Gentrification as a Metaphor for the Family Crisis in "Halsey Street" by Naima Coster

Małgorzata Martynuska

Abstract


The article explores the relationship between people and the places they live in, depicted in Naima Coster’s "Halsey Street" (2017). The novel chronicles the wave of gentrification in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy and its effect on African and Latinx residents. The new Brooklyn aesthetic undermines the rich African cultural vibe and privileges Whiteness. The changing cityscape causes a crisis of community belonging among the marginalized long-time residents of the neighborhood. Coster’s novel is also a family saga capturing the weight of familial obligation
when a person with creative interests does not develop as an artist but instead has to focus on the family, evolving under the pressure of gentrification.


Keywords


Brooklyn; gentrification; a crisis of belonging; people of color; Whiteness

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2024.48.2.63-72
Date of publication: 2024-07-10 11:05:34
Date of submission: 2023-09-19 18:26:22


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