In Kinloch’s “The Whitefication of the Hood,” she describes how Quentin found inspiration in Jasmine’s story. Although Jasmine was younger and lived in a very different community, Quentin really connected to her appreciation of black history in her town. Intrigued by her description of “old stores, slave houses and old family memories,” he noted “I can see some of Harlem in what she’s saying. When the new come, then there’s white-ification.” (Kinloch 67) By drawing parallels between Egypt, Texas and Harlem, NY, Quentin was consolidating common struggles in an attempt to amplify the voice of Black youth in gentrifying neighborhoods. Gathering similar experiences to highlight an issue is key to the success of any political or social movement. This is something that could be done in a classroom between students of the same age or different ages. I think it would be even more interesting for youth from separate schools to start this conversation. Not only was Quentin able to compare and contrast his life to Jasmine’s, but he gained inspiration that strengthened his own narrative. It can be really eye-opening for young people to get a taste of what its like to grow up in another state or community because of both the differences and the common threads that arise to pull two struggling people together.
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I completely agree with Emily; I thought it was really powerful how Quentin was able to find inspiration in Jasmine’s poetry. Kinloch does a very good job of giving voice to these students. She isn’t afraid to talk about their powerful, perhaps controversial to some, views on the intersections between race, space and identity. Too often, teenagers aren’t allowed to express opinions about such touchy issues, due to a common belief that teens don’t have anything of value to say. In fact, much of what students have to say in academic settings is effectively suppressed if not directly related to school. I think that there’s a lot that can be learned from Quentin’s poignant narrative and performance. Surely, most kids in gentrifying communities experience the consequences of such changes. They might not all have the same attitudes about the changes, but they certainly have something to say about them.
I appreciated that we read this piece along with the Singer and Shagoury article about reading and writing and social activism. The performance component of the narrative is one that Kinloch stresses throughout her piece, and one whose value I never really considered before. This emphasis on performance in narrative reminded me of a discussion we had in my other education class. We spoke about how, from a Critical Race Theory standpoint, narratives (and performances) are inextricably tied to social change. I think this is a really important thing to keep in mind, especially when working with teenage students. We have to be careful to not discount their voices, but value them. I feel that as Vassar students, many of us stubbornly hold on to a rather negative view of Poughkeepsie. Yet few of us venture into the community and talk to its residents. Only then can we gain a richer, fuller portrait of the city.