with one another. How we survive in the world around us on a day to day basis. Specifically, how we live… so with this I begin my research…

I, Dazlyn Anderson, have seen and witnessed for myself the unbelievable. I suppose everyone knew we were headed in a bad direction but this change… our world… it is rock bottom. Over the course of my life, the things I’ve witnessed have given me much sorrow, to know that our generation has officially reached this point. There is little hope and within that hope, is more loss. In 2056, the world had never been more divided.

Background History Back when I was a young anthropologist, a new president had just come to term. Donald Trump was the beginning of the end. During his early years of presidency, a shift happened in the movement for civil rights. The power that the people had, their voice… didn’t last very long.

Within months, the government had turned into a dictatorship. We, the United States of America, were no longer a democracy. Under Trump’s endless rein, the economy started to crash. The top 1% had official obtained 98% of the country’s wealth and the rest of us were left with nothing.

Due to the uprisings and protests, companies that supported social justice issues or showed any resistance to the injustice were boycotted and went bankrupt. White owned businesses were closing down due to people of color refusing to buy or use their products; black owned businesses were raided and destroyed as rebellion. Everyone was becoming divided. People couldn’t send a message or fight back verbally without permanent repercussions. This lead to an all across country rebellion. Donald Trump decided to revoke major civil rights and only help the elite. There was no in­between, you were either one of them “the D­Elite” or one of “the Lost Ones”. Trump did nothing for the majority, he simply supported the small margin of elite and left the rest of Americans to suffer. “They don’t deserve help” he said. “If people want care of any kind, they should work”. Public assistance, gone. Health care, gone. There was nothing that the government had in place to help the people, everyone was for themselves. If you didn’t have money, you basically did not have a way to live. This division re­institutionalized the class system to a whole other level. ICE had raided all underprivileged neighborhoods sending everyone back. The ones that weren’t found were left with nothing and lived in fear. The justice system was unlawful and injustice. The jails were flooding with innocent people. Hate crimes and school shootings were happening on a regular basis. The mandated rule that teachers could carry fire weapons for protection was due to lack of gun control. Over worked prejudice teachers

were reacting and killing kids of color for “acting out”. Kids were finding these weapons and attacking back. The world was a mess. Taxes increased so the poor were poorer and the rich were somehow richer. Since there was no diversity in the government, there was no voice for the people which meant no equality. The people did not know how to survive. There was nothing left for the people, no services or systems in place to help the disenfranchised but one.

Along with this exclusive backing of the 1%, Trump initiated a selection system. With this newly enforced division being spread among the people, Trump decided to physically separate the D­ Elites from the Lost Ones. The D­ Elites were given private, safe, luxury, eco­ habitable “societies” when the Lost Ones were left with the rapidly degenerating Manhattan landscape. The selection system allowed the Lost Ones (minorities, poc, ethnic races) to submit into a “society”. “I’m giving everyone a chance, whether they want to take it or not is on them.

Everyone has a chance to a better life.” said Trump in his selection campaigns. There were 4 ways of granted entry which were all extreme measures for the Lost Ones and their conditions.

One: a test­ physical and academic, this would be your proof that you were beyond superior and deserving than anybody else. Your background would be studied, strategies, your ethics, your logic, your capable abilities… everything would be examined to weed the ordinary from the great.

Two: Pay an unreasonably high fee (with accountable, creditable money) which would grant you access into the society and give you access to all its services. T Three: You could sign an agreement to enter the society for a free cost but work without pay for the rest of your being (indentured servants) prior to clearing background checks and other forms of approval such as schooling to a certain degree, your financial status (credit), etc.

Nevertheless, you were free but you owed your labor and time to the society whenever they needed.

Lastly, Four: A member from the D­ elite can request to pay for a “Lost Ones” fee which included all means of a quality life as well as send money to their family for possible entry.

Admission would be granted to live as a donor for that D­ Elite member. In these advanced societies, science has effected the lengths of lifespans by decades, donors were needed to extend the lives of the D­ Elites. Some reasons necessary, some superficial. With this option, some donors would get lucky and only need to sacrifice things that replenish but others would sign on and eventually have to give their life for the D – Elite member to live on.

