Hood Treatment

Peace.


I live in a civilized hood. I live in “Bankhead” a notorious neighborhood in Atlanta. B.U.T.... I live in Collier Heights. A nice, upwardly mobile section of that bad neighborhood. My home is sandwiched in between a strip club and a church. My neighbors are SUPER concerned about their yards and homes. It's really nice where I live. I pay for my accommodations. No one is subsidizing my lifestyle. I'm not just going to live anywhere. And I always make the CONSCIOUS choice to live amongst Black people.

But..... I have come to notice that in the wilderness of North America, when Black people congregate, it serves as a focal point for harassment.

For the last 5 years this country has been embroiled in riot after riot. Protest after protest. Police brutality. Have you been paying attention to the location of the starts of these disturbances? Black neighborhoods. When I drive to work, I have a few options: neighborhood or highway. When drive through the neighborhood, I have 2 options. One option has angry police officers with traps set up for the entire 5 miles. Think about the stress that a person goes through traveling through an active war zone? It's not cool. The other option is a bit longer, is mostly a single lane road with far too many buses, but the road is intensely raggedy. One of those potholes actually cause a paradigm shift in me. That's stressful on me and stressful on my vehicle. I could ride the highway, but that is the longest and most stressful of all. I live 7 miles from the job, they highway would ad and addition 10.

But my commute isn't the only thing. There is no true restaurant close to my home... unless I wanted to eat at the strip club or a truck stop. There is no grocery store in my neighborhood. There aren't any true amenities in my neighborhood. And if I try to access any are present I get harassed by the police. I went to the park for a picnic. Laid the blanket down, had the food and had a book. The police rolled in, watched me for about 10 minutes then asked me what I was doing. I had difficulty answering because I thought it was obvious. After an uncomfortable conversation, they went back to their cars and tried to intimidate me to leave... but that didn't happen.

I have been running in my own neighborhood and accused of soliciting. I gotta be a hoe because I want to work out? But then I guess Black women aren't supposed to exercise. If our alarm goes off by accident, even if we give the company the code, they still call the police... which charges us. When the weather is bad, my hood loses electricity. I thought this happened in all of the city. Not so. My boss... who is white and lives amongst his people... has never lost electricity due to weather....EVER.

One of the more unfortunate habits the the people of this hood have come to accept is hearding. The walmart in the hood... yes they want them Black greenbacks like everyone else.... a police VAN sits outside and the security guards are Atlanta police with real guns. When I saw that, I decided to NOT shop there. I ain't never been policed in a walmart and I'm not about to start. The CVS chick got mad because I walked in the store via the exit door rather than the entrance door. I have issues with that. (a) I needed to use an ATM near said door and (b) the exit door opened for me. That bitched demanded I leave and re-enter. The library has only a few books. No stacks at all just rotating polls. If you are looking for a book, you must look through everything because it has no sections. You see the institutional bullshit these people have gotten so used to that they don't even realize that they are being insulted???

So Serenity... Just move. Oh, I will. COA life ain't for me. But I will live in another Black community. I've lived in 3 different states. I have come to learn that white folks don't want to live near POC's. They want us to cut their grass, raise their children, do the things to make their lives fluffier. But they don't want to come home from a long day of work and see us coming HOME from work either. If they can't move when we move in, they make our lives hell. I pay for my things like they do. I'm not willing to get burned out by folks that don't want me there. They think we are subhuman and don't have the same boundaries they have with their own people. Again my Black skin doesn't come with free utilities.

I see it as a missed opportunity really. You hear folks complaining about 'food deserts' but what you don't hear is folks saying what they are doing about it. Everyone that notices that there is a lack has an opportunity to change it. You don't have to open a store right away. Start with a truck or a wagon. Crawl before you walk. Hell, you could develop a system where you take orders from the community and then deliver it. Charge them more than you paid for it to cover expenses and make a profit. Boom! Hell the summer is coming. Network with some children to help you out and call it a summer camp. Clueless parents would be willing to pay you for allowing their children to help you. Mo' money, mo' money mo' money! If you notice a hole it's your responsibility to fill the gap.

I'm just making Knowledge Born that the Black side of town is grimier than the white side. And it's not because we don't pay taxes. It's because the powers that be don't give 2 fucks about us. And everything ain't for us to fix. Yes, it is our responsibility to cut our own grass, keep our homes up, and not litter or vandalize our neighborhoods. But picking up the trash when scheduled and making sure pot holes don't swallow up my SUV that is the city's job. Having students wait so close to the street because the sidewalks are too narrow while they wait for the bus is not the fault of the neighborhood. It's the city's fault. And they CHOOSE to prey on the community via the police but not supply resources. Not everyone is aware of the plot. Some folks succumb to savagery after being treated like a animal for so long. Well I know what's going on.

I have lived in Black communities where everyone did their jobs with regard to the external of their homes. I've lived in communities so pristine, that visitors thought it was a mixed. I mean it would have to be mixed if I lived there. I ALWAYS correct folks. Especially Black folks who think an all Black neighborhood must be the pits. But guess what? I don't live in fear trapped in my own house.

My mother lives in a “mixed” community. And she sleeps with a shotgun next to her bed because she fears her white neighbors. If they say “good morning” she searches for ulterior meanings. She has an excuse to mistrust white folks. She was raised in the segregated south. She, however, doesn't have a reason for why she bought in hat neighborhood. And she knows that she will NEVER receive a moment's comfort from her “Black Power” daughter.

Serenity are you filling your gap? Nope. I'm breaking camp. And in the community I chose to set roots down in, I will work towards that there. I knew this rest stop was going to be temporary when I stopped the truck here. Our communities don't have to be run down and devoid of useful business. Stop drinking all the damn Kooli-Aid the devil serves up for you.


Peace