A Place to Belong provides us with an ensemble of characters most of which fall victim to what Kimberlé Crenshaw calls “intersectionality failure” both on a systemic level and on a social level. Most characters are put at a disadvantage due to racism and late stage capitalism. One of the most striking depictions is Vero and her family’s displacement. Vero is a young Latinx woman whose family is forced to live with distant family due to the rising rents in San Francisco. This is quite a lot to unpack. Vero and her family have fallen victim to gentrification. San Francisco and neighboring cities in the greater California Bay Area have undergone serious reconstruction in the past half century and it has taken on a rapid pace within just the 21st century after the Dot Com Boom and the beginning of Silicon Valley’s exponential economic growth. This rapid pace of improvements to these cities have increased property value at a rate that isn’t sustainable for anyone who makes less than upper middle class wages. This can be seen as a bourgeois take over of certain areas that were once used to house the working class and lower middle class individuals and families. This can be viewed as a symptom of late stage capitalism. There has been an ever increasing wage gap between management and workers in America during the last 50 years. According to the Economic Policy Institute’s study on wage increases conducted in 2018 “From 1978 to 2018, CEO compensation grew by 1,007.5% (940.3% under the options-realized measure), far outstripping S&P stock market growth (706.7%) and the wage growth of very high earners (339.2%). In contrast, wages for the typical worker grew by just 11.9%.” (Mishel and Wolfe). This shows how big of a gap and how little typical workers make compared to their bosses. Workers can no longer afford to live in the city they work in because it has been gentrified to accommodate only those top earners. Capitalism creates an environment where if a landlord can make more money off the bourgeois and kick out those who aren’t as wealthy they will. But if you live in San Francisco or Berkeley, some might see it as an achievement. That it was rightfully earned through a meritocracy that doesn’t exist. And this transitions us to the race aspect of gentrification.
People of color have been drastically more affected by gentrification. This is because there isn’t just a wage gap between management and workers, there is a wage gap between those who are white and those who are not in the United States at large. According to The Pew Research Center “In 2015, average hourly wages for black and Hispanic men were $15 and $14, respectively, compared with $21 for white men.” This issue of economic disparity is rooted in systemically racist institutions. This can be seen in two families in the show. As mentioned before, Vero and her family have to abandon the apartment she grew up in to live in a two bedroom apartment with her aunt. Vero mentions in the play that San Francisco neighborhoods “are all starting to look like Upper Fillmore” which is considered an extremely affluent and white area. Vero’s neighborhood underwent improvements at such a rapid pace for the purpose of accommodating those who can pay more money for rent, not POC families working their asses off at a nine to five. And we see this with D’Marcus and his mom, Keandra. D’Marcus not only goes to high school but also works part time as a waiter. This job isn’t for pocket change. This job is what keeps a roof over his head. Without his financial support Keandra wouldn’t be able to afford to live in Oakland. D’Marcus says they “might have to move to Concord” if they keep raising the rent. Which is an hour BART train ride there and then an hour ride home. Keandra’s character is a single mom. She’s a black woman which is a demographic which has one of the highest wage gaps compared to white men. According to the same Pew Research Center study, Black women’s average wage is 13 dollars compared to that of 21 dollars average wage for white men.
These two sets of families being put on stage is extremely important. Especially to perform it in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz might not be considered a part of the Bay Area but it has become ever so clear that rich tech folk are attempting and succeeding in gentrifying this sleepy coastal town as well. Students and faculty, not to mention locals are scraping by as rents skyrocket. There are instances where people live in their cars. The parking tickets are cheaper than any rental in the area. This very much ties in with the title of the show. The Bay Area was once a place of beautiful diversity and a birthplace to political change. We deserve our place here just like we did then. This is our place to belong and we cannot let making a quick buck, and systemic bigotry get in the way of that.