Category Archives: Weekly Newsletter

Weekly analysis, news and notes from Kristen

* indicates required




Email Format

Weekly Newsletter

Going Beyond the Social Media Racism Explanation Loop

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

I wanted to open up my newsletter this issue with this Toni Morrison quote, because it sums up exactly why I’ve been struggling to write and produce this summer and honestly, for a good while.

This was punctuated by watching this video, which, while good, had a very pointed moment of why I get frustrated with even the most well-meaning urbanists. 

How many of you are out here thinking that only the South was this racist?

Who is really not talking about DC as part of the greatest hits of urbanism?

How many of you are using reading this newsletter as your education on racism, but not applying the lessons?

—

I realize that I have continued my own self-education and I’m wrestling with things that are far beyond just being Black and an urbanist and that may be throwing some of y’all for a loop.

However, not addressing class, racism, and disability in our urbanism, and patting ourselves on the back for being more feminist and queer-friendly is getting us nowhere.

I’m still losing a bus system this year here in DC.

I’m still working a day job where I don’t write about urbanism because the money just isn’t there.

Or is it? Maybe I should ask Ted Leonis and his family about that.

—

But last night I was in a room of amazing mostly Black and brown queer folks learning how to defend ourselves safely from attack. One of my fellow attendees approached myself and Les and complimented us on our podcasts.

Podcasts and platforms that are growing past just explaining a racism that we should know about.

No matter what platform you find your urbanism on.

Speaking of platforms, before I go, I’m working on being on X and all the Meta ones less. I honestly am only on X because the COVID-conscious and other disabilities community is still there, Facebook for immediate family and my high school classmates , and I do love my fiber family on my Kristpattern Instagram.

But, I’ve been working on my readings for this next Defying Gentrification podcast season; my next outfit, and new YouTube videos for Kristpattern

and of course, being on Substack and finally mastering Discord so I can be more active there.

And yes, the US election shifts have caused me to rethink my usage.

No matter who wins, those of us who are urbanists, writers, community makers, and activists will need to hold up the line and build the world we need. 

And the way X and the Meta sites ride on our dependence of their algorithm and the outrage cycle is already making a mess and rehashing older, unnecessary conversations and hostilities.

We don’t need this empire. We don’t need these bombs.  We the people are more than capable of running a society and an economy that balances technology and the humanity of everyone.

And just like we as urbanists get excited with just being represented, we as a people can’t just stop at having a Black woman president, when we’ve evolved to be intelligent beings and can see that it makes no sense to bomb folks for greed and access to ones God.

But, I’m still voting for her, because I can see her and the smidgen of progress as Audre Lorde’s temporary tool. A tool that is just sharp enough to hurt and push through some of the noise, but of course too blunt to maintain long-term action without the true power of the people and those who have not allowed their souls to get close to complete and utter rot.

I will end with one more relevant Toni Morrison quote that pushes me forward and I hope it will push you too:

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

Until next time,

Kristen

Weekly Newsletter

Into the “Parable” times we go…

Smiling in my Richmond hotel room holding my “Parable” journal. Yes, the self-study is coming, but I’m making a couple of relevant changes based on current news.

For the first time, I spent the night this past weekend in the Richmond metro region.

Richmond’s skyline has always been that beacon of hope after a long journey through the pine-lined parts of I-85 in Northeastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia, en route to Washington, DC.

I needed not just to see that beacon of hope, but to be around that beacon of hope and to root myself with the idea that I can do more than just write these newsletters and crochet my dresses, post them on the internet, and hope that I’m actually making friends.

In my last email, I mentioned that I was going shopping for a community.

Why again?

Because even if we lift a Black woman with Jamaican and Tamil roots to the highest office in this so-called country, we still need to address that our land is unceeded, contested, and full of racist, Zionist, imperialist, ableist skeletons and living spirits connected to our downfall.

Around me, in the DC Metro, many of you love to tell us you’re so excited about what we are doing and then you assume our greater urbanist project is impossible in the way I’ve been speaking about it. 

It’s impossible without building more and setting aside less for those who will never be able to participate in a housing market or who may be going to federal prison just because they laid their heads down on a piece of Earth that is still Earth, despite our insistence that that we put borders real and imagined on it.

It’s impossible to have open public transit, paid for by Congressional and state appropriations, without fare gates. Maybe if we addressed that first paragraph, that whole fear of the trains and buses becoming bedrooms and bathrooms wouldn’t happen at all.

It’s impossible to do community-building work, unless you have the right words and look and politic. Or you are willing to run yourself in the ground doing three jobs and five projects and only one, maybe two pay.

