Wake up, We been here.

Some have the misfortune of living through it; other’s see it. It’s gentrification and it’s occurring in a city near you as we speak. Now, not to misinform, gentrification has benefits for new arrivals in Harlem, South Bronx, Bushwick, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Fort Greene, and in many other cities across the U.S., according to Spike Lee in his recent response to a New York Times article that criticized his now-infamous rant at Pratt Institute. But somewhere along the way, Mr. Lee’s beef was distorted. It wasn’t necessarily with the newcomers, but the process itself.

As per Dictionary.Com, gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses. The latter is exactly what the Brooklyn-bred director intended to emphasize on when he referred to it as “Christopher Columbus Syndrome.”

“[Gentrification is] not so great for The Brown and Black Residents who have been in these Neighborhoods for decades and are being forced out, to the Suburbs, Down South or back to their Native Islands,” says Spike Lee in his defense. It’s also not so great for the mom-and-pop business owners that were able to influence neighborhoods with their distinct style.

Head To Huffington Post (HERE) To Watch NYC Gentrify Right Before Your Eyes

Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)