Made In Brooklyn, To Stay In Brooklyn

If people came with those "country of origin" tags, mine would definitely read "Made In Brooklyn". At 25 going on 26, I can say that I am definitely a product of Brooklyn.

I have breathed in its air, been soiled by its dirt. I have grown, lived, learned, loved, lost, hated and then loved again on its streets. First as a youth then as an adult, Brooklyn is and always has been my home. No matter my struggles it has been the one place on this Earth that has defined my spirit the most. A spirit that is resistant to defeat, infinitely able to adapt, and deeply aware that no man, woman or beast is above this town's popularized call to action to "spread love" to be a "Brooklynite", meant to look out for your community, your hood, your people, its that very spirit of welcoming every and anyone who would care to care for its communities that propelled it to first regional then worldwide fame.

So imagine my disbelief when I found out that while growing up in Brooklyn was possible, growing old in it would be a tall order with things the way they are now.

Why?

Well, The Brooklyn that I described is being pushed out little by little, block by block, inch by inch, by a commercialized shade of its former self. A Brooklyn that is defined by the almighty dollar first and foremost and community well being and development near dead last. The Brooklyn I know is being white-washed, pruned, and sanitized of its grit, character, and culture. A culture deeply rooted in its working and low-to-mid middle class POC/Immigrant communities. A culture that bonds together during adversity, celebrates life together in the good times, and constantly marched towards equality. That Brooklyn and those communities are under threat of being rubbed out. Our communities are getting priced out, forced out, bought out, abused, oppressed, and marginalized. For higher rents and taller buildings, more convenience with less community.

Truth be told, people in my community of East Flatbush (and those like it) have wanted the conveniences we are seeing but not partaking in for as long as I can remember. Even when I was young I remember how folks dreamed for it, requested it, fought for it. The "It"? was better schools, cleaner and safer streets, a police force that cared about us, and knew who we were, but the "it" was always just out of reach. So I watched my community members, my friends, my family strive to make our community great. We opened up businesses, bought land and buildings,"got our hustle up" so to speak. We found ourselves employment, we did what we had to do, what we were **told** to do in order to really live and not just survive in New York City.

We did well for ourselves for a time and others noticed and moved in. Brooklyn was hip, Brooklyn was art, Brooklyn was cool, Brooklyn was/is the place to be for everybody...then all of a sudden it was not.

The good news? Some things did start to get better, our neighborhoods were cleaner, our schools revamped and remolded (for what it was worth), no luck on better policing but we did manage to get our youth away from the more rampant violence that I grew up with in my community.

The bad news? All of that convenience seemed to be a cue for outside "investors" to come in... but not to add to Brooklyn and "spread love". No, what happened when outside money finally started to pour in was luxury condos springing up and more and more persons getting pushed out.

POC/Immigrant communities, my community, MY Brooklyn started to crumble under the financial strain, my community's progress washed away to be replaced by artisanal shops and boutiques to serve a culture that did not respect what already existed and even eyed those of us who lived and worked in Brooklyn AFTER the white flight and redlining that left our people high and dry as inferior and less than. For a large segment of those that came from over the East River and further afield, they found our culture alien and not worth understanding.

OUR culture which was, imperfect but genuine and wholly authentic and that if nothing else served to ensure that those who resided in our Brooklyn could make it there if they really did work towards it, was being dismantled block by block with intent and  ignorance simultaneously. Yes, Brooklyn really started to become great but our communities were cut out of the greatness that we first strived to no end to achieve.

Time and time again we saw it happen: Williamsburg, Bushwick, East New York, soon to be Crown Heights, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Flatbush just to name a few.

When the Vanderveer Houses (an urban blight and a vibrant community simultaneously hoisted upon the community decades ago) was re-branded the "Flatbush Gardens" and then had its rents unceremoniously hiked while still providing the same roaches and rats I knew it was finally time to stand up and fight against gentrification.

Today I urge you to join me in my struggle because I know if we don't fight for our right to stay, to preserve the culture of inclusivity, love, and shared struggle of Native Brooklyn, My Brooklyn, OUR Brooklyn we will lose it.

Stand with me, Equality for Flatbush : E4F and B4G as we organize to live, work, and grow old in Brooklyn.

Stand with us, work with us, donate to us, and more importantly WIN with us!

#BeforeItsGoneTakeItBack #Brooklyn

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