Once again, if we addressed our root cause, this wouldn’t be the issue.

So, before 1:45 pm on Sunday, July 21, 2024, I had already decided that Richmond would go on my list of cities that could be a new community and a new home.

It’s not perfect, I’m not thrilled that they are so pressed about people not paying rent in the housing that was created for the people who can afford housing as a market.

And I’m very hurt that my hometown of Greensboro’s city council is considering pulling needed funding from a now 24/7 community center just for those folks who are without house, but who are ready to make home somewhere, just because the plans aren’t perfect and neither are the people. But that’s the point, they’re in need! They aren’t going to be perfect!

But, I know that in this world, even if my president is Black, again, and we share identity markers, the pressure to adhere to what this so-called country and even the globe in its insistence on having nation-states instead of mass mutual aid and local governance networks, requires of its leaders, will make me have to stand up and call for her and her administration to do more.

But not only is she speaking, I’ve been told by many in our Black dignity movement that she is listening. So keep telling her that a lot of her old policies were wrong. Keep telling her we will continue have her back if she seeks to become a liberator rather than remain a cop and warmonger. 

Remember this so-called country runs on our vibes and dreams. That voting isn’t just on one day at a ballot box, but we have tools like the ones in our hands to tell everyone how we really feel, then we can vote with our resources and our bodies in all kinds of ways toward a liberated future.

No more Electoral College. No more gerrymandering. And of course, actually building up young leadership and caucusing. 

And if our Black lady president stops listening, so many of us Black ladies and those who exist beyond those colonial boundaries of gender, will make a way out of no way and we will still rise!

I too am courageous enough to practice my political act of self-care. 

I put on my masks, because they work and we don’t have time for extra on our bodies, because we need to set up the world for the imperfect bodies we do have.

I dare to do what the name of this newsletter states and defy gentrification and craft liberation.

My dream is to have a central community space to make things in whatever place I land in, and it will not die down. It’s becoming a calling.

I need to get rid of these bills, to build cash flow and to root and grow my relationships with the right people.

I hope that’s you. If not, in this moment where Black gender marginalized people are rising up, reclaiming their time, taking back their power, and doing what they can to put one of their own at the top of this raggedy empire, many with the hope that it will stop being an empire and be an Earth again…

I hope you’ll stand up with us and grab your tool. Even if it’s just your fervent belief that we can dream and have a better world.

Meanwhile, I sprained my foot in the gym this morning. And yes, it’s the same ER, same bay, but I’m grateful that I can take the steps I need.

And yes, it’s quite the Parable times and yes, my journal is up and running too. Get those journals going and I’ll have more details on what our self-study will look like soon.

Until next time,

Kristen 

Weekly Newsletter

Community Starved, but Ready to Make Advocacy My Plan

Kristen is wearing a black and white sundress, slightly grimacing as she sits on the couch with half of a granny crochet red cardigan on her right arm.
Red and black and white inexplicably invigorate me. I need that for what I’m about to share.

So, for those of you wondering, I did have a good time at my class reunion. Here’s the handful of us who came (btw, we were in a hybrid space, but I had to sit outside because people couldn’t seem to keep the garage doors up to make it hybrid).

Kristen with her Ragsdale High School Class of 2024 classmates at their 20th reuion in Greensboro, NC June 22, 2024.
That image of #45 behind my head is supposed to be conveying him as a pig. The place is called the Pig Pounder.

And of course, I introduced Les to one of my family’s all-time favorite seafood restaurants, Harbor Inn Seafood in Burlington.

A wooden fish on a wall with the words Harbor Inn Seafood carved in black, Les seated in a booth in a denim shirt waving at the camera, a plate of delectible popcorn shrimp and catfish
A wooden fish on a wall with the words Harbor Inn Seafood carved in black, Les seated in a booth in a denim shirt waving at the camera, a plate of delectable popcorn shrimp and catfish

And we stayed and ate at one of the most baller, yet green and air purified hotels in town, Proximity Hotel

An open curtain in a greenish brown hotel room, the grey exterior of the Proximity Hotel, a patio with white chairs and beige umbrellas, covered in greenery
The green luxury of the Proximity Hotel and PrintWorks Bistro in Greensboro, NC

We even had time to check out Reconsidered Goods, which has been hyped as one of the best craft thrift stores and in turn is one of the best thrift stores period.

The exterior and interior of a craft and thrift store full of yarn, fabric, records and more!
Scenes from Greensboro’s craft reuse store, Reconsidered Goods

And of course, we stopped by my mom’s so she could fill us full of cake, with a side of caution against eating too much of it. I’ve always loved calling North Carolina home, even if I don’t always feel welcome in it.

