Inside The Hillside: Cultural Disconnect
DULUTH - In Part Two of our special report, Inside The Hillside, Duluth's Hillside community is a section of the city often perceived as a crime-ridden neighborhood. But we're learning that label may not be accurate, as FOX 21's Dan Hanger examines an often strong cultural disconnect between people of color living in the Hillside and those looking in.
Duluth's Central Hillside community is not your wealthier Congdon neighborhood by any means.
"I'm not going to say it doesn't have problems, because it does. And there are people who are homeless who are there, and there are people who are very poor, and there are people dealing drugs," said Councilor Sharla Gardner, of the Duluth City Council.
But that doesn't mean the Hillside is dangerous, ridden of crime and a place to avoid.
"We've got more families moving in there and have moved in there now since the census than ever before because there are reasonable property taxes. People can afford to live there. And that's a good thing. And we see young families on the Hillside where we didn't see that before," Gardner said.
Gardner represents the Hillside and says while the community has its share of problems, they're not widespread.
"There are hot spots where people come from out of town and they do their deals; we know that about the Hillside. But that's the truth throughout the entire city. It isn't just the Hillside," Gardner said.
The real problem, Gardner believes the real problem is, in part, the cultural divide among people with different socio-economic backgrounds.
"I do think people emphasize the Hillside more and Lincoln Park more because of the poverty, and it's easier to do that and it's easier to target them and they don't have the protection of money and influence that money and influence provides the other neighborhoods," Gardner said.
Claudie Washington is the president of the Duluth NAACP and has lived in the Hillside for 37 years. He says he feels safe and believes our differences are creating the fear-cloud that blankets the Hillside.
"There's a lot of migrant people into the neighborhood. They come from different cultures. They behave differently. But because they behave differently doesn't make them bad," Washington explained.
He points out a stereotypical group he believes gets targeted more than anybody.
"If a group of black kids or black people are standing on the corner, talking and laughing, they assume something bad is going on. Sometimes they joshing with each other, they threatening each other, they may punch each other, but that's all play and these are friends who are playing among themselves. That's part of the culture, and the perception from the outside is they are fighting," Washington said.
Washington thinks the perception issue is also partly the fault of the City of Duluth and, what he believes, is the lack of affordable activities and programs being made available for young people who don't have much money.
"You know what their attitude is, they have nothing to lose -- that's the attitude. They have nothing to lose. But if you have quality resources that they had access to, there's a lot to lose," Washington said.
"We do need to do more. And I think that's part of the discussion with the parks budget," Gardner said.
Coming up Saturday on FOX 21 News at 9, we'll talk about the strong need for a sense of community and what the city is or is not doing about it.