On the one hand, Im nothing but thrilled to see lots of discussion about Hartfords burgeoning creative and artistic scene, because (1) I love Hartford and I want it to thrive and get good press and (2) Im a modest part of that scene, as are many of my friends. But all this talk of whether Hartford can attract and keep young people and the importance of young people to the citys revival has a whiff of racism and classism in it. Hartford has no shortage of young people, along with some well-established institutions for keeping them: poverty, incarceration, and Connecticuts stupid municipal governing system that entrenches economic and ethnic segregation. So when we talk about attracting young people to Hartford, were really talking about attracting young, middle class people and maybe were also talking mostly about white people, who seem to need extra coddling to move to mostly non-white places. And thats all OK! We should want a city that is diverse in many ways! But lets say what we mean, alright?
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:59:49 +0000