Yes, I’m starting a trend, when I can, to stop by and snap a picture on each end of the VA/NC border.

And of course, I thought it would be easy 9 years ago to just dump her and her wealth of community, calm, and yes, judgments and find all the relief in the promised land of DC. However, in these 9 years, with a brief stop in Kansas City, I’ve been troubled with a deficit of community.

When you see that I’m going to be on panels like on tomorrow (Thursday 7/10/2024) with the Othering & Belonging Institute. (PLEASE REGISTER AND WATCH!)

Or listen to the podcast

https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/42B2Nv3X0Ar831SXLmQSeR

Or watch/listen to my many speeches and podcast interviews over the years

I don’t blame you for not understanding how I can still get so depressed that I write these kind of messages on my Twitter account (yes, I do support deadnaming this site)

Tweet that reads: Hey y'all. I want to give y'all another newsletter and add more to the course, but I've been trying to not be so honest. Unfortunately, I'm feeling undersupported again, especially in the DC urbanism space and I am struggling to write and make.

Well, I think the key words are the DC urbanism space. I had this fantasy writing the early versions of this newsletter and blog posts in 2010 in my room at my mom’s house, at a tender millennial age of 25 that I would be able to write myself into not just proximity to Metro, but a thriving community full of all my favorite foods.

What I’ve realized over the past 14 years is that I can write. I can even craft. But I can’t control people.

Hence, my community starvation. Here’s more of what I mean, some of which I shared in the thread and some of which I’ve shared here for you.

Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about bills, but the months that I did I’m recovering from. Yes, I’m bitter that it’s come to me yet again having to leave the industry for employment, even though I adore my new job and the culture they’ve built and being able to use my muscles there.

And of course all the fiber art I do and I realize that in another life, where Metro was already at my front door, I would have been a master sewist and crocheter and editor in another space years ago. 

But what hurts is the last two years happened and it left me financially and emotionally broken.

For clarity, this is a regional problem. My NC, GA, and other urbanists in southern and western states always come through. Baltimore, you’re exempt too. 

But DC and a few select mentors, it’s a different story.

And others recommending me get into stuff that doesn’t end well or never ends well just for a check. Y’all should know me better by now. And just because this is always how its done doesn’t mean it’s going to work in this new normal.

And we need real honest community right now. And some of y’all are going to need me, when all these shitty schemes fall down and you need someone. But, I’m tired of only hearing from y’all when I’m palatable or when you’re in trouble.

Everyone else, thank you for still rocking with me. I’m working on getting the book, podcast, and newsletter up and running again for the fall. But I will need to hire and I will make that announcement when the money and the hire are set.

So here I am. In a world that’s becoming more repressive, I need the kind of community I can call at 3 am. When I was in the ER yesterday (for what we know is high blood pressure and possibly other things), I had all of my close folks on text, but I worried about the money I was losing taking off the afternoon. Yet, those folks were all reassuring me that everything would be ok.

I need more of that kind of community that doesn’t constantly remind me that I didn’t get here in time to enjoy the Obama years, struggle through my English Basement, and be able to cash out into a rowhouse anywhere in the legal boundaries of the District of Columbia. I need people who instead of scoffing at my car (and their own, think of all the people they leave behind when they argue over the semantics of what is public transit.

I need fish that tastes like its breaded with love, not dishwater. I need to feel all my feelings, unlike the person who told me without telling me when I was in a moment of crisis that I should join them in dissociation. I need my craft with a healthy dose of talking about our reality and not just putting it in a box of politics that might as well be making spooky ghost sounds like one of those fake Scooby Doo ghost villains.

So, this summer, on my newly ungentrified proverbial front porch, I’m searching for my real one.

Can you help me find it? And keep my blood pressure down and out of the ER too? Keep me from the kind of treatment June Jordan got in the architecture space?

Until next time,

Kristen

Weekly Newsletter

Pride, in the triumph of protest

Welcome to Kristen’s Gentrification Defying Summer Vacation log! This summer, well, until about the middle of August, I will be taking a break from the podcast and livestreams starting tomorrow, when my season finale podcast finally posts after technical difficulties. This week, some fun at Capital Pride in the midst of another week of bad news.

Yes, it’s true. I really did ride a CaBi with Les and her DDOT colleagues in the Capital Pride Parade. And yes, I wore the red shirt, which I was tickled that also lined up with the call to wear red in solidarity with the White House protest for Palestine. And yes, I also nearly passed out in Thomas Circle, hopped in the DDOT truck, and came to enough to wave my Progress Pride fan at the folks further down 14th Street NW and on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Watch highlights from the parade here.

