An Analysis of Neighborhood Dis(advantage)

Within Lower Merion Township.

Danielle Levin

Get into three groups and there are 3 sections on the poster

board I am giving you, please write down words that you

associate, define or link to the term at the top of each column.

“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of

meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance

on my group”-Peggy McIntosh

1.What role does race have in your life? 2.How has it

impacted you? 3. Please write down how you

would define racism?4. What is white privilege?

The Random House Dictionary (1993) defines privilege as “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the

advantages of most.” Peggy McIntosh (1995): Those of us who are white usually believe

that privileges are “conditions of daily experience... [that are] universally available to everybody.” (pp. 82-83).

This power is institutionalized, granted to those who are of the dominating group. Thus having greater access to power and

resources.Seeing white as “normal”

Historical Context of LMSD:Lower Merion School District serves over 62,000 residents within LM &

Narberth

Historically white town, and known for being affluent.

Merion, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Bala Cynwyd, Belmont Hills, Wayne, Penn Valley, Penn Wynne, Gladwyne, Villanova and The Borough of Narberth.

In 1980, the population was made up of 94% white residents, which has now decreased to 83.5% white residents and the number of black residents living in the township is now 5.9%. The percentage of white residents in the township is 6.1% higher than the national average of the white population.

In LMSD, the student body population is :

VS Median income per year: $53,482

Median value of houses: $175,700

Poverty Rate: 15.6%

Average Unemployment Rate: 5%

→ Unemployment rate for white population:

4.3%

→ Unemployment rate for black pop:

9.4%

Median income per year: $115,657

Median value of houses: $546,600

Poverty Rate: 4.9%

--> Black population poverty rate: 5.9%

Unemployment Rate for Black population:

14.9%

*Lower Merion calls itself a “First Class

Township”

Putting it into perspective:A person working a minimum wage job would have to work approximately 108 hours per week

61 more hours than the average 47 hour work week, in order to afford a one bedroom rental apartment in the

township.

In order to rent a two bedroom apartment, an individual would have to make an estimated $43,000 per year which

according to the Census 2014 Population Reports, is $7,602 more than the median income for black

households.

This is still well within reach for white households who earn the median average of $60,256 annually.

Who lives where?●Majority of the black residents in the district are clustered in two

neighborhoods: South Ardmore and Bryn Mawr. ●Gladwyne (96% white) and Haverford (95.9% white)

●it is important to question why this is, and to examine the cost of living in those neighborhoods considering that blacks are making less than their white counterparts; which likely impacts where they chose to live or where they can afford to live within the district.

EmploymentOf the LM residents, 87.3% of workers have white collar

occupations. Of the working residents in Lower Merion Township, the

highest percentage of white collar occupational representation is among

people who live in the less diverse areas in the district [Gladwyne and

Haverford]. Bryn Mawr and Ardmore have the highest representation

of workers in blue collar jobs or other kinds of occupations, therefore

it’s no coincidence that those towns also have the highest representation

of black residents.

Neighborhood characteristics have had a heavy impact on life chances

Taxes to live in the area are incredibly high fund a very resource rich schooling system. district is known throughout the Country as a top ranked

educational programSo what does this mean?

Not only are most of the youth in the district provided with a good education, and a safe environment to grow up in, but they are also living an extremely high quality of life.

What factors do you think have led to the lack of diversity in our

township?

What is the difference between Wealth & Income Wealth

What you own minus what you owe

What you have in the bank and the assets that you own

Used to ignite social mobility, create opportunities and establish status

Can be passed down through generational lines

Assets:

1. Homes (Biggest indicator)

2. liquid assets like cash, savings, bank deposits, insurance/pension plans

3. real estate

4. stocks and trusts

Income

your salary, wages or government benefit check

Money that continues to flow in

What is Economic Inequality?

Not only does economic inequality keep many black families

from being able to afford to live in Lower Merion, but systemic

inequality also likely causes them to lack a desire to live in

the historically white town. So how can we understand: Advantage vs Disadvantage and Inequality vs privilege?

Different types of racism:• Interpersonal: prejudices and discriminatory behaviors. Where one group makes assumptions about the abilities, motives, and intents of other groups based on race.

• Internalized: In a society in which all aspects of identity and experience are racialized, and one group is politically, socially and economically dominant, members of stigmatized groups, who are bombarded with negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic worth, may internalize those negative messages.

