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No More Hoarding While Mama Earth Burns by Tiny (Lisa Gray-Garcia/Daughter of Dee)
Poet/Poverty Skola Lisa 'Tiny' Gray-Garcia wears prison orange because she was incarcerated for the crime of being unhoused and wants to univisibalize those across the country like her. photo: courtesy T. Garcia-Grey
In keeping with our in-depth arts coverage of 'Cali Civilization in Crisis', this piece is by Tiny Gray-Garcia, a poet ('Criminal of Poverty', published by City Lights) and homeless advocate, working with numerous groups including Poor Magazine.
TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT/POEM IS
dedicated to all my fellow Poverty Skolazs who—even before the fires in Califaztlan—were barely housed, were pushed out of urban areas, were struggling to even stay in a tent...
...to all the people who don’t have what I call the "Privilege of Privacy."
Breathing in,
breathing out.
No more breath to shout,
just a gasp.
Amerikkklan scarcity models
forged this fiery path.
One dollar a day the inmate fire worker earns,
while our mama earth burns.
Gentrifuked out of our towns, space and centers.
We're living in forests, tents and highways,
when we used to live in the Bay.
It's very simple.
The time for radical redistribution of resources is nigh. There are direct actions people can take.
Radical redistribution ranges from buying masks and water to making food or healing tea and distributing to un-housed folks on the street, or in the towns and cities impacted by these fires.
The formerly houseless founders of Homefulness, landless peoples self-determined solution to homelessness, some of whom also write and edit Poor Magazine. photo: courtesy T. Garcia-Grey
Radical redistribution ranges from supporting projects like Mask Oakland, which is giving out masks out all the way up to buying land for folks so they can launch their own hopefulness projects—the opposite of homelessness.
Radical redistribution ranges to giving away excess cars, boats or RVs, so folks can live in them.
Give away your excess trust funds or resources so folks can live.
Our goal is to give cars, money, land, housing and tech reparations directly to poor families or folks who are victims of displacement and gentrification.
Breathing in and breathing out,
no more energy to get thru the day.
No more breath left to shout,
"Un-housed fire victims don’t even make the count!"
Now we got more marginally-housed and fire victims living in tents,
wealth hoarders have made it impossible to find a place to rent.
Muteado Silencio, formerly houseless poet and co-founder/co-builder of Homefulness, speaking in front of a Homefulness construction project. photo: courtesy T. Garcia-Grey
Migrant indigenous familias afraid to even come in.
Already un-housed peoples exposed to air filled with smoke and poison.
The time is nigh for radical redistribution,
enacted interdependence is our solution.
Not just one of us, but all of us can live,
to see a new day and life we can give.
Different forms of redistribution for different folks:
Elders in Chico, Woolsey and Paradise need rides to the hospital, and help getting medicine.
The un-housed need you to open your extra rooms to families, your backyards to tents.
The earth needs you to share your time, if you can.
We are in a when Mama Earth is struggling, fires are burning and there is no more time for hoarding.
Radical un-hoarding is necessary along with un-gentrifuking, un-evicting, un-taking and un-buying.
No more time to hoard resources,
to buy or sell Mama Earth.
Open up your unused rooms, garages, farms, vacation homes.
Stop this war over ownership and turf!
Give away your third and fourth cars.
Support the Po Mama's Reparations Fund.
Help us po' folks manifest homefulness projects everywhere!
The formerly houseless founders of Homefulness, landless peoples self-determined solution to homelessness, some of whom also write and edit Poor Magazine. photo: courtesy T. Garcia-Grey
This is it Fam,
we're in a state of emergency.
It's called 'Our 21st Century Life.'
The only antidote is radical redistribution of resources, love and time—
that will heal this strife.
To learn more about the Bank of Community Reparations Fund, which includes the Po' Mamas Reparations Fund, the Tech Reparations Fund, the Homefulness Fund and so much more, email or come to the next session of PeopleSkool, on January 25th & 26th.
And to all the conscious redistributors, reparators reading this who are already doing it—so much gratitude, love and respect!
Poet and homeless advocate Tiny Gray-Garcia can be reached by email or on her website, or by buying her book 'Criminal Poverty'.