And today not only did I get to pick up some of the better merch from the Pride festival, I got to catch up with a lovely old friend and colleague, Wanona Satcher as her company Mahkers Studio’s tiny home was highlighted in the HUD Innovative Housing Showcase. Here’s me on the way to do all of that. I forgot to get a picture at the Mall.

And between all of that Saturday night after we rested from the parade, we walked down to Pride on the Pier, which while nice to have a Pride party in our front yard, the lack of Progress Pride Flags on the pier and any Pride flags on the main Wharf promenade was disturbing and serves as yet another reason, of many, that folks are staying away from the bigger Pride festivities as those festival only want to party and not want to aid in advancing the wellbeing of all queer people, not just the wealthiest and most connected to state power.

What I am most excited about is that everything that was done, from the White House Red Line, to the Dyke March, to the regular Capital Pride march, went smoothly. Yes, some folks were booed. And yes, those were the preachers and the Zionists. But unlike in many places globally, we got to practice pleasure activism as much as direct activism for just one day, without life-altering violence. Now, I get to spend my summer reading and cuddling with the best plushy friends a person could ask for.

Until next time,

Kristen

Weekly Newsletter

Pride, in the shadows of grief

Welcome to Kristen’s Gentrification Defying Front Porch, the Sunday newsletter where I talk about what’s really on my mind and share some of my crafting and adventures from throughout the week. While I’ll be taking a summer vacation from the livestreams after tomorrow, and doing a season podcast episode on Friday, I’ll still be writing these quick notes from vacation!

This morning I did something child me was ashamed to do. I put on farm-appropriate clothing, including protecting my hair with a headscarf, and did some serious strawberry picking. That’s me in the field above.

I needed to do something to physically ground myself to the Earth and Les and I have come to enjoy what has been a semi-annual tradition we always hope to make annual.

I’ve been sitting over the past week with a boatload of grief. 

I had a wonderful time last weekend connecting with people who actually care about humanity, many whom I share a craft space with and others who are fellow Black queers from southern states making a way in the DC area.

But by Friday, I decided to record a bonus episode of the podcast to help me anchor my grief boat and express lament that so many folks aren’t doing right by themselves and each other. You can listen here on YouTube (along with all the other platforms that Defying Gentrification is on)

The last week of May symbolizes a lot of death in my life and the June 1 sighting of the Pride rainbow doesn’t always signal the end of the storm, especially not in a year when we continue to choose genocides, both loud and quiet over and over again.

In addition, more of that grief surfaced when I took what could be one of my last DC Circulator rides and wrote the following on my Instagram about it while having some fun in editing speeding up the 15-minute ride from Eastern Market to the stop closest to our home at the Wharf.

I had read an article about its demise from my prior client/organization and it reminded me of so much of what I was starting to feel when working there and being out of alignment with the mission.

However, like always, I’ve had my craft.

I’m piecing together this outfit for my 20th high school reunion, and getting excited for this hybrid event where I get to connect with people who knew me then, and know how far I’ve come and also whom I have done the same and want to support as we all grow into the next elders.

Next week, the tiles will be an actual shirt and maybe I might extend it into an entire dress!

I’m dedicating this email, not to those who won’t listen,  but to everyone who also grieves, who captures that righteous anger, and fuels a true path to liberation and revolution.

After all, in addition to my reunion and Pride events and crafting, I have a new job contract starting Monday 6/10. 

I hope I can channel some of that income into (FINALLY) hiring the right assistance and creating the fort and magic I need to resist this wave of Earthly destruction.

I hope to see you at 11 am Eastern tomorrow on the livestream, but if not, until next time…

Kristen

Weekly Newsletter

[PODCAST] Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles

I  knew this week sitting down with Chicago-based journalist Arionne Nettles was going to be a great conversation, but I was very excited about what she had to share, about how Black migration and neighborhood choices past and present are in defiance of gentrification.

And our hot topic this week is the terrible parking meter deal that the mayor of Chicago made in 2008, that’s actually not how you want to pay for parking.

