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Fifth Avenue, Uptown
In his essay “Fifth Avenue Uptown,” author James Baldwin discusses how Africans will be evaluated regardless of what they accomplish because of their skin color. The author discusses the neighborhood Harlem in Manhattan. In the reading, he refers to Fifth Avenue as “lawn.” Then, he characterizes Harlem as having a poor reputation. For instance in the article James Baldwin quotes, “The area I am describing, which, in today’s gang parlance, would be called “the turf,” is bounded by Lenox Avenue on the west, the Harlem. River on the east, 135th Street on the north, and 130th Street on the south.” (Page 129) Baldwin begins to exploit the racial stereotypes of this article. “The inhabitants of Harlem, among whom are many Negroes, are well known for their good taste and refinement.” (Page 130) From this quote it is obvious that Baldwin is undermining the social status of Harlem residents.
According to James Baldwin, in the essay Harlem’s reputation was positive except for a small part between 5th to 10th avenues because the people of Harlem were black or African American. However, there were some things that were not a good reputation. “They were an inferior group, they could be rude and ignorant; they certainly could not be called prosperous. In other words, Baldwin effectively says in this phrase that Harlem is a gang territory or a nasty place. I tend to concur with that remark because I reside in Elmhurst, and I can tell you that Harlem has a horrible image. Baldwin also claims that individuals in Harlem desire to leave for a better life. They will not be condemned as a result of their skin color, but rather their social status will be the ultimate decider of their lives. The reason for this is that if a black person has property that means they have money. Therefore, Baldwin says in the essay that “the situation on Fifth Avenue is not one of racism so much as it is one of old fashioned snobbery backed up by class discrimination.” Even though he believes that individuals who reside in Harlem are arrested because cops believe they have a bad reputation, he suggests that it was not the police officers or civilians fault but rather society’s fault. “Those Negroes were criminals and criminals were black.” (Page 131) From this quote, I understand James Baldwin reasons behind writing this article.
Work Cited
Baldwin, James. “Fifth Avenue, Uptown: A Letter from Harlem.” (1960).
