The Future of Black Berkeley
- Strategic linkages between Berkeley and other Bay cities
- Campus-community relationships
- Targeted place holding
- Black Lives Matter Berkeley
Future Research
- Visualizing data: shifting demographics, racial profiling, educational inequities, power mapping, etc.
- Educational tools to assist Black youth in developing communal power
(Some) Guiding Principles
1. Connect and build the Black communities in Berkeley
2. Go beyond ossified progressive Berkeley politics
3. Be imaginative in formulating new futures
Campus
Community
Partnerships
BLACK
POWER
WWII to the 1960s
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.*
1980s
111,268
19.6%
N/A
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.**
2000s
103,328
20%
68%
Black wealth, businesses, and
home ownership
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.*
102,743
13.6%
34%
Gold Rush to WWII
http://www.stopfryingyourbrain.com/victim-war-drugs/
1970s
2010s
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.*
1990s
*1980 Census
**1990 Area Plan
116, 716
23.5%
N/A
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.*
112,580
10%
20%
City pop.*
City's Black pop.*
S. Berk's Black pop.*
*2000 Census
102,724
18.8%
47%
*1970 Census
*1990 Census
*2010 Census
Migration, Displacement, and Relocation
1990 South Berkeley Area Plan
Goals
The University's Complicity
"The South Berkeley Area Plan has two major goals: the retention and encouragement of an existing and vital Black community, and the revitalization of the community's economic base."
1990 South Berkeley Area Plan
Overview
- Pressure on the housing market
- Fostering a racist climate
- Negligence
- Prop 209
- UCPD racial profiling
http://theblackhour.blogspot.com/2010/03/uc-berkeley-blackout-2010-black.html
Theoretical Frame
"The university is not an engine of social transformation. Activism is."
Contributing Forces
- Implementation period: 1990-2005+ (15+yrs)
- Focuses on (1) Economic Development and (2) Housing
- Also includes: (3) Land Use, (4) Open Space, (5) Historic Preservation and Urban Design, (6) Community Resources, and (7) Environmental/Public Facilities
- Curtailed by Proposition 209
- Robin D. G. Kelly, UCLA Professor
Housing/Displacement
- Waves of displacement
- No fault evictions
- Generational gaps
- Discrimination
- The "Housing Crisis"
- Faith in the market
- Being a racist city
"Every block has a different story."
Housing Insecurity and Homelessness
- Homeless population is 59% Black (2009)
- Recent history of anti-homeless legislation
- Housing taskforce and "Housing first"
- Tiny Houses
BLACK BERKELEY
The Legacy of Oppression, Displacement, and Racism
- Dismantled Black neighborhoods
- Educational injustices
- Employment and class inequities
- Police repression
An ACES Scholar Production
Discussion
The Diversity Initiative 1996-200
Goals
1. Making the Familiar Seem Strange and Problematic
2. Exposing the Organization and Structure of Privilege
3. Empowering the Disadvantaged and
Marginalized
The Diversity Initiative 1996-200
Details
Education
- Four year long BUSD research project at BHS
- Received support from the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools
- Surveyed 700 incoming 9th graders and 85 sports teams and clubs in 1996
- Held 70+ parent focus groups with 400+ parents total
- 48 years of integration
- The anti-racism treadmill
- African American Studies Dept
The Diversity Initiative 1996-200
Findings
The Diversity Initiative 1996-200
How Far We've Come . . .
Issues
Policing
- LCAP/BSEP; Knowledge and participation in budgeting
- Inequities concerning Special Education and learning disabilities
- Punishment and discipline
- Restorative Justice
- ESL/Ebonics
- Employment discrimination
- Lack of Black teachers
- Small schools / tracking
- Representation in committees
- AFAM Dept / Ethnic Studies (K-12)
- Math and foreign language placements disadvantage Black and Brown students
- Correlation between zip code, income, and GPA
- Student info: likes/dislikes of BHS, study times, employment info, and where academic support is sought
- Demographics of clubs and teams
- Impact of self-select classes
- Due to minimal graduation requirements -- only 2 years of science and 2 years of math required for graduation -- Black and Brown students have less units on average
- Differential treatment between white and Black/Brown students; differential punishment/discipline, teaching, and expectations
- White parents have more influence through advocacy
- BHS BSU Demands
- Lack of accountability and follow through
- Relationship between BTA and BHS
- Cultural competency
- Misogyny, heterosexism, and transphobia
- False “progressivism”
- Mental health services
- Parent education/engagement/support
- Campus climates
- Racial Profiling
- Militarization
- Mental Health
The Diversity Initiative 1996-200
Recommendations
- Do not allow “D” to be a passing grade
- Get more Black and latino students in AP classes
- Require 3 years of math and 3 years of science
- Disrupting "tracking"
- Cultural competency
Key Trends
- Racism and false "progressivism"
- Tracking and differential treatment
- Lack of accountability and community oversight
- No sustained partnerships between the Black populations at BUSD, BCC, and Cal