Listen below:

Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either. – Defying Gentrification

Today I am back to meet the moment with encouragement for us to meet our fears and comfort head on, around defying and ending gentrification, so that we can beat fascism, not just at the White House, US Capitol, and Supreme Court, but in our hearts, minds, neighborhoods, and communities.I encourage you the listener, to have faith, to ground yourself and to remember that you one, aren’t alone or powerless and two, you don’t have to stay got by the system, but you better wake up to the fact the system as it is is probably not in your favor.People and Things I Mentioned in the EpisodeThe songs I played (copyrights maintained by each performer)Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers, I Almost Let Go – Beautiful Chorus, I Am Enough – Toni Jones – Currensea – The articles I mentioned in the first halfHampton Insitute on Gentirfication as a Settler Colonial Project — makes the case for gentrification as settler-colonialismMore on Ruth Glass, the British scholar who gave us the word gentrification — s original definition of gentrification, which was more relatable to the context of London and how it had become “Americanized” (in her words)And I don’t mention this Liberation School article directly, but it ties gentrification back to what begat it, capitalism — https://www.liberationschool.org/gentrification-a-revolutionary-understanding/And finally, my podcast from earlier this year on building radical communities from a faith-based perspective with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes Listen on YouTubeAnd of course, the full newsletter that I read from and played music from — https://theblackurbanist.substack.com/p/yes-gentrification-is-fascism-but?utm_source=activity_itemWays to Support Me That Help Me Pay the Bills in These Times— Become a Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/kristenejeffers— Become a Medium Member — https://medium.com/@blackurbanist— Go Paid on Substack — — Shop my Store on Bookshop.org – www.bookshop.org/shop/kristenejeffers— Shop my Kristpattern fiber arts supply shop — https://www.kristpattern.com— Watch the Defying Gentrification YouTube Channel —https://www.youtube.com/defyinggentrification— Watch the Kristpattern YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/kristpattern Get full access to Defying Gentrification, Crafting Liberation at theblackurbanist.substack.com/subscribe
  1. Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either.
  2. Making Plenty Good Room with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes
  3. The Grief that Gentrification Brings
  4. [PODCAST] Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles
  5. Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defying-gentrification/id1738831138?i=1000656591057

About Our Guest

Arionne Nettles is a university lecturer, culture reporter, and audio aficionado. Her stories often look into Chicago history, culture, gun violence, policing, and race & class disparities, and her work has appeared in the New York Times Opinion, Chicago Reader, The Trace, Chicago PBS station WTTW, and NPR affiliate WBEZ.

She is a lecturer and the director of audio journalism programming at Northwestern University’s Medill School as well as host of the HBCU history podcast Bragging Rights and Is That True? A Kids Podcast About Facts. Her book, We Are the Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything, will be published by Chicago Review Press in 2024.

Hot Topic Reference article

https://news.wttw.com/2023/07/27/wttw-news-explains-what-happened-chicago-s-parking-meter-deal

Purchase Arionne’s book from my Bookshop —

Never miss an episode, subscribe to our Substack or on LinkedIn

You can also find Kristen @blackurbanist or @kristpattern.

Weekly Newsletter

[Livestream recap] The need for guaranteed housing

I am so happy that I can do these live streams and so many of you come by week after week to listen! I focused on talking about yesterday’s email where I talked about how our urbanism movement needs to evolve into a land stewardship movement and how I fell into this movement because I was always told that I needed to live somewhere else.

If you missed me live, watch me right here on YouTube

Here are some of the things I referenced:

Housing First definition — https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/

Philosophers on guaranteeing housing — https://blog.apaonline.org/2022/04/18/the-necessity-of-guaranteed-housing/

Ramit Sethi, who believes we should rethink putting all this energy into buying homes for investment, rather than investing in the stock market https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/

HUD work on Vienna’s social housing — https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_011314.html

And here’s how to support this work:

Make a monthly pledge on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/kristenejeffers

Upgrade to paid on Substack

https://theblackurbanist.substack.com/

Shop my Bookshop

https://www.bookshop.org/shop/kristenejeffers

Keep watching this and other videos on YouTube

Book me for hosting, speeches and workshops! I would love to come to your organization and help you defy and end gentrification! — https://calendly.com/kristenejeffers/panel-work-project-team Book a one-on-one session to develop your own personal defiance strategy for gentrification —

https://calendly.com/kristenejeffers/career-life-or-business-coaching

Podcast, Weekly Newsletter

Making my own way

This week’s letter is a page out of my journal. I know, many of you think that this is my journal and it used to be, but I do write some things for myself these days. However, when I finished writing this one, it felt too much like a post/letter to share, and here it is. Plus, yes, I wrote this in bed between working with my yarn spool above that looks like a tomato and my comfort plushies. It’s been that kind of week, and I don’t mind sharing that with y’all. Yes, even y’all LinkedIn people. It’s Sunday, one and two, I’m a Black queer feminine person. Rest is resistance for me y’all. Here’s that entry, lightly edited.

