When No One Is Watching

“It was the ‘those of the North’ part that really annoyed me. The North does not remember; in fact, the North has a super-selective fucking memory. As if slavery was something that happened down there, even though there were enslaved Africans building, planting, and harvesting in colonial Brooklyn alongside the Dutch. People bury the parts of history they don’t like, pave it over like African cemeteries beneath Manhattan skyscrapers. Nothing stays buried in this city, though.”

Sydney Green’s observation brings light to New York’s problematic revisionist history—one that Alyssa Cole seeks to criticize. Far from being a safe place for Black people, the Northern states have used racist tactics just as much as the Southern states. This quote highlights the importance of learning history and foreshadows the racism of Sydney’s new white neighbors.

“Five families have moved from Gifford Place in less than a year. Five doesn’t seem like much, but each of their buildings had three to four apartments, and the change has been noticeable, to say the least. And that doesn’t even count the renters. It’s gotten to the point where I feel a little twinge of dread every time I see a new white person on the block. Who did they replace? There have, of course, always been a few of them, renters who mostly couldn’t afford to live anywhere else but were also cool and didn’t fuck with anybody. These new homeowners move different.”

This quote describes the importance of the individual within a community. As Sydney notes, “five doesn’t seem like much” but even so, the “change has been noticeable.” A single person can uplift their community, and a single person can destroy it. Sydney’s note that “these new homeowners move different” is important because it foreshadows their intentions long before the Rejuvenation Plan comes to light.

“Our house feels like a prison, but our neighborhood is like something out of a movie. When I walk around Gifford Place, or even just watch from my window, I don’t feel crushed by the multi-car pileup of stupid decisions I’ve made. I feel like maybe this is a place I can belong, eventually.”

Theo’s perspective of his new neighborhood is important because it juxtaposes with that of his white neighbors. While his girlfriend Kim and others find the neighborhood dangerous and in need of more gentrification, Theo enjoys its familial atmosphere—despite his own presence threatening to change it.