Why now and how? What process do people go through to decide this is what they need to do to survive? I wonder what it is in people that drives them to sacrifice their own lives simply for hope. These societies are like mini utopias for minorities and colored people. They are being sold a life by the government that they’ve never had but my question is why. Why is the government and D­Elites finally taking an interest in the disenfranchised lives? Why are they willing to help in any way at all? And why do the Lost Ones see no other way to live then to submit to the power, injustices, and dehumanization of the D­ Elites? Why do we let the oppressors oppress us?

On September 16, 2056 I decided to examine in depth what America has come to. New York City is the heart of the disenfranchised. I explored the living conditions of both the rich and the poor as well as the justice system and how the outcomes are bias and unlawfully predetermined. Here in New York, the poor have been pushed into the 5 major boroughs meanwhile the rest of the D­ Elites reside in gated towns and communities away from the city. I planned to visit families and homes getting a look into how the majority lives as well as how the D­ Elites live. I will be taking a closer look into the selection process and the ethics behind it. I planned to infiltrate and research these closed communities to see what is really going on, especially with the outcomes of the selected members. This is my goal. To discover how everyone is still human though they lack the humanistic characteristics that make us reasonable and humane.

What happened to the Lost Ones once they leave? Is the selection process truly genuine, a chance at a deserved, superior life or is it a scam? Are the decisions to submit out of desire to have a better life or are they decisions based on outside pressure and corruption?

In the Field I decided to start my research by investigating the landscape of Manhattan. It was evident that Manhattan has been completely trashed and vandalized. During the division and even after the split, the landscape just turned into ruins. With the riots and protests, stores and businesses have been destroyed. There is no sanitation work force in Manhattan anymore. Everyone has abandoned their responsibilities in caring for their land. With the over population, there is just too much garbage and pollution in the area. Manhattan’s city life never really encompassed much nature but after the uprising and degradation of the city, the little plant life that was around, died off. The trees are withers of wood, the grass is black and the sky is a dark color due to the dirt in the air. The water within Manhattan is not the purest in fact it’s rather dirty but the people have no choice but to drink it and they do not have a lot left. In Manhattan, pigeons and rats are even more dangerous than before now carrying diseases due to overpopulation. Death rates are high and the constant disposal of bodies seemed unnecessary so they just lie in the street. Climate change has rapidly progressed within Manhattan. The sidewalks are cracking and becoming unleveled due to the shift of the plates and the water level has rose so each year a bit of Manhattan goes slowly underwater. With these conditions, the people are forced to consider some of the requirements to enter the Societies because they are unaffected.

I wanted to compare and contrast the environments of both the D – Elites and the Lost Ones.

To get a better understanding of their conditions and everyday life, I went out into the field…

October 13 2056 Site: Manhattan, Field Notes, 3:45pm -

Dirty snow everywhere People shivering on the streets, blocks of homeless

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You could hear only people’s voices, there wasn’t much transportation happening, no money or means for cars Flyers on the floor of ways to have a better life: Advertising for the societies­ the different ways and requirements – 1. Test, 2. Pay, 3. Work as debt for Entry, 4. D­ Elites Donor This message is plastered everywhere, advertising within the rubbles and breakdown of the city Dirty, garbage everywhere, ghettos of all minority’s, homeless overcrowding the sidewalks, this is the norm Light posts are broken, everything is basically in ruins, people are living like savages Infestation of bugs and critters, rats roaming the streets, smell is horrific, unbearable The only visuals in the city are advertisements and banners of the “Society’s” a beacon of hope in a forgotten place I am scared for my like walking through this.

Afraid to get robbed or worse No one is really out on the streets after sundown Noticed everyone is in rags or neutral clothing No one looks like they have money or means Common buildings like supermarkets are schools are the only ones that I walked by that have a few people in them Even these establishments are unsafe and targets for robbery and assault Times Square is just an instillation of the “Society” that’s all you see on the billboards, ads of a better life, what to do to get it or the campaigns of the dictator­ Donald Trump During the day, it seemed depressing just to watch people wander and scavenge or just be scared to be outside. At night, it was a wasteland I wondered while I explored the street, how everyone got to go where they were and who took the chance and decided to leave or sacrifice their freedom to join a “society”

October 14 2056, 1:32pm Bronx, NY (Lost Ones Borough) Interview One: Nancy Walter – Lost One -

Most polluted area is Pelham Bay Park Crime is at an all­time high The police had given up on these areas so there is no regulation Garbage, pilled to the top of buildings The smell is unbearable, of decaying bodies, rotten food and feces Buildings are covered with old protest flyers and some buildings are completely destroyed from raids I didn’t want to take the train to the Bronx for a lot of crimes were happening on the train so I walked.

