While Occupy Wall Street has not been at the center of media attention lately, a group of people of color who emerged from the movement have been making waves in their communities.
Occupy the Hood (OTH) is a national group dedicated to addressing issues within communities of color. This week, the group held Hood Week in Atlanta, the first meeting of its more than 20 national chapters. Members got to know each other and the Atlanta community.
Over the weekend, OTH members discussed Occupy Wall Street, which the group has not taken an official stance on. Some in the group see themselves as a part of the larger Occupy movement while others insist they are now completely separate.
“They kicked us out of [general assemblies],” said Radee Westfield, one of the founding members of Occupy the Hood, explaining why he helped start OTH. “Everywhere we talked to Occupy the Hood members who had been Occupying since day one, they said the same thing…So we were like, you ain’t here to do nothing but secure your future, and if you’re not going to secure our future, then we’ll do our own thing.”
Westfield says that many Occupy camps are now taking on issues that OTH members were working toward months ago. OTH has already implemented “their own thing” in the ‘hood.
Hood Week included a meet-and-greet party where members finally got to put faces to the names they had been emailing and speaking with on the phone for months.
“Nothing is an entity in itself, we’re all connected,” said Preach, one of the founders of OTH, explaining that he hoped building a national community within OTH would help members bring this idea into their own communities. “We have to stop looking at things as places or cities and start looking at things as a people…that terrible thing is not just happening over there, that’s happening to us.”
“Unity Day” on Saturday continued the idea of building community while also focusing on education. It was filled with teach-ins and community panels, including discussions on violence in the ‘hood, knowing your rights, interacting with police and the necessity of community gardening. Following the adults’ examples, many children at Unity Day also held their own teach-ins on “Creating Your Own Hustle: A Kid’s Perspective,” “What I Would Do If I Were Vice President” and more.
Hood Week was supported by many Atlanta community members, who came out to lend their skills to the weekend’s events. DJ group Clandestine, who won Best Hip-Hop Group at the Georgia Music Awards, and members of the East Atlanta rapping collective iLLmont performed politically minded raps during the weekend, encouraging any rappers at the events to join them.
The weekend ended with a family cookout, featuring music and free food for the community.
Looking forward, many OTH members have big plans for their cities. These plans include more community gardens and “know your rights” training. Many chapters are now planning to instate back-to-school programs in August and September.
“We’re gaining a whole lot of momentum,” said Malik Rhassan, one of the founders of OTH in New York City, addressing members at the Hood Week kick-off party. “But there are things we gotta do for our people that aren’t being done…We’re trying to raise ourselves collectively. If we’re not helping ourselves, then what is our point?”
