STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS P.VI: THE GHETTO

"Little ghetto boy, you already know how proud life can be 'Cause you've seen so much pain and misery"

Donny Hathaway
1945 - 1979


"Ghetto: Originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live, a ghetto is now described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure." [1]-wikipedia


"The world is a ghetto"- the coined phrase by the early 70's rock band "war", still rings true internationally. The ghetto mindset, social atmosphere, and region all bear the same characteristic. I personally advocate social consciousness and change amongst the urban diaspora, esp. in the minority plight. According to social statistics a ghetto is formed three ways..peep the mindset on a global scale:

Ghettos are formed by:

1.As ports of illegal entry for racial minorities, and immigrant racial minorities.
2.When the majority uses compulsion (typically violence, hostility, or legal barriers) to force minorities into particular areas.
3.When economic conditions make it difficult for minority members to live in non-minority areas.

Ghettos in occupied Europe 1939-1944 where the Jews were required to live prior to their transportation to concentration and death camps.
The definition of "ghetto" still has a similar meaning, but the broader range of social situations, such as any poverty-stricken

The Irish immigrants of the 19th century were the first ethnic group to form ethnic enclaves in America’s cities, followed by Italians and Poles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Due to segregated conditions black neighborhoods in the United States have been called "ghettos". Many of these neighborhoods are in Northern cities where African Americans moved during The Great Migration (1914-1950) a period when over a million[11] African Americans moved out of the rural Southern United States to escape the widespread racism of the South,



Chinatowns originated as racially segregated enclaves where most Chinese immigrants settled from the 1850s onward. Major Chinatowns emerged in Boston; Camden and Trenton, New Jersey; Chicago; Los Angeles, Oakland; San Francisco, California; New York City; New Orleans; Akron, Ohio; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Vancouver; Toronto and other major cities.

Many Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean concentrated in barrios located in cities with large Hispanic populations such as Orange County, California; Anaheim, Baldwin Park, Chino, Coachella etc.


-Not only in a good percentage of hip-hop, but across all genre's the mind, social climate and emotions of the ghetto have been expressed. Rakim allah expressed this years ago in the early 90's classic song "ghetto". One good throwback LP to see the reflections on the conscious is the compilation " A rose that grew from concrete" by various artists, which features the poetry and writings of tupac shakur. The mindset of the urban struggle is shared from the slums of central america to the back streets of nyc and texas. Though its social ills may plague, having the knowledge, is only half the battle. Power..we close thursday's A.L.I.H.S.T's feature with words from one of the Godfathers of hip-hop.. and a graphic depiction of the ghetto from south philly's beanie sigel..100% actual.





THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP