Ferndale Mobile Home Residents will be Ousted by Gentrification

Where are the Politicians Who Pledged to Protect Black People From Being Exploited?

Over the years, I have navigated many different experiences and uncovered a wide range of viewpoints. Some opinions have resonated with me, while others I have been in complete disagreement with.

For more than forty-five years, I have been dedicated to writing columns. When I first decided to write an opinionated column, my primary goal was to inform readers, rather than simply conform to what society deems normal reporting.

Humor plays an important role in my articles, serving as a tool to engage and attract readers, when all around us seems to be falling apart. Some articles may appear far-fetched, but I can assure you that everything is grounded in truth. I do not invent stories, nor do I write romantic fiction. At my core, I am a realist. I write about the “least” among us and how they can improve their lives and tap into available resources.

So, what’s my point? In this chaotic administration, and as we approach the mid-term elections, we must study the candidates—local, state, and national. The days of electing folks to office who talk a good talk and who end up delivering nothing. Stop allowing candidates to lure you to a fish fry or crab crack for your vote. And candidates do not need to show up at your church service and tip out before the sermon or offering. The Black church has been bamboozled with fake speeches and promises for decades, and what do we have to show for it? What happened to the thriving black businesses that once populated downtown Charleston—motels, restaurants, shoe repair shops, dry cleaners, clubs, radio stations, service stations, and the list goes on? Instead of progressing, blacks are regressing. The system sees us rising, and that is not supposed to happen under the old order. It is all by design.

As a writer, it is hard to distance yourself from horrendous and heartbreaking stories. This week, I had a chance encounter with a devastating housing situation in North Charleston. To make way for new developments in the area, residents in the Ferndale Mobile Home Park were abruptly given just two months’ notice to vacate their homes. The Ferndale Mobile Home Park is tucked away between railroad tracks and I-526, and situated west of Park Circle, an area highly sought after and carefully maintained. In stark contrast, the average family living in Ferndale faces substandard living conditions and struggles each day simply to pay the rent and keep the lights on. Some of the residents own their mobile homes, while others are renters. Some homes may be movable, while others are in such poor condition that they cannot be moved. And those that can be moved, the moving costs are astronomical, and where are they going?

Developers throughout the tri-county area have been steadily pushing people of color out of their homes to make room for new arrivals. With Charleston named the number one city in America by Travel and Leisure, the influx of new residents has resulted in a shortage of affordable housing. Long-established Black communities are being forced out to accommodate newcomers, further exacerbating the effects of gentrification.

The long-time residents of the Ferndale Mobile Home Park held a meeting last week. The Black Voice reporters were on hand to talk with residents who received eviction letters from the new property owner’s attorney. Although the letter stated the move-out date was the end of May, the residents were verbally informed that the move-out date was changed to the end of April.

Gentrification is nothing new! It is taking place all over the country. Some developers and elected officials are heartless. If you voted them in, you can vote them out. Vote those “do-nothings” out! In communities of color, residents are not receiving fair market value for their homes.

And, as with the Ferndale Mobile Home residents, unfortunately the needy often succumb to the greedy.