COMMUNITY IS MORE THAN PROXIMITY—IT'S FAMILY, AND DISPLACEMENT LEADS TO DISSOLUTION.
HOW IS IT THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS, YET THEY STILL CALL US SQUATTERS, IMMIGRANTS, UN-AMERICAN?
THEY THE ONES TALKING ABOUT "STAND YOUR GROUND,
" BUT GAG WHEN WE DO JUST THAT!
MOVE US BY WAY OF POLICE, DEMOLISHING OUR HOMES, POISONING OUR WATER, CALLING OUR HOODS DANGEROUS, THEN RENAMING THEM WHEN THEY WANT TO COME IN.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR WHO?! NOT ME OR YOU, BUT FOR THE BECKYS AND KARENS WHO TROLL OUR CHILDREN...
WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR AGES AND AIN'T GOING NOWHERE.
WE SEE CLEARLY THE LOGIC OF COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM, AND WHITE SUPREMACY, AND WE CHOOSE TO STAY ROOTED IN THIS LAND THAT OUR ANCESTORS TENDED TO.
WHERE I LIVE IN THE FUTURE, DEVELOPERS DON'T GET THE ONLY VOTE, MY HOUSE AIN'T GOT MOLD, COPS CAN'T POLICE THERE, AND GENERATIONS OF MY FAMILY WILL KNOW THEY CAN LIVE THERE.
OUR COMMUNITIES WILL BE ENRICHED WITH RESOURCES, CULTURAL AWARENESS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND LOVE. WE ARE SELF-RELIANT, SELF-SUFFICIENT COMMUNITIES LOVING BLACKNESS. EVERYONE LEARNS FROM ONE ANOTHER INTERGENERATIONALLY, BUILDING THE MINDS OF THE YOUTH AND RESPECTING THE ELDERS' WISDOM. MARCUS SMITH'S MEMORY LIVES IN US. THE HOODS WE DRIVE PAST BUT NO LONGER STAY IN, LIVE WITH US. OUR HOMELESS COMRADES WHO BUILD THEIR OWN CITIES LIVE WITH US. FOLKS LIVING IN HOTELS AND MOTELS AND EVERYONE CREATING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING LIVES WITH US.