This neighborhood reminded me nothing of my childhood… it completely changed.

I had to get more perspective. I only saw what was right in front of me but I needed to dig deeper, I needed to know more. The only way to further my research was to gain knowledge and insight from one of the Lost Ones. I needed to hear personal story’s; a clearer understanding of the severity of the situation was important to me. To possibly understand what drived the Lost Ones to survive or even sacrifice to submit into the Societies. I decided to visit my childhood apartment building and speak to the tenants now residing there.

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I approached the apartment building on 1845 Hobart Ave. The front door of the building was open so I knocked on the first door I saw. Apartment 10F. I heard footsteps and voices inside but no one came to the door.

I finally got an answer, when I explained that I was documenting the living conditions of the tenants and wanted their voices to be heard… the door opened.

Nancy Walter, a middle aged black women was standing there in rags, dirty and skinny. The kids were in the back living room running around. After an introduction and a tour around the house, I found that this had to be their rock bottom.

“What do you want to know?” said Nancy.

“How did you and your children end up in this situation? What happened in your life that lead to you living like this?”

“I’m black”. There was a silence as she looked at her children, as if she’s summed it all up in those two simple words. “The state never saw me as a person, even before Trump started all this bullshit. The life that I was given was a struggle from the start. I was doing ok on my own making a living, I was doing just fine but once I had kids, shhh it went downhill from there.

Especially having 5 kids, once he took away the government services, I couldn’t afford these kids on my own, their father gone, it was just too much. Trumps dictatorship has ruined my life, forcing me to live like this!! There is nothing I can do; I have no help.”

The longer we talked the more I found that this was nothing but an ordinary regular person, Nancy explained that she knew many people whose lives have been dismantled due to the state changes and upheaval.

“Everyone I know, or use to know, has either left to another country or tried to submit. Very few of us are just hanging on, waiting for some kind of change to happen, living day by day hoping we and our kids make it.”

The children running around in the background, oblivious to their situation, blinded by youthful happiness, made the atmosphere even more depressing. There were doing ok because they had each other yet their mother was talking to a stranger about her messed up life meanwhile she had no one. The more time that passed, the more she told me. They had no food in their fridge, just cans of spam and white bread. The children had no beds and they did not go to school. The oldest was 19 and he couldn’t go to college because colleges no longer gave out scholarships and costed over 200,000 a year. If you wanted to go, you had to pay up front. This 6­member family could barely move in their one­bedroom apartment.

“After the division and the market crash, we lost everything and with the killings in schools and the prices raising I took them out for safety and because I couldn’t afford it” said Nancy.

“My oldest is so smart, God I love that boy but I can’t control him anymore. He wants to submit,

go as a donor for the chance that his siblings and maybe I will be able to have a better life in the Societies. As much as I don’t want him to sacrifice himself, I pray that if he gets accepted, he will have more opportunities than he does here. And if that opens up a chance for my other children, I can’t complain. We need something to believe in.”

“Have you heard of anyone else that has submitted or been accepted?”

“I know people that have tried to submit but were not accepted. They are very selective, it’s almost rigged but I hear the ones that do make it, it’s another world. I hope, no, I pray my babies will make it out of this hell hole one­day cause somethings gotta change, I can’t anymore I just can’t.”

This was just one example of a Lost One’s experience, but most of the boroughs and most of the people lived like this now. Nothing to their name, nothing to live for.

October 14 2056 Field Notes, 6:74pm -

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Visiting this family was heartbreaking to me to understand this is how basically everyone lives, some not fortunate enough to even have a home Everyone was going hungry, not getting an education, I felt helpless. The only thing I regret not asking her is if she would submit herself, to take one of the alternatives the government offered but I was nervous of her reaction or response. She was already upset her son planned to.

Wanted to help but couldn’t Questioned even continuing my research because of a lack of hope

October 15 2056, 9:30am Scarsdale, NY (One of the Societies Locations) Interview 2: Elizabeth Anderson – D­ Elite -

Even the roads seemed cleaner, the air, everything seemed brighter All the checkpoints and police, heavy security Each ritzy town had a toll, law enforcement checking for identification and perimeter wall.

