https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs The history of Yonkers is synonymous with the longstanding history of racial segregation, and redlining. It is impossible to discuss Yonkers and its history without mentioning its very publicized and controversial attempt at desegregation. The project I have constructed places the events of this desegregation, and its long lasting effects we see today, overlayed onto a map of the city. On May 13th 1986 Judge Sand officially ordered to desegregate Yonkers schools, which enacted an ongoing battle to this day to integrate the city. The current issues of race and class, stem from the atrocities of the past. It is becoming increasingly important for us as individuals to understand that the problems of today are not the fault of the individuals but rather systemic issues birthed by our racist history. I have decided to tell this story of systemic segregation through Yonkers, as it is where I have spent much of my childhood. My grandparents took care of me on Warburton Ave, still living there to this day. My father was in the last segregated high school class of Yonkers High, before the school was closed, and my mother was bussed to the other side of town in order to receive an equal opportunity. Many of my family members grew up in the Southwest side of Yonkers. My family history cannot be told without discussion of Yonkers and so I’ve chosen to talk about the policies that have shaped so many of our lives. I hope you enjoy the “Comprehensive Story of Segregation and Unequal Opportunity.” en-us 2023-05-07 22:08:54 UTC 2025-09-25 15:01:41 UTC hello@padlet.com Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581119352 The article published by the New York Times illustrates the findings of Judge Sand, that Yonkers school districts and residential neighbourhoods have been segregated on the basis of race. Published in 1985, many years after Jim Crow and segregation had been abolished, the practice was continued in Yonkers for many years which lead to unequal opportunity for minority groups. ]]> 2023-05-07 22:46:26 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581119352 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581132993 The film brick by brick discusses the stories of three families from Yonkers in the midst of the desegregation of Yonkers. The film uses place and spaces such as the Schlobohm projects to illustrates the harsh realities segregation has created for many individuals, in limiting opportunity and quality of life. The website has provided a comprehensive timeline of the city’s history of segregation, and its attempts to move forward in recent history. ]]> 2023-05-07 23:19:24 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581132993 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581439404 The article provided discusses the creation of “heat islands” in East Coast Cities. Heat Islands are regions in cities, that are barren of green areas, and covered in concrete, which trap the sun and heat, making the surrounding areas hotter. Formerly redlined regions of Yonkers suffer from being heat islands, lacking true green space even in parks, which was an attempt to indirectly label these places as undesirable. The people residing in these regions today must suffer the consequences of the past. ]]> 2023-05-08 04:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581439404 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581535850 Direct source from Yonkers police, which shows crime statistics throughout Yonkers. High Crime rates are shown to occur in formerly redlined areas, which still suffer from high concentrations of poverty. East of the Saw Mill there is little crime in stark contrast to what is seen in Southwest Yonkers neighborhoods such as Locust Hill and the tree streets. ]]> 2023-05-08 05:40:56 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581535850 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581547982 The article listed recounts on personal experiences of the desegregation of Yonkers school districts. Individuals who grew up in Southwest Yonkers, (which accounts for 80% of the minority population), recall their experiences of being bused to Groton High School, and the unwillingness of teachers students and parents to accept the transition of desegregation. In turn, the article also discusses the experience of White residents of East Yonkers, and their feelings towards being bused. ]]> 2023-05-08 05:52:04 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581547982 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581585803 An area description of the willow place neighborhood of Yonkers. Formerly redlined, with reasons for this exclusion being the inhabitants of this neighborhood being black factory workers, and foreign born immigrants as seen in the provided image. This resulted in the exclusion of home loans for residents of this region. The effects of redlining this neighborhood as well as many other South Yonkers neighborhoods led to decreased home ownership and a generational racial wealth disparity which legacy lives on today. Link to the image and redlining map provided https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=16/40.943/-73.898&city=lower-westchester-co.-ny&area=D5&adview=full&adimage=2/61.935/-151.061]]> 2023-05-08 06:19:40 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581585803 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581602224 The image provided shows a stark contrast between the high density, high minority populated Southwest Yonkers, and the lower density white populated outer suburbs of Yonkers. The race data, gathered from the 2020 census displays the vast differences of the city. Due to its longstanding past of segregation, Yonkers remains segregated to this day, remaining a tale of two vastly different cities, with different experiences. The Saw Mill has acted as a barrier in separating the two regions from one another. Link provided to the map, zoom in on Yonkers, NY to see the extent of the segregation.