For over a decade, I thought that if I just moved to the right place, with the perfect urban form, the perfect people would pop out and with the right urban form, everything would be ok.

However, over the past decade, I realized that my methods of making place for myself were not yielding and they were unrooted and unfriendly to advocacy.

Humans evolved into nomadic, then stationary people. Even when we were nomadic, but especially as stationary people, we became territorial, stagnant, and antagonistic. We began to embrace scarcity over abundance.

Now this isn’t to say we shouldn’t continue to ground ourselves, grounding is a key part of our connection with the Earth. 

But we lack balance in how we care for the Earth and that balance is reflected in how we care for others.

First and foremost, we should be practicing conservation, but not without compassion. 

Here’s some tangible examples of how we do that:

— Take our solutions to the root, rather than blame people for doing what they have to do in the moment to survive.

— Release our need to worship and honor defense, warmongering, and unrenewable resources.

— Ask ourselves what views and manifestations of the divine presence do we really serve and are those accurate manifestations or ones geared to a particular, singular goal of just one chosen people? 

I myself am releasing my own thoughts and beliefs about buildings first. 

I believe that we can regenerate buildings, but we can’t regenerate living creatures and beings. 

I believe our urbanist movement has failed because it failed to unpack why certain things were built where they were before considering how to fix those things under the current colonial economics.

It allowed not just racism (begat by capitalism) to stand, but also ableism and classism, and patriarchy.

The industry’s equity has failed us. Equity is no longer the standard, we need land liberation, restoration, and regeneration.

Our existing built environment organizations need to not just ensure their day-to-day activities and operations are mindful of ableism and classism, they need to root it out. Then problems like racism and transphobia and misogyny go away because at our core, we don’t use them as reasons to not build or honor what has been built, but in a different way.

Our overemphasis on policing and the limits of budgets is failing us. Our failure to nurture and teach building and development skills, then nurture the nature connections of communities, and their needs besides what a building looks like is causing a shift in my desire to promote and honor organizations that I used to worship as the gold standard.

I’m in defiance and I’m in search of a solution. I am creative and abundant. I am nomadic and grounded. 

Lastly, I realize that as an avid reader, I never had a lot of books that showed people like me in my home state thriving in communities. I was constantly reinforcing that something was wrong with my community because it only existed in my imagination.

And, as a child of an authoritarian religion that claimed the Earth would regenerate after some of us died and went to heaven and others went to hell, unpacking that level of trauma has also been a major goal and release of my past few years and I need real, reliable, affirming community to do so.

This is why I’m intent on defying gentrification and ending imperialism. 

This week on the podcast, I Zoomed with Christine Edwards and we talked about how we’ve been resourceful, with mentorship, and her work in helping Asheville with its groundbreaking reparations program. I’ve included the video version here on YouTube and I would love for you to subscribe over there, especially if you want to see these full video versions of the podcast.

And of course, please continue to listen on all other podcast platforms and rate and review there as well. Here’s all of the episodes at a glance.

Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either. – Defying Gentrification

Today I am back to meet the moment with encouragement for us to meet our fears and comfort head on, around defying and ending gentrification, so that we can beat fascism, not just at the White House, US Capitol, and Supreme Court, but in our hearts, minds, neighborhoods, and communities.I encourage you the listener, to have faith, to ground yourself and to remember that you one, aren’t alone or powerless and two, you don’t have to stay got by the system, but you better wake up to the fact the system as it is is probably not in your favor.People and Things I Mentioned in the EpisodeThe songs I played (copyrights maintained by each performer)Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers, I Almost Let Go – Beautiful Chorus, I Am Enough – Toni Jones – Currensea – The articles I mentioned in the first halfHampton Insitute on Gentirfication as a Settler Colonial Project — makes the case for gentrification as settler-colonialismMore on Ruth Glass, the British scholar who gave us the word gentrification — s original definition of gentrification, which was more relatable to the context of London and how it had become “Americanized” (in her words)And I don’t mention this Liberation School article directly, but it ties gentrification back to what begat it, capitalism — https://www.liberationschool.org/gentrification-a-revolutionary-understanding/And finally, my podcast from earlier this year on building radical communities from a faith-based perspective with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes Listen on YouTubeAnd of course, the full newsletter that I read from and played music from — https://theblackurbanist.substack.com/p/yes-gentrification-is-fascism-but?utm_source=activity_itemWays to Support Me That Help Me Pay the Bills in These Times— Become a Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/kristenejeffers— Become a Medium Member — https://medium.com/@blackurbanist— Go Paid on Substack — — Shop my Store on Bookshop.org – www.bookshop.org/shop/kristenejeffers— Shop my Kristpattern fiber arts supply shop — https://www.kristpattern.com— Watch the Defying Gentrification YouTube Channel —https://www.youtube.com/defyinggentrification— Watch the Kristpattern YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/kristpattern Get full access to Defying Gentrification, Crafting Liberation at theblackurbanist.substack.com/subscribe
  1. Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either.
  2. Making Plenty Good Room with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes
  3. The Grief that Gentrification Brings
  4. [PODCAST] Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles
  5. Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles


