"Contempt for poverty is violence" - How The West Was Saved

“I must remind you that starving a child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence. Contempt for poverty is violence.” ~Coretta Scott King

The celebration of Black American History today and every day, an ethnic group that is foundational to the United States, an amalgamation of Indigenous American, European, and African ancestry. The liberation that many American Freedmen, descendants of survivors and their ancestors fought and continue to fight for has also helped liberate other groups of people. Thank You for all the work you’ve done thus far, our quest continues as the reparations that are owed to the descendants of the formerly enslaved has still not been delivered. Descendants, many of whom are struggling with generational systematic poverty, struggling mostly because of the forced, unpaid labor and other systematic violence that lead to land theft, pollution and other structural harm. Sure, your family worked hard, but did they work hard AND come home to find a cross burning in their front yard from Klan members? Did they have to agree to take a job in order to support themselves or their families, a job that intentionally paid Black workers less than White workers??? Did they try to move into a neighborhood only to be denied access to certain communities because that community that was mostly White didn’t want Black people living in their area?

Our quest continues to right the wrongs of the past but to also make certain that all families, regardless of their religious beliefs, ethnic background, or income level, have access to safe, clean, and affordable housing! That right is currently being denied not only to residents of California, but also to residents in the United States and all around the world! The violent militarized displacements and disruptions happening in the lives of so many around the world must STOP!

There is much work to be done in the movement for housing as well as other social issues. As I write this, the working class is expected to play a game of spades “without being dealt a full hand in the game”. By stabilizing the working class, we can prevent much of the homelessness that we’ve seen in recent years within our communities!

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-13/column-african-americans-make-up-