59 pages • 1 hour read
This Side of Home
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Themes
The Complex Effects of Gentrification
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, alcoholism, and abuse.
This Side of Home examines the complex effects of gentrification on the national, local, and personal levels. Watson situates Portland’s current process of gentrification within the city’s history and within patterns unfolding across the United States. In Chapter 14, Watson uses a conversation between the protagonist and her twin to address how people of color and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds are disproportionately displaced by gentrification: “There is something—something that has allowed this to be normal, that poor communities get remade and their people are forced to move. Have you ever seen it the other way around?” (63). The protagonist is highly attuned to social issues, and she knows that this pattern is playing out in cities across the country, such as Atlanta and New York.
The changes in Maya’s Northeast Portland neighborhood have both positive and negative effects. One of the protagonist’s main fears is that the displacement of Black residents and the influx of white families will mean the loss of the community’s history and character. In addition, she is angry about the ways in which gentrification reinforces economic inequality and systemic racism; for example, “many Black entrepreneurs couldn’t get business loans from the bank” (42). On the other hand, secondary characters like Nikki and Mr. Washington highlight the positive effects of urban renewal. Reduced crime rates give residents a greater sense of safety, and Black homeowners see increased property values. Mr. Washington observes that gentrification also presents opportunities for intercultural collaboration and economic revitalization: “Now, just looking at it from a business standpoint—they need us and we need them. They need us to come in to their stores, and we need them to come out into the community and get involved” (268). Watson reinforces his point by having Mrs. Jacobs’s organization provide a scholarship for the underfunded Richmond High. The text therefore portrays the harmful and helpful impact of gentrification on one Portland neighborhood.
Gentrification directly affects the protagonist’s life in both positive and negative ways. Watson uses the protagonist’s relationships with her best friend and her love interest to illustrate how urban renewal comes with losses as well as gains. Essence, who is “more like a sister than a friend” to Maya (5), is forced to move because of gentrification. While this separation pains Essence and Maya, the protagonist develops feelings for the boy who moves into her best friend’s childhood home. Maya’s love for Tony leads her to see that gentrification creates new opportunities, not just problems. In the end, the protagonist learns to leverage the positive aspects of gentrification. After Mr. Washington describes the white business owners on Jackson Avenue as “just good people trying to make a livin’” (267), Maya accepts them as part of her community and wins their support for the underfunded Richmond High. Although gentrification has a number of negative consequences, the protagonist learns to make the most of its positive effects.
Building Community Amidst Change
Over the course of the novel, the conflict between Maya and Principal Green develops the theme of building community amidst change. The neighborhood around Richmond High is rapidly gentrifying, and this leads to changes within the school as well. Principal Green sees the recent influx of white and Brown students as an opportunity to boost the school’s dwindling enrollment and clean up its image as an underperforming institution. He tells Mr. Younger in Chapter 63, “we need to change the face of Richmond. We’ve got to. We have to show our, uh, new parents that this school isn’t just an urban school, if you know what I mean” (285). This excerpt shows how the principal tries to dance around the subject of race even as he continually prioritizes the comfort of white and Brown students at the expense of Black students. Although Green preaches the ideals of tolerance and inclusivity and urges the students to be their brother’s keeper, his attempts to build community are unsuccessful. Green looks for surface-level calm and cooperation rather than addressing deeper issues. This is seen when he decides that a Thanksgiving potluck is a sufficient celebration of diversity even as division and racism fester within the student body.
Unlike Principal Green, Maya knows that the school’s predominantly Black student body is a strength to celebrate, not a weakness to downplay. She tries to uphold her school’s traditions because she believes that they are essential to the community’s identity. For example, she advocates for the preservation of the student-led Black History Month celebration. When Green tries to suggest that they need “an assembly that is for everyone, not just the Black students,” she counters, “[b]ut Black History is for everyone” (172). She defies the principal’s express wishes when she puts up posters about Black historical figures and their white allies. Maya seeks to build community by celebrating the school’s Black identity amidst changes to the school’s demographics.
In the end, Maya and the principal find common ground through their shared desire to break negative stereotypes about Richmond. Together, they implement changes to the senior block party that honor community. For example, they gain economic support for the school by recruiting local businesses as sponsors, and they invite an alumnus speaker to talk about the way the school shaped him. In another example of cooperation between Maya and the principal, Green gives her the honor of announcing the first winner of a new scholarship that recognizes a student who has “contributed to the community through leadership and service” (284). The changes to the block party represent an effective compromise between Principal Green and Maya because they foster new connections while building upon the school’s traditions. Although the protagonist and her principal do not see eye to eye for most of the novel, they ultimately work together to strengthen their school community.
The Importance of Solidarity
Watson uses Maya’s relationships to illustrate the importance of solidarity. In particular, the novel’s romantic subplot supports this theme because Tony becomes an ally before he becomes Maya’s boyfriend. Initially, Tony has a demeaning attitude towards public schools: “[H]e says Richmond like it’s a poisonous word” (38). Maya helps him recognize his privilege, and the two teenagers grow close during their efforts to improve the school. Watson emphasizes the importance of Tony’s solidarity to his relationship with Maya by having the characters confess their feelings and share their first kiss immediately after a meeting held by Maya and her allies on the student council.
Along with Tony and Maya, Star and Charles advance the theme during the poster war story arc. The Black and white students come together to advocate for their school’s traditions and honor Black history. Even under the threat of suspension, Maya and her friends stand up for each other. They demonstrate the power of solidarity by working together to uphold their values despite their school’s unscrupulous leadership.
In addition, Maya learns and grows thanks to teachers and community elders who offer her valuable lessons about the importance of solidarity. Mrs. Armstrong has her journalism students research a list of historical figures to teach them that “both men and women, Black and White people, worked for freedom” (215). Similarly, Mr. Washington’s stories from Portland’s history include tales of staunch white allies, such as Bill Burr. These lessons help Maya overcome her reservations about dating a white boy and encourage her to team up with the white business owners on Jackson Avenue.
In one of the novel’s most important acts of solidarity, Maya participates in the cleanup after these local businesses are damaged in a riot: “I’m the student body president at Richmond High, and I wanted to come out here and help. And—and I’d, uh, I’d like to invite any other Richmond students—current or alumni—to come down and help” (316). Her leadership motivates a large number of other young people to support their community in a concrete, hands-on way. Strengthened by lessons from history, the protagonist emerges as a leader who both secures and shows solidarity.
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