They let me through because of my private connection on the other side, I had to be confirmed to enter. I was going to visit an old friend.

After visiting Nancy Walter, I was inspired. Seeing so much loss and poverty just shook me to my core. I was prepared to visit the Societies and learn what no one else has dared to investigate.

What made these places worth it? What was it that was giving people hope? Everyone has an idea of a Society but what is it really?

The Societies were placed in already existent prominently white, financially excelling safe neighborhoods. Safety perimeters were placed around each to seal out any entry from non­ elites.

In the Societies, the ecology is a priority of their living. Each member is responsible for a certain level of upkeep and maintenance of the community. The grass is greener than ever, there are birds and animals, all healthy and thriving. Everything seems to be flourishing. The air is clear and the water is purified. This is due to the bubble protecting the Society from the outside decaying cities. The Society’s foundation has been stabilized and rises above the water or ocean levels to prevent overflowing into the land. The bubble surrounding the community also seals the atmosphere from the birds being able to contaminate the clean environment. The Society’s climate is regulated so there are no unstable or hazardous weather changes. New plants, nature and vegetation are constantly being planted so they never run out of oxygen or ecology. The environment and its garbage is always handled properly and disposed of to be reused, there is no “waste”. Everything is advanced and technologized; the Societies were the epitome of efficiency, precision and perfection.

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The warmness and safest in Scarsdale was a peace I never felt while in Manhattan.

It was clean and quiet.

Different here… good or bad? I don’t know.

Don’t have much time to look right now, going straight to Elizabeth’s house.

I went to Elizabeth Andersons home, a friend from college. As one can imagine, her home was enormous. Only being a 3­person family, they had space for 2 families maybe even 3. The fridge was full with all organic foods, stuffed from top to bottom. The children were doing their homework while the maid was cleaning after them. I asked Elizabeth how the division affected her and this is what she said: “I feel bad for the children because they didn’t chose this life but as for everyone else, if you wanted a change, now you got one. We are all in the same country, have the same president and we need to honor that, pledge allegiance. I am blessed to have what I have but it’s the peoples fault for where we are now, not mine. I just live in it”.

“How do you think the Lost Ones that have submitted are transitioning?”

“Surprisingly, everyone gets along here. If you’re here, you’re here for a reason. Manhattan was dying, its politics, its land, everyone that is here knows and understands that this is our second chance; we are all on the same page.”

“Don’t you think the submission process is unfair or unrealistic? I mean it’s impossible for everyone to get a chance.”

“Trust me, at first I thought it wouldn’t work but honestly its survival of the fittest. If you have the means whether its wealth or health or knowledge and you pass­ you’ll be accepted no matter what race, gender, sexual orientation, age, you are one of use. However, not everyone can get a chance or we all won’t make it. If we let everyone come into the Societies, history will repeat itself. Things are nice this way, everyone is happy and healthy and I love it here, this is my home” said Elizabeth.

“Last question: how do I know that this is not a scam, that these people being accepted are actually given a life that’s worthy of living?”

“My maid, Martha Figueroa, she applied through the work requirement and is now living here in the Societies. It depends on what job your assigned to but she seems happy. I give her reasonable hours, she has a home, food, health care, guaranteed education for her children and more. Anything she needs, she can come to me. She is like a part of the family, she works for me until I say otherwise or find something that deems fit but in return Martha and her family were given a chance at a better life. I treat her well and I believe she is better off then she’d be in Manhattan. All she has to do is work, other than that, she’s free to do what she pleases. She has access to all the services of the Societies. I’m just grateful for her and for the process”.

October 15 2056 Field Notes, 1:12pm -

After visiting both environments, I felt conflicted.

Socially brainwashed society yet it felt right in a weird way, definitely better than how the Lost Ones were living.

Jealously Everyone seemed happy but it all felt fake.

They ignore the fact that millions of people are struggling and yet their simply going about their days…. How? I want to interview a Lost One that has entered and find out what alternative they chose specifically and how their experience has been.

I haven’t seen any yet but hopefully I can get a story and figure out if it’s worth it.

Where should I go next?

What do I do?

I’m overwhelmed.

