Bianca Brucato

September 28, 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Valerie Kinloch Questions

1.      “From architectural designs to cultural activities to the role of local communities in civil rights movements, urban places and spaces are rich in history (147 – 148).”  Discuss the meaning of this sentence.

 – This sentence means that every place has some type of meaning and history to it.   It could be through culture, community, architecture, civil rights movements that all play a huge part in shaping that places history. There is always something to learn and gain from the history of urban places.

2.     “Phillip and Khaleeq both had a strong fondness for Harlem’s famous 125^th Street.  They focused on 125^th Street as a site where ‘art is in constant process’” (149).  What is significant about this street as it relates to the essay?  In the same way, what is a famous street, hangout spot, or location in your town?  Why is it famous?   - Harlem’s famous 125^th Street plays a huge role in shaping the identity and culture of Harlem’s art. According to Phillip and Khaleeq this street holds boat loads of black symbols. A famous place to hangout in my town is The Great Kills Little League and Swim Club. This is a famous place to hangout for all people located in the town of Great Kills because it is a big hangout spot for kids and families to go and have a fun time. The Great Kills Little League and Swim Club has been around for almost 20 years and is a fun place for kids to go and stay out of trouble.

3. In class we made the connection between identity and symbols.  We concluded that symbols can signify a part of your identity.  Discuss the use of symbols as identities throughout the reading.  Why are they important?  -The symbols used in this passage has a very symbolic meaning to the story as a whole. The symbols play a huge part in shaping the identity of the residents of Harlem because they show Harlem’s deep African American roots and culture.

4. “…[F]ollow-up conversations with Phillip and Khaleeq taught me new ways to see art as ‘action you don’t get permission to create’ (Phillip) and as ‘what we got inside us that wanna get out’” (Kinloch qtd Khaleeq 151).  Discuss the meaning of this sentence.  – The meaning behind this sentence is that not everyone accepts art and is usually suppressed by those who find it to be a waste of time and space. No matter how hard we try to fight for the integrity and beauty of art there will always be people who are going to try to suppress it.

5. On page 154, Kinloch discusses community as signs of history.  What does this mean in relation to the text?  Similarly, write about significant historical identifiers of your community.  (Your community can be any place.)  - This means that symbols are what show the history and culture of a community. Symbols are a representation of the community as a whole.  A significant historic place in Staten Island is Richmond Town. This town is filled with history from the 1600’s and has original buildings and farmhouses to show the history and lifestyles of early American life.

6. In what specific way does the use of digital documentation and photographs help Khaleeq and Phillip show residents the effects of gentrification?  Similarly, does the use of photographs and video that you created help to show your community?  Do you think you could have done your written your response about your community without it? – Digital documentation helps us to visualize information without having to read pages and pages. Most people like this because it can help you visualize the story or message your trying to tell. The video I created helped show my community, which is my dorm because the video showed all details of my room that I could not write on paper. I don’t think I could have written my response without it because it helped me explain the details of my community.

7. Kinloch closes her essay with a list of questions that derived from her research.  Discuss what her questions aim to uncover as it relates to the main point of her essay. Kinloch closes her essay with a list of questions derived from her research to show how back in the day people stood up to gentrification more than they did today. Today people are more lenient with gentrification and do not stand up for themselves and community.