i made may way to this through the youth program of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. they have co-organized a tour called, Drop Beats Not Bombs, for a few years now, and Invincible was on the most recent tour. The nonviolence and anti-oppression training that comes out of the same program, called the Peacemaker Training Institute, has been so very important to me for six years. some of the most amazing people i have ever met were through PTI, and i am so thankful that many of them are still in my life today. isaak, alejandra, kavitha, maryrose, cesar, hayden, hawah, anna, elandria...all of you (plus so many un-named!) are amazing in so many different ways.
this video is very powerful and effective. contemporary cities are battle grounds, colonized land, where city governments, real estate companies, multinational corporations, and educational institutions purchase neighborhoods and remake them as they see fit. this was really evident in nyc, where "williamsburg" continues to grow eastward, taking over neighborhoods predominantly populated by people of color, and turning them into condominium play-lands, first for young white people, who don't mind living in slightly more "dangerous" and "cheap" neighborhoods, then for the businesses and "life-style" enthusiasts that follow them looking for the next "hot spot." meanwhile, the people who were already living there are forced to relocate further and further out or find some other way to stay and make ends meet, provided they are allowed to stay. this is just one example. we forget that this happened to manhattan as well.
it doesn't sound like this is exactly what is going on in Detroit, but it is the same dish with a different flavor. as i think about where to settle down, i flounder trying to find a place that does not already feel taken over. there are some really beautiful examples in this film of how people can reclaim abandoned spaces and turn them into spaces that exist for the community. not to mention some really, really good hip-hop!
i hope the tour went well!
oh, and p.s. -
invincible is amazing! here is her music video for "Sledgehammers."
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