After reading both articles, Racial Capitalocene by Francoise Vergès and New York’s Invisible Climate Migrants by Sophie Kasakove, it made me realize that race has everything to do with the community and environment that someone lives in. Minorities tend to live in communities with worse conditions because of financial problems.
In the article, “Racial Capitalocene,” by Francoise Vergès, it states, “It showed that race was the single most important factor in determining where toxic waste facilities were sited in the United States and that the siting of these facilities in communities of color was the intentional result of local, state, and federal land-use policies.” This shows that toxic waste facilities are used as another tool for fueling systemic racism and inequality bc it is undesirable to have a toxic waste facility in your neighborhood for obvious reasons which means the burden falls on POC communities local, state, and federal land-use policies directly police POC communities by building toxic waste facilities in their neighborhoods this systemic inequality is also seen in food deserts and quality of grocery stores available to POC communities as well as unequal access to quality education
The article, “New York’s Invisible Climate Migrants,” Sophie Kasakove, states, “In the Rockaways, in Queens, and Brooklyn’s Canarsie, the median asking rent is $1,837 and $2,000, respectively, compared with an overall median of $2,199 in Queens and $2,500 in Brooklyn, according to StreetEasy. They are some of the only places where homeownership is attainable for middle-class families, particularly for black families: In 2017, in Canarsie and neighboring Flatlands, 62 percent of the population identified as black and the homeownership rate was 57 percent, the highest of any neighborhood in Brooklyn.” This shows POC residents are typically forced into unsafe, unfavorable neighborhoods bc the rent is lower and therefore more accessible even though it is more dangerous.
Both of these articles continue to show ways of how minorities are forced into bad living environments and communities because they can not afford anything better since it is way out of the price range.
Hi Maggie,
I like how you point out that “Minorities tend to live in communities with worse conditions because of financial problems.” Since financial problems are the most important reason why minorities choose to live in poor conditions, they have no other choice. If they had enough money, they would not live there.