Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix

Gentrification is one of the work’s most significant themes, introduced in the first words: “It’s a truth universally acknowledged that when rich people move into the hood, where it’s a little bit broken and a little bit forgotten, the first they want to do is clean it up. But it’s not just the junky stuff they’ll get rid of. People can be thrown away too, like last night’s trash left out on sidewalks…” (1). The book immediately introduces Zuri’s critical point of view of gentrification of her Bushwick, Brooklyn, neighborhood. By comparing the people who are “thrown away” to trash, these words demonstrate the way gentrification solidifies class disparities. The book sees Zuri’s fear that her family will be one of those “throw aways” realized, when the Benitez family is forced to leave Bushwick because their building is sold to a real estate developer.

Pride further highlights the ways in which gentrification aligns with race. In Bushwick, white people come in and people of color are pushed out. Zuri calls this out when she notices the many white people in the park, telling Darius: “Maria Hernandez Park should probably be called Mary Hernan Park now instead” (64). The narrative also makes it clear that this issue is not exclusive to Bushwick. On Zuri’s bus ride down to Howard University, the woman next to her tells her: “D.C. used to be called Chocolate City,” to which Zuri replies, “Well, I see a whole lotta vanilla” (140). The woman shares her own experience with gentrification, replying, “Yep. I’m from Bed-Stuy. We’re starting to see a whole lotta vanilla there too” (140). The Darcys, being a rich Black family driving gentrification, are an anomaly. Nonetheless, although they may not be white, the effect of their arrival in Bushwick is the same: “Those boys don’t belong here. And they change everything about this block by renovating that house. Papi says the property values will go up, and the taxes too” (58).

Although Zuri struggles with the ramifications of gentrification, she also recognizes that it’s not all bad. She realizes the need to infuse her community with money, explaining: “My neighborhood is made of love, but it’s money and buildings and food and jobs that keep it alive—and even I have to admit that the new people moving in, with their extra money and dreams, can sometimes make things better. We’ll have to figure out a way to make both sides of Bushwick work” (33). Although Zuri presents the hypothesis that there’s a way to make “both sides of Bushwick work,” the book itself doesn’t deliver an answer. Rather, the “worst case scenario” of the Benitez family having to move is realized. This puts the onus on the reader to consider how “both sides” might work in gentrifying communities—if at all.