First Peoples’ Assembly for Hate Free Zone
May 7th 2017 – 200 community members gathered as part of the Hate Free Zone to begin a conversation on building community defense against raids, criminalization, policing, state violence, hate, bigotry, and repression. We gathered to create a common vision and practice for community building based on mutual respect and cooperation through cultural activities, and “Know Your Rights” trainings. The Peoples’ Assembly brought together frontline communities – those directly impacted by recent anti-immigrant, xenophobic, racist, transphobic, homophobic, misogynist, Islamophobic policies and sentiment – to build our leadership and collective vision.
We ended a powerful and inspiring day by rallying and marching from the Renaissance School (81st and 37th) to 82nd and Roosevelt to protest the opening of a Target in our neighborhood. The purpose of the march was the show community power in the face of forces that the Hate Free Zone initiative stands against, including push-out of low-income peoples by corporations. As Hate Free Zone we know gentrification is part of a larger project of corporate collusion with politicians at the expense of working-class communities of color.