FNED 346
Dr. Bogad
Jonathon Kozol, "Amazing Grace"
Jonathon Kozol, "Amazing Grace"
In “Amazing Grace”, Jonathon Kozol offers a subjective view of Mott Haven, NY in 1995. 95% of the population were poor in this section of the south Bronx which boasted the largest concentration of racially segregated people in the US. Children in the school system received free lunches because they were categorized as “destitute”. This, in the heart of New York City, a place where “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Kozol offers no solutions. And I believe his choice to write this was about acknowledgement and raising consciousness. He never injects his own feelings into the dialogues he had with the children, adolescents and adults of this community. In 1995, it was with “amazing grace” that the men women and children of Mott Haven lived their lives.
As a nation if we are to have a conscience about this horrific quality of life in our own backyard, Mott Haven, we have to acknowledge that it exists. In “White Privilege: Unspeaking the Invisible Knapsack” McIntosh states that obliviousness to the existence of privilege (or lack there of) is strongly “inculturated” in our country so as to maintain the myth that choice is available to all. The privileged cling to the illusion that they are doing good, helping those less fortunate, without actually doing anything. For purposes of discussion, the less fortunate in this case are the residents of Mott Haven. And through Kozol’s accounts, we see the inability of a government implemented welfare system to help those who “chose” to get help. For many in Mott Haven, resignation was an easier option after multiple attempts to work within the system failed. So this choice looked like poverty and destitution. Our government, those with power and privilege created the welfare system and in Mott Haven it wasn’t working.
In “Privilege Power and Difference”, I was stuck on a notion that was never addressed in the article: Do the inherently privileged want things to change, do they want their lives to change. Can things change? What should we as a society do to facilitate change? What can individuals do? How can the residents of Mott Haven change their position, if the system created by those with power to help them doesn’t work? What can I do?
McIntosh offers that “systemic change takes many decades”. It is almost 20 years later. Is there evidence of change in Mott Haven? Let’s see. . . .
Attached is a link to an article by Jessica Glazer in the Mott Haven Herald in June of 2012. It is one example of a positive change. Through funds donated by a farm in California, the students in a Charter School designed for children in the welfare system planted a roof top garden. Read more about this uplifting project at
http://www.motthavenherald.com/2012/11/06/rooftop-garden-opens-atop-charter-school/
Hey Viv! I read your post and I really liked that you included a photo and a link that connected to the text directly. The pictures and links I used in my posts were relevant to the article I wrote about but you actually found something about the particular place talked about in "Amazing Grace" that, I think, is really cool. And it allows us to see a more recent visual of what Mott Haven Herald looks like eighteen years after Jonathan Kozol wrote his piece. Good Job.
ReplyDeleteHi Viv! I too found "Amazing Grace" sad, but inspiring. The things that these individuals went through on an everyday basis were heartbreaking. But, like you did I also found more current news on Mott Haven. I found it amazing how much better this town has become and how they are still working to make improvements. This just shows that positive change can happen. Everything has potential! Great job.
ReplyDeleteViv, I couldn't agree with you more! I really liked how you showed us evidence of what McIntosh was talking about. He claimed that it takes decades for change and you gave us a link to see for ourselves. I really thought that was great and something cool to look at. It is always fun looking back at something from so long ago and then looking at it now. Everything that you said about Kozol, espeically when you stated that he never talks about his own feelings in the dialouge had made me go back and read it again, and you're right he doesn't!
ReplyDeleteViv, I really liked how you connected the two articles and found a really cool way of showing that while they are talking about different topics they really aren't that different after all. I enjoyed how you found a picture from the neighborhood that the author was writing about in his article. I have never been to New York so I don't know much about the city or the state and I feel like that after reading your blog post and the article I have a better understanding of the state. I liked hearing about the not so glamorous side of the state that we don't hear to much about.
ReplyDeleteViv, I love how you connected the McIntosh piece with Kozol. It was nice to see a positive change in Mott Haven with the rooftop gardens. One line in your blog stood out to me the most. "The privileged cling to the illusion that they are doing good, helping those less fortunate, without actually doing anything." That quote definitely shows the ignorance of the privileged and how they really are blinded by their own fortunes.
ReplyDeleteViv this is so awesome! I love that you posted a picture of the rooftop garden to really tie everything together and to give us a nice visual of what it looks like! I too thought this was a fairly hard read but also a necessary one to open our eyes to what is going on outside of our little bubbles. You're totally not alone with looking up challenging words don't worry!! :)
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