In "Fifth Avenue, Uptown," author James Baldwin argues that not much is done to ensure the well being of the black community. He argues this by relaying that if you walk through Harlem you will see men and women that are high and that they only become "animated" when they see someone that can lend them money for a fix, or when they are purchasing the substances that will keep them in that current state.
I've walked through Harlem for seven years. My school was on 123rd and Morningside and the train left me on 125th and Lexington. There is a clear difference between East Harlem and West Harlem. Since Columbia University is on the West Side, you often see more white people and gentrified areas. During those seven years I witnessed people doing drugs, people selling drugs, and people getting arrested for drugs (teens and adults alike). This prevailed a sense of fear growing up. I never knew what these people were capable of. I soon learned that these people were so lost in translation. Lost in the basket of glory that they inhaled with every blow, every puff, every roll. They were so lost in themselves, in that very momentary feeling of bliss, that they did not notice me, did not notice themselves, did not notice the gawks and stares and judgmental side eyes. Or maybe they just did not care.
Only I noticed myself and the dichotomy between a young high school scholar and a somewhat senseless person of color that sat on the concrete amidst all the chaos and traffic of the people walking passed them and over them. Only I was aware of their state because they were to lost in their high to notice it for themselves. This is why it is evident that the people on 125th and Lexington are especially subject to discrimination and isolation. People would walk passed them and not wonder if that person was okay or if they were in need of help. If they needed a blanket, if they needed another layer of clothing during those harsh winter snowfalls.
I understood that these drug dealers were selling because it was probably the only way (or rather the easiest, more accessible way) to make money (be it for themselves or to care for their family). Maybe they just thought that that they had no potential, that the predetermined ideals of their race were true and that there would be no way to branch out of their predicament because of the imposed hegemonic ideals that belittles people of color. Maybe they didn't even think that they could own up to something because they grew up knowing one lifestyle and any other way of living seemed out of reach, a fantasy. Maybe they were set on the idea that this is all they could do, that fate, or destiny, or that bad luck is what has determined them to live the life that they do.
There are several drug dealers at NYU. Whether they do this to pay for their tuition or to afford the overpriced bagel and cream cheese from "Bagel Bob's," they are hustling weed, and other forms of illegal substances, through their covert business. This hustle starts up and down the dorms until it is spread campus wide. Why is it then that there isn't a stigma towards NYU students. It's probably just a story that they will share at the dinner table with their office buddies (a gender neutral term) once they get a high paying job. "Yeah, I'm so glad I sold drugs in school to pay my tuition. I love where I am, I love my job, I love my family," is probably the introduction to their story. Though if a person of color (and I speak on behalf of those who sold drugs to maintain a family, pay bills, and provide food shelter and water) were to start the story, it would probably lament loosing their child to ACS, getting arrested, wishing that maybe they had lived up to something more.
It is our responsibility to care for our community and to ensure that we can all live safely, healthy and happily. Society teaches us to put ourselves and our success over everyone else's, we should begin to care for everyone. Everything is a testament to our character, or even lack thereof. If we don't care about our community, we do not care about our society excelling to be the best thing it can possibly be.
No comments