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=30d2e10d4d694b3eb4dc4d2e58dbb5a5]]> 2023-05-08 06:33:08 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581602224 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581636325 The link provided using charts and demographic data illustrates the health disparities that are noticeably increased in Yonkers, in comparison to the rest of Westchester County and New York State. Yonkers is 61.9% minority, with the majority of these residents living in high density urban housing. The effect of this high density housing has created increases in pollution and “heat islands” both of which have noticeable effects on the outcome of peoples well being and health, most notably in substantial increased asthma rates. ]]> 2023-05-08 07:00:50 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2581636325 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582925273 The article listed here from 1972, discusses the Urban Renewal plans of Yonkers to demolish 400 homes in order to construct a site for the famous Otis Elevator Company. The Destruction of these homes occurred along the Hudson River, as well as Otis Avenue, which was marked as yellow, as it was seen as a declining neighborhood, due to the residents of this region being surrounded by “hazardous regions” and thus the children were forced to attend schools with “coloured and foreign born” as seen in the provided image. Click on the link to read the direct NY times source regarding the urban renewal, and the plans Otis’ and the city of Yonkers had in store.
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/05/archives/yonkers-maps-urban-renewal-project-special-to-the-new-york-times.html]]> 2023-05-09 01:38:07 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582925273 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582943044 The article listed is an opinion piece from the New York Times, which discusses the history of what we refer to as Ghettos. The creation, the maintenance, and the approval of these ghettos by whites as a form of social and physical segregation. Those who reside in the ghettos are frustrated and outraged by the living conditions, while in contrast those in power (Nixon) have continued to refer to these places as opportunities for the growth of “Black Capitalism” despite stripping these places of all means for any capital growth. ]]> 2023-05-09 01:51:37 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582943044 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582964588 Food Deserts are places where both affordable and good quality healthy food are almost impossible to come by. Residents in South Yonkers have suffered from living in areas that lack proper supermarkets and areas to find healthy food. The article discusses the work of Jadakiss and Styles P, two Yonkers based rappers in promoting their Juicing establishments which have looked to provide affordable and easy access to healthy food to those who live in food deserts. ]]> 2023-05-09 02:06:31 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2582964588 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583011455 Lisa Belkin author of Show Me A Hero, discusses the desegregation of Yonkers housing years after her book was published. The famous book Show Me A Hero details the events of the scattered site public housing plan, on the white middle class neighborhoods of Yonkers, and the feelings of both parties on the matter. Lisa in the podcast notes that while integration of the city was unsuccessful, desegregation was to a degree, as these public housing projects were built. ]]> 2023-05-09 02:39:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583011455 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583022801 The source listed focuses its attention on the voices of Yonkers residents of the Schlobohm housing projects, following the release of the HBO mini-series Show Me A Hero based on the book. The source gave an opportunity for the voices to be heard of those who have been often overlooked, providing them with a chance to speak on the desegregation and the construction of the scatter site housing. ]]> 2023-05-09 02:47:36 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583022801 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583042158 The article listed discusses efforts of High School students from Yonkers, to combat the issues faced in their local region of Southwest Yonkers. The “Green Team” has made efforts to provide solutions to the environmental injustices faced in their communities by maintaining greenery, planting a shade tree, and installing a rain garden as well as many other things. ]]> 2023-05-09 03:00:10 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583042158 Janieves36 https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583059716 Artist Shanequa Benitez, constructed an excellent exhibit titled, “But It’s Ours: The Redline Between Poverty and Wealth,” which illustrates the effects redlining and racial segregation have had on black and brown residents of Southwest Yonkers. Her pieces highlight the public housing project she grew up in, the Cromwell Towers, as well as the many issues that can be directly retraced back to redlining such as food deserts, increased health risks such as asthma and gentrification out sourcing residents. I have attached a photo of her and I in front of one of her pieces. ]]> 2023-05-09 03:13:05 UTC https://padlet.com/Janieves36/2lzzqrjctrayobfs/wish/2583059716