Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdivola
The homepage of the Washington Post had a piece on the rebuilding of 81 and it's impact on the south side. Obviously it was a short piece written from a "liberal" perspective (relied exclusively on liberal advocacy organizations as expert sources, focused only a historically AA neighborhood, while ignoring historically white areas that were also ripped apart by highway building in Syracuse) so it probably won't change any minds. But thought it was interesting to share nonetheless particularly for it's focus on the people who live right next to the highway.
The South Side of Syracuse and Highway I-81
Washington Post
Robert Samuels
10/20/19
https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...t-reparations/ |
Again, I couldn't read it due to article limit reasons, but I am curious as to which historically white areas you are referring to.
I will say that the South Side directly wasn't really directly impacted(outside of maybe a handful of blocks or so), but the 15th Ward, a neighborhood that was a working class Jewish, then predominantly black neighborhood was. I-81 came when the neighborhood had more of the later group than the previous group. As said people scattered to the south and east(a lot of people seem to forget that side of town has always had a substantial black population for a while), many of the people already in those neighborhoods left, which caused a shift.
Some background, Syracuse out of the relatively major metros had the 2nd fastest growing black community in the US between the end of WW2 and 1970. So, as that community started to move out of the crowded 15th Ward(some lived in what is now known as the Near West Side as well) and spread out, many whites on the South Side gradually started moving to the suburbs. So, I-81 caused a chain reaction in terms of housing patterns and in regards to neighborhood makeup, as well as the shifting of demographics. If interested, a good book to check out that shows, in parts, what the 15th Ward was like:
https://www.amazon.com/Syracuse-Afri.../dp/B0094A1BGE
As for the aspect of reparations being involved, I'll have to read the article, but I haven't heard that specifically being mentioned locally. If so, it isn't something that is being mentioned on a mainstream level. So, I would be curious to see where that came from.
What people are worried about is the current discussion about I-81 and will it cause another form of displacement, like the previous project. Even with the Blueprint 15 project, there is also the aspect of how many are actually going to be able to come back. Such projects aren't exclusive to just Syracuse, as I was watching this episode of Matter of Fact on Saturday in regards to a similar project occurring in Louisville KY:
https://matteroffact.tv/urban-renewal-or-urban-removal/ You are having similar concerns here as well.
Ironically, the current mayor's grandfather was the mayor of Syracuse at the time of the construction of I-81. So, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out, as I personally kind of view this as a form of redemption for what has happened with the city because of the project. Hopefully, the story will have a good ending.
Ok...I just read the article. The use of reparations is pretty rare from those interviewed in the article and appears to be thought of on a non traditional way by the writer.
Also, the South Side does vary and in an “inner/outer” way, generally speaking. The area where many of the pictures are taken are around Pioneer Homes, which is a housing project community that is the oldest in the state(around 1933, if I’m not mistaken). That is just south of Downtown and west of Syracuse University/University Hill.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
