When No One Is Watching

Central to When No One is Watching is the issue of gentrification. In recent decades, gentrification has changed the racial makeup and socioeconomic reality of cities across America. The New York borough of Brooklyn used to be a refuge for immigrants and people of color who were not allowed to live in segregated neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods in Brooklyn have maintained their communities, but many people of color have also been forced out of their generational homes due to changes in business model and rent that come with gentrification. The assumption of gentrification is that it makes neighborhoods safer. This mentality is stepped in racist thought, because it assumes that communities of people of color are inherently dangerous.

The novel’s new white residents begin to plant racist thoughts of white fright from the moment they move in. They begin renovating houses that they buy and deem dirty or underdeveloped, thus degrading the lifestyle and wellbeing of the Black residents. They post complaints of crime and Black youth loitering, revealing a prejudice for Black people. They speak in terms of “us” and “them,” at first masking but later directly addressing the neighborhood’s racial divide. When Kim installs security cameras on her door, Alyssa Cole demonstrates the paranoia of white residents who wish to send a message that their neighbors are being watched.