It’s a talking point that pops up every time someone dares to criticize gentrification:
“Isn’t this what you wanted? Integration? White people moving into Black neighborhoods? Sounds like desegregation to me.”
It’s the kind of smug argument that tries to flip racial justice on its head — as if gentrification is just a liberal fever dream come true. But let’s be clear:
Gentrification is not desegregation. It’s displacement. It’s erasure. And pretending otherwise is nothing short of gaslighting.
Desegregation is about equity. Gentrification is about profit.
Desegregation, at its core, is about righting wrongs — dismantling the policies that confined Black families to under-resourced neighborhoods, schools, and institutions for generations. It’s about opening access to housing, education, and economic opportunity across racial lines.
Gentrification, on the other hand, is about capitalizing on those very neighborhoods that were long denied investment — and doing it without accountability.
When mostly white and wealthier newcomers move into historically Black areas without addressing systemic inequality, that’s not justice. That’s real estate speculation dressed up as progress.
Power dynamics matter — and they’re not equal
In a truly integrated system, power is shared. Resources are redistributed. Community voices shape the change.
But in gentrified neighborhoods, residents don’t get to decide what gets built, who gets priced out, or which culture is celebrated. Developers do. City councils do. Tax credit consultants do.
Calling that “integration” ignores the reality that longtime residents aren’t being welcomed — they’re being replaced.
A reminder from history — and from Republican applause lines
Ironically, those crying “hypocrisy” are often the same folks who cheered when former Congressman Ron Paul called for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education during the 2008 Republican primaries — a line that drew loud applause from conservative voters (CNN transcript, 2008).
So let’s not pretend they’re passionate about equity. The goal isn’t fair access — it’s delegitimizing any critique of systemic injustice by accusing the left of double standards.
New Orleans knows the difference
In neighborhoods like Treme, Bywater, and the 7th Ward, we’ve seen it all play out in real time:
- Black homeowners hit with fines and code enforcement while new luxury condos rise next door
- Cultural landmarks turned into Airbnb photo ops
- Rents skyrocketing while wages stagnate
This isn’t integration. It’s colonization by spreadsheet.
So let’s stop playing semantic games
If integration is the goal, then so is housing justice, tenant protections, land trusts, reparative development, and community-led planning. Integration doesn’t mean moving into someone else’s neighborhood and pricing them out. It means investing in equitable access without erasing the people who built the culture.
New Orleans deserves better than false equivalencies.
Because calling gentrification “integration” is like calling a corporate land grab a community meeting.
It’s not just wrong. It’s insulting.