Researching and Evaluating: Human Interaction, Dynamics and Exploring Ethics Now that both the Societies and Manhattan have been explored and documented along with testimonials from people on both sides, I wanted to look at the ethics and a few of the questionable aspects that seemed to be brought to my attention. From my short experience in the Societies, I could tell the ethics have changed from what is was in the past and in the present Manhattan. Life was great and gender/sexuality of all types were now part of the norm. A big part of the divide was due to the difficulty to accept different people but if you have passed the tests or fulfilled any of the requirements to gain entry into the “Societies” successfully, you were accepted no matter what. If you were part of the elite, academically and physically advanced, you were seen as Superior, you were not judged. The violence that existed in Manhattan was terrifying. Hate crimes driven toward the LGBTQ community was one of the main draws in the division. African Americans received the worst of it, especially trans people. LGBTQ people were already targets for violence but poc were more likely to receive discrimination, threats, attack or all three. In the Societies, people were not ridiculed and expressionism upon all

sexualities was accepted. With advanced science technologies, people who wanted to transition and passed the entry, were given the proper means and health care to do so. Nobody was denied their rights and everyone was treated equally. It was seen to be positive: the language, the fashion, the music, everything. Same sex marriages were permitted as well as same gender parenting, adoptions, even LGBTQ history was brought into school curriculum at very young age groups. This was instilled in school systems to teach children at a very young age that there are more than 2 types of people and that its everyone’s history. Its acceptance brought meaning to the culture. Most importantly, race was no longer an issue. There was no discrimination, hate, prejudice, nothing. Once accepted, a permanent neutralizer was implanted, erasing the part of the brain that processes negative perceptions of personal identity (race, gender, sex, etc.). Once in the Societies, everyone was neutralized to avoid the repetition of history within these enclosures.

It was only in Manhattan that division and hate infected the city and people.

October 16 2056 Selection Process Headquarters, 6:30am I visited the selection process headquarters to inquire for more information. I wanted to know what goes into this process and how it effects the applicants. I took a PATH this day to save time, I wanted to arrive before the CEO and extra security detail arrived. Public transportation had become havoc and obsolete. Using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, one could travel from one place to another in a matter of seconds. The MTA built a tube mini elevator system that fits one person, replacing the subway becoming the means of transportation.

Little booths were at every street corner and with just the scan of your face and the print of your finger, the PATHS (personal automation transport high­speed system) would determine your usual destinations, time of arrival, total amount of trip and your personal credit/money balance.

With touch screen automations, you could select your destination and arrive within minutes. The facial recognition and fingerprint allows for government database and policing keeps track of everyone yet allows for your own safe, private transportation. Since everything is split up into all the disenfranchised in Manhattan and all the D­elites in their own society, there are certain restrictions on the PATHS system. One can only travel within their “class’” territory. There are 2 selection process headquarters so I visited the one in the Societies in hopes of finding an applicant to talk to as well.

Arriving at the Headquarters, I went straight to the Admissions office. The women at the front desk quickly appointed me with a representative of the Process to discuss my research with.

Valentina Hernandez was the assistant director to the review board. She mentioned she only have 10 minutes to talk, that’s all I needed. I got straight to the point.

“One of my main questions is how long does it take for people to get approved?”

“It can take up to 2­5 months for someone to get approved depending on occupancy, testing results and location availability. Most of the time the approval of submissions takes time because we don’t want an influx of people coming in and setting off the balance.”

“What is the determining factor for their admission?”

“A thorough psych evaluation and therapy during and after the process. We aim to know our applicants and understand their situations, what they’ve gone through. We also want to leave them with a support system after they have transitioned so they have a constant routine and we can check up to see if their excelling positively in the Societies. We check in with our submissions on a 6­month basis after admission to make sure they are mentally stable and not struggling, mental health is a huge factor in this process.”

“How long is the process, when does it end?

“Once admitted, people are assigned to a society and then are free to live however they please. After that we are no longer involved in their lives per say.”

“Who decides who enters and who does not?”

“The review board is made up of a certain amount of people, in the end, it’s an anonymous voting system. No one person can decide, it’s all up to the majority.”

“Do you believe that the Lost Ones are at a disadvantage in testing being that they don’t have access to proper schooling, proper nutrition etc.? All these conditions will affect their chances in whichever test option they choose.”

“The outside factors are sadly not our problem. The options are given for variety and if someone cannot be deemed fit within all four requirements, they should not be in the Societies.

We do know the process can be hard, grueling and stressful, this is why we offer free therapy.”

“Last question, do you know of any accepted people and know of their outcomes?

