What Is Ghetto In The 19th Century?

In order to gravitate away from the past we must understand why things happened the way they did. America has continually made the effort to keep African-Americans in the chains they first came here in. First by denying them basic human rights. Also by building the projects and no encouraging them to become an educated individual who can contribute to society. In, “Fifth Avenue, Uptown”, Baldwin writes that by walking through the streets of Harlem you can see what our country has become. It is as true then as it is now. He knows that, “The world’s real intentions are simply to keep the black man corralled up here” (176). He continues to write that a police officer serves as a reminder of what will happen if he should rebel. In the online article,
Going all the way back to the 16th century ghettos have been used to forcibly segregate Jews. By the late 19th century, the same ghettos became less widespread until they reappeared with the purpose of controlling and making the slaughter of Jews easier to accomplish. It wasn’t until 1908 that the term “ghetto” took on a different meaning, but it still served the same purpose to keep a single group of people in one area. Domonoske wrote, “Ghetto is a word that allows you to erase individuals and create boxes.” By keeping this word alive we are forgetting that we are talking about human beings. Because most people don’t know where the term comes from we don’t necessarily see the harm in using it, but the truth is that a ghetto is used to keep people under control and resource-deprived. America has adopted this same method as Nazi Germany but they haven’t taken it to the farthest extent that they did. Instead, they are letting
As a Mexican born in America I have struggled with connecting the two identities I have. I don’t call myself an American because the culture I celebrate is my Mexican heritage, yet I live in America so I am a part of this country as it is a part of me. In “Autobiographical notes”, Baldwin discusses how he grew up in Harlem and the experiences he has lived through shaped who he was. At one point in his life he traced his roots all the way back to Africa, and describes his feeling of having no place in America due to the fact that he wasn’t born here. Baldwin comes to the conclusion that, “I would have to accept my special place in this scheme- otherwise I would have no place in any scheme” (). Even though he recognizes that America isn’t his homeland he knows that it is his adopted home and without it he would have no home at all. Just how I know this is not where my roots are I know African-Americans realize the same. But if we don’t accept this place as our own then we are giving up our voice in society. Baldwin urges us to take a deeper look at ourselves in “Discovery of What It Means to be an American”. He seeks to pinpoint the qualities that make a person an American, but he finds it difficult to even begin to describe a specific set of qualities because it is such a complex and ever-changing concept. He attributes this to the fact that there is a division