Race and Housing
Music: Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Wallflowers, The Shins, Smashing Pumpkins, Coldplay, The Pixies, Violent Femmes, and lots of White Stripes.
So this is a little break from my homework. No really I have gotten a lot done today no really, all right who am I kidding…
Anyway like two weeks ago at the Sunday school class I have gotten to go to a couple times Ben Piper showed the third part of a PBS show about race, entitled Race: The Power of Illusion. I have actually seen it before a couple years ago and most of it is pretty good but the standout portion of it is part three The Houses We Live In. It is a very good explanation of the difference we now see in the general displacement of wealth in our county.
A friend of mine once asked me “Slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago and the civil rights movement fixed the other problems forty years ago why are black people still so poor?” I had no answers, his conclusion was that basically there was something wrong with them, my conclusion was that there was still some sort of carry over that we were fighting against, what that was I didn’t know…
Then after seeing this half an hour video I started to have a better idea what that barrier might be. I am just so glad I got to see this again and to see the concepts for a second time. So now I share them with you…
The idea is this, after WWII is when the idea of a long-term low monthly payment loan was first made available. Returning soldiers where given the chance to settle down and buy a home for basically nothing. The Government were the ones who were giving out the loans and deciding who qualified and they basically came to the decision that ethnic minorities did not qualify. Yes this has been made right in the 1960’s but it is interesting what it setup.
I am going to simplify a ton here cause you should try and see this for yourself or look up the information and I need to get back to my studying. Most Americans possess the majority of their wealth in their home and “Wealth isn't just luxury or profit; it's the starting point for the next generation.” So after world war two is when American started to own homes and the suburbs were built. And this ability to buy a house was only given to whites. Ethnic minorities were considered to be to much of a risk and so my grandfather was given a great chance to get ahead and I am still reaping the benefits. On the whole that continues to be passed down and we are still dealing with that difference today.
To correct this discrepancy it will take radical lifestyle choices by those who have started from an advantage.
O.K. that is it there is more to say but that is all I have time for go read the information presented here it is worth your time and if possible you should try and find a copy of this video.
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela
No Way Back
D. Grohl
Coming Soon...
Caleb's 50th Post, it is actually going to be pretty dull just a little thing we call...
CALEB'S GREATEST HITS!!!
So this is a little break from my homework. No really I have gotten a lot done today no really, all right who am I kidding…
Anyway like two weeks ago at the Sunday school class I have gotten to go to a couple times Ben Piper showed the third part of a PBS show about race, entitled Race: The Power of Illusion. I have actually seen it before a couple years ago and most of it is pretty good but the standout portion of it is part three The Houses We Live In. It is a very good explanation of the difference we now see in the general displacement of wealth in our county.
A friend of mine once asked me “Slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago and the civil rights movement fixed the other problems forty years ago why are black people still so poor?” I had no answers, his conclusion was that basically there was something wrong with them, my conclusion was that there was still some sort of carry over that we were fighting against, what that was I didn’t know…
Then after seeing this half an hour video I started to have a better idea what that barrier might be. I am just so glad I got to see this again and to see the concepts for a second time. So now I share them with you…
The idea is this, after WWII is when the idea of a long-term low monthly payment loan was first made available. Returning soldiers where given the chance to settle down and buy a home for basically nothing. The Government were the ones who were giving out the loans and deciding who qualified and they basically came to the decision that ethnic minorities did not qualify. Yes this has been made right in the 1960’s but it is interesting what it setup.
I am going to simplify a ton here cause you should try and see this for yourself or look up the information and I need to get back to my studying. Most Americans possess the majority of their wealth in their home and “Wealth isn't just luxury or profit; it's the starting point for the next generation.” So after world war two is when American started to own homes and the suburbs were built. And this ability to buy a house was only given to whites. Ethnic minorities were considered to be to much of a risk and so my grandfather was given a great chance to get ahead and I am still reaping the benefits. On the whole that continues to be passed down and we are still dealing with that difference today.
To correct this discrepancy it will take radical lifestyle choices by those who have started from an advantage.
O.K. that is it there is more to say but that is all I have time for go read the information presented here it is worth your time and if possible you should try and find a copy of this video.
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela
No Way Back
D. Grohl
Coming Soon...
Caleb's 50th Post, it is actually going to be pretty dull just a little thing we call...
CALEB'S GREATEST HITS!!!
Labels: Serious Stuff, Social Justice
posted by Caleb M. Saarela at 5:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home