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Four Corners: The cycle of urban poverty in Harlem, 1968

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Rubbish strewn in Harlem street
Four Corners: The cycle of urban poverty in Harlem, 1968

SUBJECTS:  Civics and Citizenship, History

YEARS:  9–10


What is the cycle of poverty and squalor?

Walk with ABC TV's 'Four Corners' program film crew on the streets of Harlem in 1968 as they are taken on a tour of the predominantly African American neighbourhood.

Understand the level of poverty and urban squalor that faced African Americans living in Harlem at this time.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What are the biggest risks of living in unsanitary (dirty) conditions? If you felt that there was something that needed fixing or cleaning up in your local area (such as in the local park), who would you call/approach someone to fix it? What do you think their response would be?
  2. 2.How much rent were African Americans paying for their houses at the time? What do you think the reporter means by the 'law of the concrete jungle'? When the African American leader says that he has told 'the Man' about the unsanitary conditions, who do you think he is referring to? What has the response to his requests been so far?
  3. 3.The reporter says, 'Apathy breeds apathy; filth breeds filth; and violence breeds violence … It's a treadmill that only those on the outside can stop'. How might outsiders coming in to 'rescue' Harlem's African American community be seen as a positive, and how as a negative? What is it like living in Harlem today? What has changed? What has stayed the same?
  4. 4.View the other clips about the African American experience in Harlem, or research the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia in the 1960s. Then investigate the effects of external assistance versus grassroots activism (people coming together for a cause). Consider each in terms of how short-term changes and longer term, long-lasting and sustainable changes might be achieved.



Date of broadcast: 19 Oct 1968


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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