Spike Lee just gave us an update of what the new Fort Green neighborhood looks like in Brooklyn, NY through his new Netflix series, She’s Gotta Have It. When he

first released the film in 1986, Spike showed us what a thriving neighborhood full of young, black professionals looked like. This was crazy significant because Spike dodged the typical stereotypes

of blacks and instead opted to show us Black reality.

But oh, have things changed! Spike, who you can tell is passionate about the transformation, is not afraid to tackle

what gentrification looks and feels like in the new Forte Green.

From a pesky ass new white neighbor, who packed up and brought with her white privilege to shots and

scenes of the neighborhood revamped with new store fronts and bougie boutiques, the new Forte Greene is a blessing and a curse. A place that with all of its sweeping

changes, doesn’t take into account the people who have been there all their lives.

Detroit, a city scandalized by bankruptcy and a corrupt mayor, has now become a hub to Whole Food’s, little juice bars, and wypipo in bike lanes.

Don’t get it twisted,

this change is only hitting downtown, with redevelopers changing the scene of the city, while black folk sprawled along outside the downtown and midtown area are left with no improvements

to their neighborhoods, police and politicians alike who won’t answer their calls, and a failing school system.

This black mecca was once blossoming with black culture, booming with black artists, and rich in opportunity. The home of the Harlem Renaissance is now subject to “adjustments” and “advancements”

that leave folk that have been there forever unable to buy groceries in their own neighborhoods.

Chocolate City is also a hub for lively black culture packed with historically black neighborhoods. With developers eyeing these communities and offering homeowners more than a few zero’s for their

residences, some folks are taking advantage and dipping out to the burbs.

While that’s all fine and dandy for them, some people are left without housing, since some of these

vultures are seizing low-income housing and demolishing projects only to build up some luxury condos and apartments with a price tag too swoll for the community’s pockets.

The Chi is another city seeing changes that are uprooting some communities. The redevelopment and “enhancement” of certain parts of the city seem to be only benefitting the rich, white

newcomers, while kicking poor, black residents who’ve made Chicago their home since the White Flight of the 1950’s to the curb.

Fortunately, the mayor of Chicago is backing a plan

to get developers of huge redevelopment projects to create more affordable apartments so that historically black neighborhoods aren’t completely smashed to smithereens by rising rent prices.

New Orleans’ black neighborhoods were taken advantage of by people who saw a Post-Katrina NOLA as an opportunity for reconstruction.

After Katrina, an influx of mulah flooded into the city

to help with disaster relief efforts, but an unholy amount of that dough was used to build new neighborhoods that would attract young, white families.

These redevelopment projects made the

rent and property taxes spike, forcing the black folk who had been there for years out.

By the way, we don't feel bad for whoever is going to be feeling

the effects of Marie Laveau's wrath.

Now Seattle has never been one of the blackest cities outchea, but nonetheless, one of it’s oldest black neighborhoods, Central District, is facing the same “out with the old, in

with the new” belief that invaded other cities with huge black populations, and now some are sticking to their guns and fighting for their homes.

Under the guise of encouraging growth, Philly is another city victim to the whims of redevelopers who would like to pad their pockets with coins from white yuppies.

As the

city’s central business district is booming and attracting more and more workers, the surrounding neighborhoods' home values are increasing, leaving folks stuck between a rock and a hard place. Residents

are left conflicted between being offered tempting numbers for their brownstones and abandoning the place that they have called home for decades. 

The 1990's brought with it a huge need for tech workers in San Fran. Unfortunately, this demand for skilled workers from Silicon Valley businesses and startups once again had much

to do with the resulting rise of the cost of living.

Immigrant neighborhoods were soon being replaced with white privileged hipsters who had the means to live somewhere with

such an immense cost of living.

Plans to help improve agonizing traffic conditions in Atlanta involved the inclusion of a pedestrian and transit trail, known as the BeltLine, around and throughout the city. With this new

BeltLine, yuppies have moved in quickly, bringing with them, plans for breweries, luxury homes, and restaurants galore along the trail, dislocating existing communities.

As the typical narrative goes, the housing

prices continue to soar and long-standing Atliens can no longer afford to live there.