Plus, you’re welcome to come by tomorrow morning, Monday, May 20 at 11 am Eastern, for my ask me anything, where you can ask me anything and comment on these thoughts, within reason. Register right here and I hope to see you there.

Podcast, Weekly Newsletter

[Podcast] Episode 7 — Resourcefulness and Reparations in North Carolina with Christine Edwards

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Christine Edwards of Civility Localized, a Charlotte-based public engagement firm that is changing the game on so many levels.

But most of all, this is an episode of two Black Southern women who are connected in some shape or form to North Carolina, talking about how we both are motivated and have or haven’t been supported by that state.

Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either. – Defying Gentrification

Today I am back to meet the moment with encouragement for us to meet our fears and comfort head on, around defying and ending gentrification, so that we can beat fascism, not just at the White House, US Capitol, and Supreme Court, but in our hearts, minds, neighborhoods, and communities.I encourage you the listener, to have faith, to ground yourself and to remember that you one, aren’t alone or powerless and two, you don’t have to stay got by the system, but you better wake up to the fact the system as it is is probably not in your favor.People and Things I Mentioned in the EpisodeThe songs I played (copyrights maintained by each performer)Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers, I Almost Let Go – Beautiful Chorus, I Am Enough – Toni Jones – Currensea – The articles I mentioned in the first halfHampton Insitute on Gentirfication as a Settler Colonial Project — makes the case for gentrification as settler-colonialismMore on Ruth Glass, the British scholar who gave us the word gentrification — s original definition of gentrification, which was more relatable to the context of London and how it had become “Americanized” (in her words)And I don’t mention this Liberation School article directly, but it ties gentrification back to what begat it, capitalism — https://www.liberationschool.org/gentrification-a-revolutionary-understanding/And finally, my podcast from earlier this year on building radical communities from a faith-based perspective with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes Listen on YouTubeAnd of course, the full newsletter that I read from and played music from — https://theblackurbanist.substack.com/p/yes-gentrification-is-fascism-but?utm_source=activity_itemWays to Support Me That Help Me Pay the Bills in These Times— Become a Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/kristenejeffers— Become a Medium Member — https://medium.com/@blackurbanist— Go Paid on Substack — — Shop my Store on Bookshop.org – www.bookshop.org/shop/kristenejeffers— Shop my Kristpattern fiber arts supply shop — https://www.kristpattern.com— Watch the Defying Gentrification YouTube Channel —https://www.youtube.com/defyinggentrification— Watch the Kristpattern YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/kristpattern Get full access to Defying Gentrification, Crafting Liberation at theblackurbanist.substack.com/subscribe
  1. Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either.
  2. Making Plenty Good Room with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes
  3. The Grief that Gentrification Brings
  4. [PODCAST] Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles
  5. Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles

About our Guest

Christine Edwards is a civic firebrand who has immersed herself in helping urban communities grow with dignity. Since founding Civility Localized in 2018, her work has affected change nationwide through innovative outreach strategies that support racial equity, reducing barriers to participation, and encouraging sustainable growth for cities. Christine earned her Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Management and Policy from UNC Charlotte. Christine’s work has been featured in Fast Company, Axios, The Business Journals, Queen City Nerve, Mountain Xpress, Pride Magazine, QCity Metro and many other local and national publications. Christine serves as a board member for Generation Nation, an organization cultivating the next generation of civic leaders and is a member of the board of directors for the Humane Society of Charlotte. She enjoys southern food, and loves seeing urban policy theory play out in daily life.

Also, I had to have an NC-related hot topic this week and it’s about this new mask and protest banning bill, that’s just the latest of laws making me not want to move home again, despite my love and homesickness.

Read the hot topic reference article here — https://www.wral.com/story/nc-senate-votes-to-ban-people-from-wearing-masks-in-public-for-health-reasons/21433199/

And I found two Black North Carolina authors for you to read this week, you can purchase then in my Bookshop.org store:

Never miss an episode, subscribe to my Substack or on LinkedIn

You can also find me, Kristen , @blackurbanist or @kristpattern.

