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Global Studies Capstone 

Generational Wealth Gaps 

In America, acquiring generational wealth is more of a privilege than a guarantee. In this year-long project, I plan to research ways in which generational wealth was forcibly taken from minority groups. Click the button below to read my paper. 

Generational wealth Highlighted in Communities

Click on the pictures!

Communities within our own states highlight represent wealth gaps in ways that can be discriminatory and classist. I chose to highlight these facts in a photo essay of three towns within the state of Connecticut. I created this first product by researching the history behind how these towns were originally structured. Along with this, I made sure to highlight all the towns in the same lighting to make them all look equal. This product looks more into the communities within our state, as. opposed to the country and the world as I stated in my research paper. 

A town bread of redlining, whose diverse demographics aren’t accurately represented within the school systems. From the 1930s till 2001, loan corporations advised banks to lend to minorities who would purchase homes in “desirable” neighborhoods. This practice is what many know as redlining. The average household income in this town lies between 70,000 dollars a year and 80,000 dollars a year. The Townhall signifies the division of the town, something that has been apparent since the native Poquonoks left. Although Bloomfield was not a sundown town, Northern Bloomfield was home to a higher population of white people. As the years progressed, more families of immigrant backgrounds would migrate from neighboring towns such as Hartford in hopes of starting a new life. In an attempt to create generational wealth minorities fell into a trap that many have and still do. Suburban towns make themselves appealing with things such as cheap houses and access to better education. This however is only true of suburban towns that invest in things such as these. For taxes to be much higher than in neighboring towns, it is unacceptable that inhabitants of this neighborhood have to fight so hard for an adequate education.

A town with a dark past and rich history that still lives today. The average household income is roughly 52,000 dollars a year. From the 1920s until now, parts of the town are segregated by house size to ensure clear distinctions between socioeconomic classes. Although some may argue that this practice was race-neutral, most minority families do not live in single-family houses because they could not afford them around that time and now. However, these tactics didn’t last for long. This attempt to keep Hartford white has failed according to the 2021 census. 29.6% of the population is White, making the majority immigrant families and other minorities. Today, Hartford is home to one of the largest immigrant communities in the state. 

Once a sundown town, Simsbury has consistently stayed a picture-perfect standard of living in Connecticut. The average household income sits around 120,000 dollars a year. As of 2022, Simsbury is 86.8% white and has an immigrant population under 3%. This town doesn’t have to deal with education or segregation issues as much as other towns because it is quite ethnically unanimous. Since the early 1900s, the town of Simsbury has been known to employ minorities to work in Tobacco fields whether annually or semi-annually. This is basically the extent of the diversity within this town. It is not easy to move to a town like Simsbury where the cost of living is high. Although some could argue that this is not purposeful, I believe that the suburbs surrounding Hartford have made it purposefully hard for minorities to live in them because we have subsequently taken over the city of Hartford. 

A Families Path to Acquiring Stolen Wealth

In this fictional account of a Hartford Courant article, the descendants of a minority family fight for the return of their wealth by the City of Hartford.

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