“I myself, submitted into the Societies. I chose to be a donor and was placed with a family that had a child with sickness. This decision was hard to make but sacrificing myself for a better life and to help a child live longer was honestly a win­ win for me. Other donors aren’t so lucky because some of the requests involve live threatening donations but my child’s donations are small. My life is better than I’ve ever expected it to be, better than it would be if I would have stayed in Manhattan. I am grateful every day for the process and the services and accommodations that have been given to me. I have healthy food, good health care access, means to live a comfortable, luxurious life. I am able to send my family money and support myself. I’m blessed I was chosen and don’t regret my decision.”

“Thank you so much for you time!”

Analyzation of Research I had much more research to continue but the following assumptions and conclusions were made from the entirety of my research so far. Valentina Hernandez was just one person, one applicant, one voice. I could not make my assumption based off one person. Hearing Elizabeth advocate for her maid’s life, Nancy’s desperation and belief as well as Valentina’s heartfelt appreciation for this chance, I thought that these Societies may be purely good. Within the Societies, the atmosphere, the community, it seemed to be real. The people who live there, the people who want to live there and the people who have made a decision to try and submit all show genuine forms of believing and trusting in this process. The Societies themselves and what they stand for may be good and revolutionary however it is the foundation that they were made upon that is unjust and corrupt. The purpose of its creation was to separate and eliminate based off of differences of all kinds. The whole set up was based on the idea of inclusion or exclusion,

the hypocrisy seemed ironic. Politics, gender, sexuality, race, financial status, everything determined if you were lesser than or worthy, which caused the division. To solve this, one has to go through a process to be deemed “acceptable” to society. This institution was built on the premise that some were more deserving than others, it just seemed like a massive contradiction.

This research forces people to view and weigh certain factors that may compromise their own being in order to survive under the rule of people who told them they were not worthy enough in the first place.

What would you sacrifice in order to survive? Would you live in a community you knew was going to die or would you sell yourself to live a decent life? Ethics and its contradictions is what’s in question. What is the determining factor? How do we judge right from wrong? How do we decide to submit to something primarily good but fundamentally wrong?

I’ve learned that the question of ethics can be seen in various lens. People will go to extreme measures to survive, sacrificing their dignity, pride even their lives to save themselves and their loved ones in the name of hope. Division isn’t the solution to our problems. The human race needs to be unified in desperate times because once people start to fend for themselves, we are a broken front. The country will not stand. I have learned that in the face of corruption and poverty, some people give up, they let the system oppress them, believing they cannot effect change; others find a way. In conclusion, humans are flawed. We are creations that carry both good and bad and at times the lines of ethics can be blurred. At times we may truly believe we are paving the way for the country to be “great” again, but the path we are headed on is simply one to demise. We cannot submit to the powers that control us. It is our job to inform ourselves of the society we are living in, to find the truth and to be aware. It is up to the people as citizens to collectively come together and have one voice, fight the power. It is our responsibility to advocate for ourselves and to speak up because silence is disempowerment.

The division needs to come to an end but I’m one person and I cannot do it by myself.

The system does give life and opportunity but it is faulted. Everyone deserves a chance and if we would just actively change, we won’t repeat the hardships of our history. I wish that people would enlighten themselves on their own but people want to stay in their own bubbles and believe nothing is wrong. Till everyone decides to collectively come together, ask questions and fight the power once and for all, my work here is done.

Below I have documented photographs of Manhattan and the Societies as well as a few testing methods. These photos cannot summarize my experience in the field, they are just snippets of these two realities.

Annotated Bibliography Human Rights Campaign. “Being African American & LGBTQ: An Introduction.” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/being­african­american­lgbtq­an­ introduction.

“While the Civil Rights Movement resulted in monumental legal changes for a country just 100 years removed from slavery, African Americans continue to experience bias, discrimination and prejudice at all levels of society. The situation is even more severe for LGBTQ African Americans who live at the intersection of racism, homophobia and transphobia and face a number of critical issues, including: economic insecurity, violence and harassment, hiv and health inequity, religious intolerance, criminal injustice.”

“According to a 2014 report on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV­affected communities, Black survivors of hate violence were 1.3 times more likely to experience police violence than their non­Black counterparts.”

