Guest Opinion: Carol Spigner and Damon Freeman | Opinion cartoon ignores context of W. Phila.

Some students at Penn seem to be of one school of thought when it comes to West Philadelphia. An extremely negative view was expressed most recently by a cartoon published on this editorial page.

Displaying prominently at the top the caption "Shopping in West Philly," it showed a Chinese food truck with what looks like three white students waiting to pay for their food. One of the students is talking on a cell phone and is wearing a watch, while another has a purse. There are also two men, one holding a gun and wearing his cap backward. The other is also wearing a cap and is swinging a heavy chain. The first with the gun says, "Hey, I like the watch. And you should get that purse for your girl." The second says, "You got enough bullets?"

All the characters are drawn in such a way that one cannot distinguish racial features, but the inferences are clear - what West Philly is (and isn't), who the would-be attackers are, and who's engaging in socially appropriate behavior. The problem with this cartoon is not the connection it draws between violence and West Philly; the problem is that it is the only representation of West Philly. Although the Penn community is likely familiar with the immediate area across 40th Street due to gentrification and with the larger issues of gun violence throughout the city, many students are not aware of West Philly's complex realities.

During the early and mid-20th century, African Americans moved into the area at a steady pace, many of them Southern migrants.

They sought a better life free from Jim Crow segregation, but as their numbers grew in Philadelphia, they found themselves increasingly segregated northern-style. In 1925, the black population of West Philly stood at over 30,000; by 1970, it had increased to almost 185,000. The growth in the African American population also created class divisions.

The upper-income area between 46th and 63rd streets was known as "the top," while the low income area between 32nd and 46th streets was called "the bottom." Despite these divisions, the thriving area was home to many distinguished black citizens, such as Crystal Fauset, the first African American elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, and scholar-athlete-artist Paul Robeson, who lived here in retirement with his sister.

African Americans in West Philly continued to try and maintain strong communities after World War II despite the flight of manufacturing jobs from the city, suburban growth, urban renewal efforts led by the University of Pennsylvania, and an intensely new kind of racial segregation created by severe economic changes. Although much of the area's historic community life has been dislocated, longtime residents still continue to preserve ties through local organizations. But just as important as this history has been the recent surge in immigration during the past two decades.

African, Asian, Caribbean and Latino immigrants have literally changed the face of South, Southwest and Northeast Philadelphia, and increasingly in West Philly. Some have chosen to settle in small numbers along 42nd and Chestnut and 46th and Walnut streets. Although many live elsewhere in the city, many do business in the Penn area through operations such as the food trucks. These exercises in lift-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps capitalism ought to make every American proud. But the September cartoon, in caricaturing "shopping in West Philly," implies that these food trucks are to be watched with suspicion at the very least, for that is where the unsuspecting Penn student is likely to find terrorizing young black men. Young female students are probably more likely to be assaulted at a campus party than at a food truck, but our point is that by inferring that the areas around food trucks are danger zones attracting "menacing" black men, the University will have an incentive to shut them down. This would ironically have the effect of driving out immigrant businesses, thereby closing off one of their few viable opportunities for economic independence.

We hope that The Daily Pennsylvanian will explore the manifestations of racism, white privilege, gun violence, educational deprivation, incarceration, a seemingly unresponsive political system and the University's role in addressing these issues.

To publish something like the cartoon without any context to West Philly sends an ominous message to the Penn community.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.