The rise and fall of Harlem: the conspiracy to retake Harlem. Fact or Fiction? Part three

The social, political and economic issues surrounding gentrification may seem like a new conflict, but in fact gentrification (means when the rich take property from the poor) goes back to 1626, when the Dutch conquered (or purchased for 60 Dutch guilders, the equivalent of $24 or in some estimates $1000 dollars U.S. money, but if the natives would have declined to sell it I wonder if Mr. Minuit would have just walked away.) the area called Manhattan (today) from the Native American tribe called The MANHATTANS or/and another tribe called the LENAPE. The name Harlem derives from the Haarlem, located in the Netherlands. The first Europeans to conquer this area called Harlem or/and Manhattan were the Dutch. It was peter Minuit who purchased the area that is now called Manhattan (today) on behalf of the Dutch west India Company. (More about them and the Dutch east India Company later)

(The origin of the word "gentrification" comes from the word "gentrify" which means "to renovate inner city housing to middle class standards" gentrify is a compound word broken down in the following manner: "gentry" + "fy", "gentry" means nobility of rank or/and birth, also in character. "fy" is a suffix meaning to "make into" or/and "to make, do' / nobility or to be noble is to be "illustrious, distinguished, worthy of honor or respect and of superior birth./ Now here is the root of the problem in the issue of "gentrification"(or in plain English the taken of land and property, the denial of freedom, justice and equality) It is the mindset that another people believe that they are inherently superior to another, so that gives them the birth right to just usurp another people from their land, village or residency without regard to their future, culture and well being. )

According to the history, Harlem was only a village, or a settlement, founded by Hendricks (Henry) de Forest, Isaac de Forest, his brother, and their sister Rachel de Forest, French Dutch immigrants in 1637. (See the book: Ellis, Edward Robb (1966). The Epic of New York
City) The settlement was officially formalized in 1658, known as Nieuw Haarlem. By the last appointed director on behalf of the Dutch west India Company, peter Stuyvesant. (Of course Bedford–Stuyvesant in Brooklyn
is named after peter Stuyvesant also)

The Indian trail to Harlem's lush bottomland meadows was rebuilt by black laborers of the Dutch West India Company and eventually developed into the Boston Post Road. (More than likely in the Bronx) In 1664, the English took control of the New Netherland colony and anglicized the name of the town to Harlem. On September 16, 1776, the Battle of Harlem Heights,(this battle was between the Americans and the British) sometimes referred to as the Battle of Harlem or Battle of Harlem Plain, was fought in western Harlem around the Hollow Way (now West 125th St.), with conflicts on Morningside Heights to the south and Harlem Heights to the north.

Differences in conceptions of property rights between the Europeans and the Lenape resulted in widespread confusion among the Lenape and the eventual loss of their lands. (Gentrification) After the Dutch arrival in the 1620s, the Lenape were successful in restricting Dutch settlement until the 1660s to Pavonia in present-day Jersey City along the Hudson. The Dutch finally established a garrison at Bergen, which allowed settlement west of the Hudson within the province of New Netherland.

"In the early 1680s, William Penn and Quaker colonists created the English colony of Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. In the decades immediately following, some 20,000 new colonists arrived in the region, putting pressure on Lenape settlements and hunting grounds. Although Penn endeavored to live peaceably with the Lenape and to create a colony that would do the same, he also expected his authority and that of the colonial government to take precedence. His new colony effectively displaced the Lenape and forced others to adapt to new cultural demands. Penn gained a reputation for uncommon benevolence and tolerance, but his efforts resulted in more effective colonization of the ancestral Lenape homeland than previous ones." (See Historian James O'Neil Spady)

In 1758 there was the treaty of Easton, between the Lenape and the Anglo-American colonists, required the Lenape to move westward, out of present-day New York and New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, then Ohio and beyond. Sporadically they continued to raid European-American settlers from far outside the area. In 1778 there was another treaty called "the called treaty of fort Pitt" (I guess we know what happened to that treaty)

The following is an excerpt from the book west Virginia: A history for beginners.

Native American Concept of Land
a major factor in the treaty disputes was Native Americans' concept of land. Indians fought among themselves over hunting rights to the territory but the Native American idea of "right" to the land was very different from the legalistic and individual nature of European ownership. John Alexander Williams describes this in his book, West Virginia: A History for Beginners:

The Indians had no concept of "private property," as applied to the land. Only among the Delaware's was it customary for families, during certain times of the year, to be assigned specific hunting territories. Apparently this was an unusual practice, not found among other Indians. Certainly, the idea of an individual having exclusive use of a particular piece of land was completely strange to Native Americans.

The Indians practiced communal land ownership. That is, the entire community owned the land upon which it lived…..

 

 

 

The rise and fall of Harlem: the conspiracy to retake Harlem. Fact or Fiction? Part two

Although the title of this little miniseries (or mini blog) is centered on a specific geographical location, called Harlem, it is only a sign of what is or will come soon (if not already) to other urban areas throughout America. So if they are not taken over your city now through gentrification they might be after you read this blog.

