The environment in which people grow up in is a major component of who they are, and who will grow up to be. A neighborhood may contribute to the way a person speaks, thinks and even their appearance. To give an example, a considerable amount of inner city residents are surrounded by drugs, violence, low funded public schools and rundown rental housing. Without access to a better environment, resident’s experience a sense of hopelessness that further puts urban-city communities at an extreme disadvantage. Some of these experiences that minorities deal with in urban areas often occur because they are not offered the same resources and living conditions

             Living in the inner city can change a person’s sensitivity to certain situations. According to the NCBI, “exposure to violence is especially ubiquitous in poor urban areas, whereas many as 80-90% of children and adolescents witness violence in their schools and communities (Mrug ).” Inglewood, California, the place I call home is not the best city in the world, but I am grateful because it is a far from the worst. Nonetheless, in my neighborhood I heard constant gunshots, car alarms, helicopters, ambulances, and roaring police sirens. It never occurred to me that this was not what people all over America heard until my mom moved me to a nicer area, about 70 miles from Los Angeles. Due to attempting to survive in my Inglewood neighborhood, where the noise were so common, I slowly lost sensitivity to death and violence. Even now, being out of the community I somehow still consider ferocious noises normal sounds of life.  

          Central cities are known for having a lower criteria for education versus people who live in the suburbs. Some urban schools do not prepare their students with the tools needed to prepare for success in college or to follow their dreams. Many urban public schools are filled with minorities but, are packed with white prosperous teachers who do not look like them or have the capability to relate to their students. I do not think many people understand what it does to a student to walk in a room and see a teacher who looks nothing like them. Neatoday.org stated that, “in the 2011–12 school year, 82 percent of public school teachers were white” (White Teachers in Urban Schools). This causes a disconnection between the teachers and students to a point where teachers are unable to relate to students and recognize environmental factors that contribute to a student’s poor performance, attitude, or appearance. In many instances the students do not have the opportunity to gain trust with the teachers, instead they are made to be the oppressors. How can someone speak up and ask for help if they feel demoralized and uncomfortable? If teachers are not properly trained for such strenuous positions to teach in an inner city, then they will not do their job effectively. An example of this is shown in various south central Los Angeles high schools with aged textbooks, overcrowded classrooms, and old computers. How can an educator teach without the utensils that they need to even begin? Some public schools are close and easy to access in urban communities, they do not cost a dime, and most provide free meals for students who qualify for the lunch programs. These benefits make it harder for parents to choose a better education for their kids because of the hassle.

               While some may argue, the environment that someone lives in has nothing to do with someone being successful or unsuccessful. This has been proven to be true, there seems to be many examples of people making it out of gangs, bad neighborhoods, and even being released from jail and go on to make something out of themselves. For instance, global rapper Kendrick Lamar grew up in Compton, California a city with limited resources but he beat the odds of the statistics set against him, followed his dreams, and is now worth 45 million dollars. I myself made a way out by going to college, which is something hounds in urban communities never have the chance to do. No one is saying that living in an inner city makes success impossible, but it is harder because they were not given the resources that they needed. However, some made it out but the point is they would not have to make it out if they were put in the same situation that suburban children were put into.

                 Being in a position to play safely outside is a luxury that central cities often do not have the privilege to enjoy. By nature kids are carefree; they usually want to run, play, bike and have fun without worry. In some urban neighborhoods, it is not always safe to go outside to run and play with your friends, it is not even safe to go to some parks if there is even one close by. The danger of gangs, drugs, violence and crime lurk around the corner making it harder to be active because the safest thing a child can do is sit inside the house often playing video games and snacking. This can bring about issues of obesity, poor health, and poor social skills because there is limited outside physical activity. Areas that have a shortage on yards, swimming pools, community centers and other places for recreation rob children of the opportunity to enjoy some of the carefree benefits of living in better neighborhoods. Comparatively, suburban areas may have a park or pool that requires a key, making it only available to residents. Pew Research Center stated that, “blacks have been denied home loans at higher rates than most other racial groups”, which makes it harder for African Americans to move into nicer areas (Bialik). This causes African Americans, and people of color not to live with the same security that white may have. According to New York Times, “ they fear when poor people move next door crime, drugs, blight, bad public schools and higher taxes inevitably follow”(Gonchar). To what degree can a person do better when society does not allow them to?

Work Cited

neatoday.org

ww.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/10/blacks-and-hispanics-face-extra-challenges-in-getting-home-loans/.

 learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/how-much-does-your-neighborhood-define-who-you-are/

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4539292/.