• Institutional: Assumptions about race are structured into the social and economic institutions in our society. Institutional racism occurs when organizations, businesses, or institutions like schools and police departments discriminate, either deliberately or indirectly, against certain groups of people to limit their rights.

• Structural: Accumulation over centuries of the effects of a racialized society.

*Let’s think of examples of each type!

Understanding PrivilegeActivity

I feel like I belong in the neighborhood that I live in

I feel comfortable walking through any of the streets in any

neighborhood in Philly

I have felt pressured to alter my appearance, mannerisms, or

language to avoid being judged based on my race

Supermarkets sell all the foods that my family eats.

I have no problem finding bandaids that match my skin

color.

Sometimes I am the only person in the room with my racial

background.

Most of the people in charge (teachers, employers, cops,

politicians) have the same racial background as me.

I have been told that I would be better off with darker or lighter

skin.

I am never asked to speak on behalf of all the people in my

racial group.

I can be sure that if I ask to “speak to the person in charge” I will be faced with someone the

same race as me.

When I walk into a store, employees follow me because

they suspect I am going to steal something due to my race.

Understanding our privilege: Exercise

Social Stratification

Social Class

Social Inequality

Social Mobility

Think about:

How does it feel to be marginalized based on something that you can’t control?

Marginalization- pushes groups of people to the margins of society (economically, politically, socially, culturally, etc..) It denies equal access to resources and opportunities. It limits the chances for upward social mobility.

Experience of black students in white schools

Philly Mag and NY Times articles point out, black students, whose parents are paying the same school taxes as their white neighbors, are still being denied access to some of the best academic resources that their white peers are fully enjoying.

So...is it even worth it for a black family to pay higher school taxes and reside in white dominated school districts if their children aren’t even benefitting from it?

→ Not only are the black students not benefitting from it, but they are being harmed by it, because the experience is not socially rewarding either leading to feelings of isolation and/or exclusion.

How does social class/economic inequality/SES impact a person's social mobility?

How does race/ethnicity impact a person's individual identity, social identity and their social interactions?

Homeownership*Low levels of black homeownership in LM might be a result of discrimination in employment, income and loan approval.→ Black families income compared to white families income tends to be sixty-two cents on the dollar, and on top of that, white families tend to have $73,000 more wealth than black families.→ Black middle class families own about a quarter of the wealth that white middle class families own. → Blacks are being denied home mortgages at a 60% higher rate than their white counterparts, they are also given higher rates on loans and are denied access because of housing appreciation/depreciation. Considering these factors:

Cost to live in Lower Merion is significantly higher for black families than for white families. A home's values decreases by 16% when it is located in a neighborhood that is more than 10% black.

Why is this socially significant?Denied entry into white neighborhoods = Denied other resources (i.e. higher quality of education).

→ Granted entry ≠ granted resources*when black families do make it into predominately white communities, they are likely to experience

hostility and isolation from their white peers. White children learn prejudices at a young age, but are typically socialized to believe that they

“colorblind”. Colorblindness in the school system further marginalizes black students and reinforces the inherent privileges of the white students. One of the fundamental issues surrounding the idea of ‘colorblindness’ is that it was established as a result of color-conscious racism.

How has your race helped or hurt you? Can you give an

example?

→ School curriculum is strictly depictive of white interests and fails to incorporate black and/or multicultural material into the classroom instruction.

→ By failing to acknowledge race in the school setting, is to essentially deny the historical and contemporary contexts of white domination and the oppressive past that blacks have faced which have shaped their lived experiences and play a role in their daily lives. → Thus reinforcing the colorblind attitude and normalizing the white experience. The Lack of racially diverse content is causing the school curriculum to serve as a way to reinforce power and privilege.The curriculums racist undertone is protected by the claim that it is just part of the traditional curriculum and therefore remains untouched and unquestioned. Past research has also found that black students felt that they needed to prove themselves in the classroom setting in order to show that they were worthy of being in the white dominated setting.

Race is simply just a social construct:

Do you think being “colorblind” – in other words, not “noticing” or acknowledging racial differences – is a goal we should strive for, or is it “running away from racial

differences?

How can being colorblind help or hurt our society? How can it help or hurt in the classroom setting? Is there something that can be done? If so, what might it be?