Living While Black and Poor in Gentryville- A Story for Yuvette (Henderson) (xpost from GD)

[KamaAina]

http://www.poormagazine.org/node/5280

There are no words for how sad i am about the loss of sister Yuvette, killed by Emeryville pigs on February 3rd with war-style weapons which is why i needed to write this story.

Tragically, there are many Yuvette Hendersons and other poor , criminalized mamas and daddys like her and me living precariously on the margins of what sister Tiny calls Gentryville (Emeryville) much of which used to be a larger West Oakland until realtors realized they could sell more over-priced apartments and condos to young rich white people if they called it Emeryville. Now all of our poor, black and brown bodies are in even more danger.

We are all profiled for shopping, walking, living while Black and Po’ in Gentryville. When we go into Home Depot or Starbucks, Office Depot or even the parking lot . There is always a possibility that we will be followed by a security guard, asked to leave or escorted off the “property”...

I can’t tell you how many times i have been followed by “loss prevention” agents out of Home Depot because i allegedly “stole” something when all i was doing was trying to use the bathroom. Questioned by pigs just for standing in front of Starbucks. Had all of my cans confiscated just for pushing my shopping cart past the great white wall of Hollis when it morphs into Gentryville.

[daredtowork]

1. Symbolic - those big development shopping malls

In recent years these malls sprouted up in Emeryville with ugly painted cardboard shack facades and overpriced merchadise like designer handbags and pseudo-gourmet food courts.

As the economy hit a downturn, stores closed and these areas looked even uglier. The merchadise may have been expensive, but the development was shoddy and cheap. No one gave a thought to historic character or preserving community. They were providing a feeding ground for the new predtors as rapidly as possible.

Shame on Emeryville. Their culpability here is as bad as Berkeley's. It's about a small wealthy political establishment having too much power and not being democratically answerable to anyone. Their view on "developing" the area has been unilateral, and they do not hear the cries of those they have trampled on.

[KamaAina]

2. I knew it was gonna be you as soon as I saw I had a response!

Worse yet, new Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf is raiding E'ville to staff her administration. This can't be good.

And yes, I will reread the story after I'm done here.

[daredtowork]

3. Wait what?

Why aren't those plum Oakland jobs going to people in Oakland? Toss me some links, please!

[KamaAina]

4. Tomorrow, maybe

I suspect that most of them live in Oakland (in the hills, natch ) and have been slumming in the "Rotten City" while Jean Quan was around.

[Throd]

5. Here is the Mercury News report of the incident.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_27461977/oakland-woman-killed-by-emeryville-police-tried-carjack

Pointing a gun at cops while trying to carjack citizens often ends poorly.