What does community control look like? In the new Trump Era, cities like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco have rushed to reassure that their governments intend to oppose new restrictive federal immigration policies and to reinforce their statuses as Sanctuary Cities. But as homeless sweeps and evictions continue to endanger communities of working class and people of color in these cities, we have to ask: what does "sanctuary" mean in the era of rampant gentrification? The ongoing crisis of widespread gentrification and displacement will only be exacerbated by the anti-immigrant policies and large-scale privatization of education and public housing proposed by Trump. What are some ways that communities have resisted similar oppression in the past? How do we organize to build power on a neighborhood level today? Could the path to resisting Trump lie in doubling down on anti-gentrification efforts? Join author, Erick Lyle, for an overview of recent radical municipalization and mutual aid projects from around the world that offer inspiration and concrete tactics that might be of use in the new anti-Trump resistance.
Audience discussion about neighborhood resistance ideas for Los Angeles to follow.
About the Speaker
For decades Lyle has organized, written and made art about homelessness, housing and displacement. He worked as an organizer for W.R.A.P. (Western Regional Organizing Project) in San Francisco, he squatted and created the 949 Cultural Center in the Mission District – and he wrote about it in his brilliant and hilarious book “On the Lower Frequencies.” After being evicted from San Francisco, he came back to organize “Streetopia,” a community visioning of “utopian futures, while facilitating mutual aid and prefigurative political art and organizing projects.” He spent much of last year traveling the country talking about “Streetopia” and “discussing gentrification, making presentations with and learning from ant-displacement activists.” In his February 21 presentation, Erick asks: What does Community control look like –in the era of Trump?