What is in a name....

A name is a descriptive marker used to identify a person place or thing and is usually I feel supported by the common collective, meaning that if a name, which is not official but a term such as a neighborhood moniker the appropriate use is based on the people using the term. Based on my discussions with Bishop Barnes and pastor Nichols the name was derived from the geographical location of the neighborhood in relationship to the river and the neighborhoods west of 50^th. If an individual was traveling in the direction of 50^th they were going up yonder and if they were do the opposite they were going to the bottom, lowest point next to the river. The term Black is an identifier to the racial majority of the neighbor that once used to be predominately Jewish. Both the Bishop and the pastor describe the term as a very proud descriptor, this is who we are and what we are and felt the term is not negative, unless the context of the statement spoken by the individual is negative. As for myself, to not recognize the name is disingenuous to the character and spirit of the neighborhood and ultimately our project. It is not up to us as non residents to alter or characterize a neighborhood based on our own outside perception but to report and discussed in neighborhood an open positive manor while not hiding the positive or the negative, let the words of the individuals profiled to speak for themselves and I don’t believe the name will be taken out of context.

36/42 Lancaster: Stories of the Black Bottom – I like this better