tonight i went out to study NoDo (north downtown, omaha) through my lens. the history here is fascinating to me. the new development is meeting the vacant, rundown shops and storefronts. the empty lots filled with weeds sit next to brand new structures filled with products and rooms that most of omaha is still just learning about.
there is definitely a side of omaha that people ignore. the community to the north of cuming st. is very poor (according to observation and two locals, mentioned below). and in-between you have the deserted old storefronts and shops that are being threatened now by new development. i don’t really know why this happened. i’m just really interested in the change that is going on.
while i was walking around taking photographs i had two great conversations with two men who (i think) were from the area. it’s incredible how having a camera can act as a voice.
the first conversation began with discussing the lack of a bustling downtown. i’ll call this guy jon. jon came here for a job at UNMC. he brought up the how the historic photos of omaha captured busy city streets packed with people. it was thriving. and somewhere in the 1970’s it disappeared. what happened to that? i mentioned that there are a few (very few) small areas that are still busy day in and day out. specifically the old market and 50th and underwood. he admitted that those were exceptions, but still didn’t see any evidence of a growing city, at least in a positive way.
he asked me why i was taking pictures of these old buildings. i explained to him that i saw this area as a part of history that may not be around for much longer, and i wanted to capture it. i also agreed with what he had said and explained that i think the city has sort of gone into hiding. people keep themselves from community, and stay in their own little places. that, from my observation, is a weakness of the midwest. however, it does happen everywhere. our conversation continued on for about ten minutes, but the general idea i got from jon was that of frustration and a strong desire to move on to a larger city due to the lack of community and liveliness here.
so i continued to look and shoot and think. i was taking a photo of a beautiful wall when a truck drove by and someone leaned out and shouted, “it’s a wall,” as if to say i should go home, sit down, and limit my understanding and expression strictly to the original function of which all my surroundings are made. how dumb and shallow. hello robot. goodbye robot. end.
shortly after that moment of nothingness, i ran into another man walking by. we’ll call this guy derrick. derrick is brilliant. he loves mcdonald’s coffee. those two things are not associated. i was taking a picture of the wall of an old building and he asked me why i would take a photo of such useless building. he immediately expressed distaste for the manner of which the city is expanding and how he felt they were creating these new condos and apartments completely outside of what was in demand. i don’t know if i agree with that or not, but my goal here is to just share what was said. i love hearing different points of view. from his point of view, the city needs to bring in more large businesses before they build all these condos and apartments. he believes, then, that the old historical structures should be torn down and the space be used for these new businesses and companies. that surprised me a little bit.
derrick has lived in many large cities. he said that this one is by far the most racist and supremacist cities he’s ever been to. he said that the black community here is one of the most poor in the states. he believes there is racial discrimination in the hiring process, and that white people have solid grips on the businesses and processes here. he referred many times to the “good ole’ boy” connections that white people here tend to have, and that there is never really any risk for them.
derrick likes ron paul. so do i.
i think the underlying points that i got from derrick was that people here are quite clueless and racist, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally. he feels that the cities plan for expanding is not a good one. the stadium is a bad idea. rush limbaugh gives him a headache. and martial law could become a reality in the states at some point.
these conversations were fascinating to me, as i normally don’t hear from these angles. i wanted to share them just to share them. maybe it will create good discussion. our city is changing. i think we could all do better at becoming aware of all of the opinions and all of the conditions of the people that live here. (or wherever you are).
“derrick” and “jon”: if either of you ever read this and i have been inaccurate in summarizing our conversations, i apologize. please correct me.
more photos will come someday soon, hopefully.
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filed by seth at 1:04 am under Uncategorized
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