“Black survivors were also twice as likely to experience any physical violence, twice as likely to experience discrimination and 1.4 times more likely to experience threats and intimidation during acts of hate violence. Additionally, Black transgender women face the highest levels of fatal violence within the LGBTQ community and are less likely to turn to police for help for fear of revictimization by law enforcement personnel.”

Judith Hansen, “Testing white culture: African American students and standardized testing”, Phil Francis Carspecken, Geoffrey Walford (ed.) Critical Ethnography and Education (Studies in Educational Ethnography, Volume 5) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.199 – 222, 2011 “This qualitative study examines the role social and ethnic identities play in the learning process of African American college students who have failed to master a state­ mandated exam in writing at a historically black university”.

“A reconstructive analysis of data from the study suggests that these African American university students’ continued language­ related failures in areas such as standardized testing may result from resistance to negative social identities imposed upon them by the white majority culture”.

Lichter , Daniel, and Robert Mare. “Residential Segregation .” Inequality.com, inequality.stanford.edu/cpi­research/area/segregation.

“We show that Hispanic residential segregation from whites is often exceptionally high and declining slowly in rural counties and communities. New Hispanic destinations, on average,

have higher Hispanic segregation levels than established gateway communities.”

“Divergent patterns of rural segregation reflect local­area differences in population dynamics, economic inequality, and the county employment base” “The results also highlight microscale segregation patterns within rural places and in the open countryside (i.e., outside places), a result that is consistent with emerging patterns of “white flight.”

“Observed estimates of Hispanic­white segregation across fast­growing nonmetropolitan counties often hide substantial heterogeneity in residential segregation” Mora, Richard. “‘School Is so Boring’: High Stakes Testing and Boredom at an Urban Middle School .” Urbanedjournal, 2011,https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ957120.pdf “Existing evidence suggests that high stakes exams result in little increased learning among students” “The shift in curricular focus towards test preparation has negative implications.”

“In sum, high­stakes testing has altered instruction such that in many classrooms more time is spent on test preparation at the expense of engaging and varied learning activities” “Presented and discussed herein are the findings of an ethnographic study that followed a group of 30 urban, Latina/o, middle school students over the course of their middle school experience and documented, among other things, the ground­level impact the push toward ‘greater accountability’ in public education had on the students.”

Ramoroka , Tlou, and Johannes Tshoela . “Gated­Communities and the Privatization of Public Spaces in Urban South Africa: Democratic Social Integration or Exclusion?”

Academic Journals, 2014, academicjournals.org/journal/JGRP/article­full­text­ pdf/70CD78D44934.

“Emulation of the West’s privatization of urban spaces, and securitization and policing, through city settlement planning has uniformly reinvented spatial social segregation in most democratizing developing countries. Reverence of the gated­community model in democratic urban settlement planning has paradoxical sustained social segregation.”

“Gated­communities, security villages and enclosed neighborhoods phenomena, which sustain spatial differentiation of lifestyle, prestige, socio­economic status and security.”

“In practice, this privatization creates controlled, restricted and prohibitive access to public spaces and amenities.”

“Allows for social exclusion without legislating for it. That is, demarcation of settlement spaces could be differentiated in accordance with socio­economic status and class without formal discriminatory legislation.”

“The stated purpose of the modern urban settlement planning models which is to curb urban sprawl, avoid decay and ensure sustainability through the development of towns and cities” “The hypocrisy of the modern process of urban spatial planning is vividly apparent in the general adoption and acceptance of this principle amidst loud noises of social cohesion, integration, environmental protection and resources conservation.”

Renaud Le Goix, Chris Webster. Gated communities. Geography Compass, Wiley, 2008, https://halshs.archives­ouvertes.fr/file/index/docid/291711/filename/LEGOIX­ webster­geocompass­03­07­2008.pdf “Alternatively, others argue that it is the existence of fences, walls and security features that distinguishes gated communities as a residential form that is significantly different from non­gated enclaves (Blakely and Snyder 1997, Low 2003, Le Goix 2005, Le Goix 2007, Vesselinov, Cazessus and Falk 2007). This discourse tends to stress the alleged impact of gated enclaves on crime, segregation, property values, citizenship and related behavior.”

“It is common for commentators to move from observations about the abundance of security to a discussion 10 of exclusion and rights (Lee and Webster 2004). A strong thesis is the link between security and fear of others – sometimes distinguished from the desire for security of person and property (Low 2001, Low 2003).” “prevents urban decay by giving social control over the environment to residents”

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