Gent’s Addition is the Heart of Marion’s Black Community
Is it a ghetto surrounded by psychological barriers?
This is the first in a series of six articles by Sandy Blumenfeld about Marion’s “community within a community,” Gent’s addition, the heart of Marion’s black community.
A community within a community, a fixed area within an expanding city.
Stretching seven blocks long and two and a half blocks wide, Gent’s addition begins a few blocks away from the heart of the city. Yet it has a life distinctly its own.
Gent’s is the heart of Marion’s black community.
The racial situation in Marion seems to present a contradiction; while both races boast of the normalcy of conditions; both races remain aware, yet submissive to real problems.
Much of the difference seems to stem from perspectives decided by age, position and years in Marion. The existence of Gent’s and its constituency is readily recognized by all inside and out. The differences of viewpoint lie within explanation of the racial situation.
General housing conditions in Gent’s probably would be considered sub-standard. It is built on low-lying ground, and a heavy rain often makes traveling a problem. There are no sidewalks in many places and only one through street east and west. All but about three families in the area are black.
There are those who view Gent’s addition as nothing more than a housing area created out of financial need; there are others who contend that Gent’s addition is a ghetto surrounded by psychological barriers created on the outside and sustained inwardly.
Powell Barnett has lived in Marion for 80 years. He no longer lives in Gent’s but claims a physical separation has not separated him from his race.
Has Seen Change
Barnett has seen a lot of changes in racial relations, ranging from total integration to enforced segregation to present day subtleties. Residents of Gent’s, in his opinion, live there strictly for financial reasons. Any opportunity for advancement, he claims, is pursued.
The opposite of Barnett is found in Donald Allen, 27. Younger blacks; Allen says, are not content with the racial situation in Marion.
Allen views Gent’s addition as a neighborhood separated from the rest of Marion by a two-sided color barrier. He is concerned with racial injustice but considers discrimination of any sort as more of an injustice to humanity than to a race.
Clara Kirk, a retired black teacher, lived in Mt. Vernon for eight years before moving to Marion in 1912. She, too, has experienced transformations in racial relations, but unlike Barnett, Mrs. Kirk feels blacks have not been given equal opportunities in Marion.
The Rev. Robert Buchanan is a newcomer to Marion and Gent’s addition. His main concern is the apparent docility among blacks, complacency, he says, strengthened by the stigma attached to Gent’s.
Despite distinct differences of opinions among these four black leaders and the groups they represent, certain conditions draw a consensus.
Perhaps first on the list of racial grievances is the employment situation in Marion, and most blacks agree that the basic problem is one of underemployment.
Education and housing opportunities are other top priorities among black leaders.
All concur that although increasing education among blacks has produced a growth of awareness and motivation, the community has failed to offer a direct correlation in opportunities.
Hasn’t Shared
The black community has not shared in Marion’s growth. Gent’s addition has not been altered substantially since its construction in 1910 and movements to improve conditions have had little success.
Both Allen and the Rev. Mr. Buchanan say Gent’s addition has helped maintain the stagnation. The idea of physical segregation has, in their opinion, formed psychological barriers that prevent assimilation into the community of Marion.
Barnett and Mrs. Kirk do not separate Gent’s from the rest of the city; nor do they attribute its existence to racial discrimination.
Housing and employment opportunities are not equal, they say, but the tranquility of the situation seems to stifle resistance.
A student, a teacher, a minister, a government employee, all black, all concerned and all convinced of their opinions. A wide gap between ages and generations and a variation of life-styles help to determine expectations and explain attitudes.
See Also:
1973, Gent’s Addition, Part 2 of 6
1973, Gent’s Addition, Part 3 of 6
1973, Gent’s Addition, Part 4 of 6
1973, Gent’s Addition, Part 5 of 6
1973, Gent’s Addition, Part 6 of 6
(Southern Illinoisan article by Sandy Blumenfeld, published August 12, 1973)