Spike Lee ain't said nothin' but the truth, the whole truth, so help him God

Mr. "Do The Right Thing," Spike Lee, has caught flack for his comments on gentrification in New York's boroughs, particularly Harlem and Brooklyn. (Even though, ironically, he no longer lives in Brooklyn, but in a very nice section of Manhattan).

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/02/27/ac-intv-cooper-spike-lee-on-gentrification-rant.cnn.html

And truth be told, I think he was only telling the truth.

Gentrification is defined as the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.

Harlem, once known for the renaissance of Black poets, jazz musicians, writers, and artists, has seen all-Black and all-Hispanic housing complexes torn down, only to be rebuilt with high-rise and high-priced condominiums, mostly inhibited by affluent white residents. Fort Green, Clinton Hill, and Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, also epicenters of Black visual and performing arts and Black-owned businesses, are now inhibited by "hipsters."

Thing is --I actually agree with Spike. Although I'm not a native New Yorker, I have been here for 5 years, and have lived in Brooklyn for 3.5 of those years. I love Brooklyn for it's diversity, its unique culture within each neighborhood, and for the fact that it is different from all the other boroughs. Although I can't attest to changes that have taken place from gentrification since the 1990s, as I did not live here then, close friends and neighbors can speak to --and agree with--Spike's comments. And I have witnessed the changing landscape of Harlem over the past five years, as my church is in that community.

A cable network released a reality TV show last year about Bed-Stuy, which is the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. What struck me and my friends as odd is that all of the cast members were White, when Bed-Stuy is--and for the past 80 or so years has been--predominately Black. I understand not all paintings are done with a broad stroke, but this stroke was painted entirely too narrow. I'm all for Americans having the freedom to choose where they want to live, but it becomes a bit uncomfortable when it comes at the expense of life-long residents of a community who ultimately become out-priced out of their homes.

Gentrification is here. It's happening. It's been happening, and isn't likely to slow down in the near future. I'd like to hope that even with gentrification, there remains a respect and value of the cultures and qualities that made each neighborhood unique.