Weekly Newsletter

[Livestream recap] Land justice, finding an urban planning program that speaks to your values & podcast recs!

This week on Ask Kristen Anything about Gentrification for May 13, 2024, I had three wonderful questions that gave me a chance to share my tips for land liberation (Spoiler alert: one of them is investing in guaranteed housing, not just affordable housing).

Plus I shared how I would approach studying urban planning (and public administration) if I was just starting as an undergrad. I also shared other podcast recommendations and reminded everyone that I too have a podcast called Defying Gentrification.

Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either. – Defying Gentrification

Today I am back to meet the moment with encouragement for us to meet our fears and comfort head on, around defying and ending gentrification, so that we can beat fascism, not just at the White House, US Capitol, and Supreme Court, but in our hearts, minds, neighborhoods, and communities.I encourage you the listener, to have faith, to ground yourself and to remember that you one, aren’t alone or powerless and two, you don’t have to stay got by the system, but you better wake up to the fact the system as it is is probably not in your favor.People and Things I Mentioned in the EpisodeThe songs I played (copyrights maintained by each performer)Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers, I Almost Let Go – Beautiful Chorus, I Am Enough – Toni Jones – Currensea – The articles I mentioned in the first halfHampton Insitute on Gentirfication as a Settler Colonial Project — makes the case for gentrification as settler-colonialismMore on Ruth Glass, the British scholar who gave us the word gentrification — s original definition of gentrification, which was more relatable to the context of London and how it had become “Americanized” (in her words)And I don’t mention this Liberation School article directly, but it ties gentrification back to what begat it, capitalism — https://www.liberationschool.org/gentrification-a-revolutionary-understanding/And finally, my podcast from earlier this year on building radical communities from a faith-based perspective with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes Listen on YouTubeAnd of course, the full newsletter that I read from and played music from — https://theblackurbanist.substack.com/p/yes-gentrification-is-fascism-but?utm_source=activity_itemWays to Support Me That Help Me Pay the Bills in These Times— Become a Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/kristenejeffers— Become a Medium Member — https://medium.com/@blackurbanist— Go Paid on Substack — — Shop my Store on Bookshop.org – www.bookshop.org/shop/kristenejeffers— Shop my Kristpattern fiber arts supply shop — https://www.kristpattern.com— Watch the Defying Gentrification YouTube Channel —https://www.youtube.com/defyinggentrification— Watch the Kristpattern YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/kristpattern Get full access to Defying Gentrification, Crafting Liberation at theblackurbanist.substack.com/subscribe
  1. Gentrification is fascist, but it's not too late to stop either.
  2. Making Plenty Good Room with Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes
  3. The Grief that Gentrification Brings
  4. [PODCAST] Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles
  5. Past and Present Black Migrations for Liberation with Arionne Nettles

Some useful links I shared:

Planners Network —

www.plannersnetwork.org

Tysir’s Salih work to break down Audre Lorde’s “masters tools” quote and relate it to three past revolutions that have failed to finish their course and have rooted existing conflicts

https://www.instagram.com/p/C643ItCt0Ol/?igsh=cDdpdW91eGo5MHJy

And a comprehensive list of mutual aid and action times compiled in their Linktree

https://linktr.ee/red_maat?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZOQ0U_ZwnCjVwN_E2OA7XjVLZ30m3bd4WKXWf1kyO029v2maAT_mcwkaA_aem_AYLeGJnusmBav156_Luq_TqhuAU1-yUdXZuwFg1-ITpCxEBbrTl-_3P79gcjynCbZPFbfLu0cbQYLVVv0Vzf1xJN

The US Housing and Urban Development Annual Household Median Income Calculator (This is what is used to determine fair market rents and other rates of public assistance)

https://www.huduser.gov/Portal/datasets/il.html

The books The Color of Law and Just Action (note I am a Bookshop affiliate and will get some of the proceeds from this sale)

And finally, my other sibling podcasts I mentioned today which you can also find on YouTube or your other favorite podcast players:

Queer for Cities

Urban Planning is Not Boring

Architecture is Political (Arch is Polly)

Four Degrees to the Streets

****

Want to get more advice from me, targeted to your situation and your growth? Book a paid session with me on Calendly and I can go even deeper on questions like this to make sure you and your community have what you need to succeed

Join us every week on Mondays at 11 am and listen in to learn and grow with me, and in the meantime, you can find me @blackurbanist on all socials or follow me Kristen Jeffers, on LinkedIN.