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| Lisa Calderon with Theresa Avila, a mother of a young man slain by Denver Police |
Hundreds of people gathered at Park Hill’s Shorter Community AME Church for Denver Community Action Network’s “Gentrification Summit: Our Communities are Not for Sale,” which focused on organizing and activating a movement to address the root causes of displacement among communities of color and people of poverty.
The summit was organized shortly after the widespread protests against Ink! Coffee in the historically African-American neighborhood of Five Points. In late November, Ink! Coffee displayed a sandwich board printed sign that read “Happily gentrifying the neighborhood since 2014.” The sign spurred days of protests that made national headlines.
Moreover, it ignited a citywide conversation about efforts and strategies to resist gentrification and support new political leadership that will be accountable to people adversely impacted by new development. DenverCAN is comprised of social justice organizations and individuals including the Colorado Latino Forum, Cross Community Coalition, GES Coalition, Ditch the I-70 Ditch, Project VOYCE, Black Lives Matter 5280, Indivisible Denver, Denver Food Rescue, All in Denver, Shorter Community AME Church, and the Greater Denver Metro Ministerial Alliance.
“Because we were borne out of the people, our church has made it our business to maneuver and act on behalf of the people,” says Rev. Dr. Timothy Tyler, Pastor of Shorter Community AME Church, as he welcomed people from diverse communities and progressive organizations.
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| Rev. Dr. Timothy Tyler |
During its 150-year history, Shorter AME Church has moved five different times. Rev. Tyler says that the church that started near the South Platte River had to relocate as soon as White residents began noticing the existence of a Black church. The Five Points location of Shorter AME was burned down in 1925 by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
“The people had the mind to fight and hearts that are strong, so they rebuilt the church and remained to continue the work of justice and faith in that community,” says Rev. Tyler.
In asserting that gentrification is a social justice issue, Rev. Tyler points to the systems and dynamics that keep power out of reach for people of color, those living in poverty and experiencing homelessness. The event brought together leaders and activists working toward affordable housing, justice reform, food justice, educational equity, health access and more.
“Whenever you have an organized plan to destroy historical communities and to drive out ordinary people in the name of progress, that’s a social justice issue,“ says Rev. Tyler.
“There are many things that go into that mixture: how you police a community, how you build in that community, how you decide to attract new people into the community.”
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| Tay Anderson |
“Gentrification is not a joke. Kicking out black and brown people out of their homes is not a joke,” he says.
“Criminalizing people for being on the streets because they can no longer afford to live in the city is not OK. We need to make sure we’re putting politicians in office who will represent us.”
Another key organizer, Lisa Calderon of the Colorado Latino Forum, says the Ink! Protest galvanized a coalition of people who have actively and creatively resisted gentrification in their communities.
She commended the growing grassroots movement of emerging leaders, progressive organizers and impacted residents who came to the summit to brainstorm solutions.
“Today is about action, our priorities. It was never about a sign. It was about what was happening in black and brown and poor folks’ communities, being pushed out, pushed around and not heard,” she says.
“This is not just about race issue, although class manifests through race. We know that the issue of displacement touches many of us.”
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| Photo courtesy of DenverCAN Facebook page |
“We know that when society turns its backs on the least among us, the marginalized, the voiceless, the drug-addicted, people with mental illness. Guess where they end up? In our jails,” she says.
Calderon started a fund-raising campaign to help families whose loved ones have been killed by Denver police. She presented a check to Teresa Avila and Lynn Eaglefeather, mothers whose children have been killed by law enforcement violence.
The opening plenary was followed by organizing breakout sessions that highlighted business social responsibility and systemic accountability. Denver Mayoral candidate and businessman Kayvan Khalatbari challenged workshop participants to explore ways to develop equitable hiring practices, paying a living wage, developing community advisory boards, and executing “good neighbor” funds.
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| Ara Cruz |
An afternoon workshop session on “Cultural Preservation” was led by Ara Cruz, Xicano/Indigenous (Nahua/Genizaro Tiwa), executive director of Café Cultura. Dubbed a “Celebration of Resistance,” the session featured various ways that local artists have resisted gentrification through creative forms of expression. Black and brown spoken word artists, musicians, visual artists and poets shared works that help reclaim and preserve their cultural legacies.
“Artists have a responsibility to tell these stories, to hold up the mirror and shine the light so we can remember what’s gone on in the past and what we need to be able to do in the future,” says Cruz.
Organizers say that the summit is an important first step toward developing a citywide policy platform focused on creating change through the lens of gentrification. To stay connected to the work of Denver CAN, follow them on FaceBook and Twitter or send an email
“A famous saying goes: ‘We have nothing to lose but our chains.’ We are breaking our chains today,” says Anderson.
“This is our community, this is what we look like. This is who votes in the City and County of Denver. Trust me, we will vote.”
