Young Voices on a Changing East Harlem
A Community Conversation
by The Confined Arts at Another Choice Youth and Family Outreach
When a neighborhood changes, it usually means that working-class families get pushed out by wealthier folks moving in. This process is often described as “gentrification”. In the United States, given histories of segregation and disinvestment in communities of color, this gentrification usually happens along racial lines. Simply put, white people with money move in, and Black and Brown residents who have lived in a place for generations get forced out. When this happens, the whole feel of a neighborhood - its culture, its personality, and its soul - starts to change.
We wanted to understand what this looks like through the eyes of young people living through it all right now. So we sat down with the summer 2024 Community Service Learning Initiative cohort hosted by Another Choice Youth and Family Outreach. We focused on East Harlem, where these changes are happening day by day.
Keep scrolling to see East Harlem through the eyes of young people who call it home.