A key word in the title of this blog is "conspiracy "What is a conspiracy? [Note: there are several other different classes or kinds of conspiracy. Civil conspiracy, criminal conspiracy and political conspiracy] "an evil or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons "according to etymology (the origins, history and meaning of words) the history and meaning of the word "surreptitious" is as follows: it is from the mid 15 century from Latin "sur-rep-ti-cius" meaning stolen (or to steal) furtive (means theft, robbery) or clandestine. From "sur-rep-tus" – "sur-ri-pere" to seize secretly. From sub- (meaning from under)+rapere "to snatch"

So has there ever been any known conspiracies to steal, snatch or/and seize a people, place or thing? Or/and to exclude certain people from certain activities? Well funny as it may seem 400+ years ago black people were stolen, snatched and seized and dispersed throughout the western hemisphere by a certain people. The so called Native Americans had their land snatched, stolen and seized by a certain people. In South Africa the Africans had their land snatched, stolen and seized from them by a certain group of people. And today it appears that Harlem is about to be snatched, stolen and seized from black people by a certain group of people. This particular certain group of people seems to have one thing in common they all classify themselves as either white, European or Caucasian. (By no means is this a sweeping indictment of all white, European or Caucasian people)

The purpose of this writer illustrating the said above is kill any rhetoric that this writer is a conspiracy theorist or/and paranoid. This writer is a real-ist that deals with the harsh realities of what is. It has always been stated that history best qualifies to reward our re-search. Why? Because today is built off of yesterday and tomorrow is built off today. Meaning, if we know what happened yesterday, then we can intelligently analyze, discuss and assess it today and not let the same thing go down today that went down yesterday. So therefore, if white, European or Caucasians have a history of snatching, stealing or/and seizing other peoples land (and other things) in an evil manner, then I have a right to be suspicious about what is going on in Harlem today.

So what is the process that is being used today to remove black people from their Mecca? It is called "Gentrification". What is Gentrification? It refers to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire property in low income and working class communities.

Urban gentrification causes the average income to increase (for some). It is commonly believed (or known) that this results in the poorer native residents of the neighborhood, being unable to pay increased rents, house prices, and property taxes, being displaced. Taxes paid to the city go up. Often old industrial buildings are converted to residences and shops. In addition, new businesses, catering to a more affluent base of consumers, move in, further increasing the appeal to more affluent migrants and decreasing the accessibility to the poor.
Urban gentrification occasionally changes the culturally heterogeneous character of a community to a more economically homogeneous community that some describe as having a suburban character. This process is sometimes made feasible by government-sponsored private real estate investment. (The latter part is highlighted in bold to bring attention to a question that was raised in part one. Which was, who is at fault for Harlem not being owned and controlled by the blacks that reside in Harlem) that question will be partly answered in part four (4) when we look at redlining. Part three (3) will explore the origins of Harlem going back to 1637.

 

The rise and fall of Harlem: the conspiracy to retake Harlem. Fact or Fiction? Part one

When one hears of Harlem New York, automatically Black People and culture comes to mind, in addition to Places like the cotton club, Lenox lounge, jazz lounges and Sylvia's. People like madam CJ walker, Langston Hughes, Adam Clayton Powell and other notable personatilities. But last but not least the term Black Mecca comes to mind and un-consciously black ownership. What is Mecca? Mecca is one of the holiest cities located in Saudi Arabia to the Muslims. Well Harlem was (and still is) to black people what Mecca is to Muslims (or Arabs) our holy city. However what's the difference between the Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in the east and the Mecca in Harlem, in the west.

The difference is Mecca (in the east) is flourished with businesses owned and operated by the Arab the people. However the Mecca (in the west) is flourished with businesses owned and operated by other (Arabs, Jews and Africans) people other than black people. With the exception of a few black owned businesses. (FYI when the term black people is used in this blog it is referring to the so called African American) [FYI stands for "For Your Information " ]

The land or real estate in Mecca in the east is owned by the Arabs, the land or real estate in Mecca in the west is owned by others (mainly the Jews). But why is this situation present? Who is to blame? Is it other nationalities fault that Harlem isn't owned and operated by black people? Or is it black people's fault that we don't own or operate anything in Harlem? Or are we both to blame? Or was it a conspiracy to deprive black people in Harlem (and elsewhere) the right to own and operate their own businesses? And ultimately control their own destiny. How did black ownership get swept from black people in Harlem? Why is it that black people do not control their own education in their own area? (All the above shall be answered in the blogs to come)

I was always taught that everything in existence is based on the law of Cause and Effect (or action and re-action). so therefore Before we can even engage in the conversation about who's to blame we need to know the what (the history is of what is called Harlem today) where (did the name come from) when (was it named Harlem) who (who named it Harlem) and how (did we get to our present situation), we need to over-stand the beginning or the root of what is called Harlem today and work our way up to today. They say in order to understand the present and have a picture of the possible future you must know and over-stand the past. [ this writer uses the term " over-stand or over-standing instead of under-stand or under-standing , because to under is to exist below a thing and over is to exist on top of a thing, so today we want to be on top of what has and is going on ]

• Harlem stretches from the east river to the Hudson River, from 155^th street to 110^th street.
  
• In the late 1960s, 60% of the businesses in Harlem were reportedly owned and operated by blacks and increasing. (From the book: the economic development of Harlem: by Thomas Vietorisz and Bennett Harrison.)
  
• In 1910 the population of Harlem was estimated at 181,949. 9.89% black and 90.01% white.
  
• In 1920 the population of Harlem was estimated at 216,026. 32.43% black and 67.47 white.
  
• In 1930 the population of Harlem was estimated at 209,663. 70.18% black and 29.43 white.
  
• In 1960 the population of Harlem was estimated at 163,632. 96.71% black and 2.94 white.
  
• In 2006 the population of Harlem was estimated at 118,111. 69.27% black and 6.55 white. ( in 1980 the lowest % of whites living in Harlem had dropped to .62%, while blacks made up 94.17% of the population)
  

Stay tuned for in the next blog we will go into the very origins of this section or part called Harlem from the Native Americans to the Dutch settlers and onward.