After splitting with Occupy Wall Street earlier this year, Occupy the Hood (OTH), a national group that works toward the liberation and improvement of quality of life for disenfranchised people of color, held its first-ever Hood Week in Atlanta.
Hood Week Atlanta included a meet and greet, parties, concert performances, teach-ins and panel discussions around the issues facing low-income communities of color.
OTH organizers thought the week was a great success, and just weeks after leaving Atlanta, they began planning Hood Week NYC, which begins this week.
“People don’t equate activism to the things they already naturally do. They don’t see that there is a connection. Community building? You’re already doing it,” said Radee Westfield, one of the founders of OTH,w during Hood Week Atlanta. “There are more people in the hood who are active than mainstream America thinks.”
From Oct. 26-28, OTH members from across the country–there are branches in over 20 cities–will travel to New York to build their national membership and connect to the community in New York City through a host of events across the five boroughs.
OTH’s Facebook page lists celebrity appearances by Cornel West, Rebel Diaz, Jasiri X, Black Colla Biz, Narubi Selah, G-Rep and Johanna Fernandez. On Friday, Hood Week heads to Fulton Street in Brooklyn for a meet and greet hosted by Generational Alliance with performances by Michael Bonds, Amir and Will Kasso. Mumia Abu-Jamal is then expected to call during West’s keynote address on Saturday at 1199’s headquarters in Manhattan.
On Saturday night, OTH heads to the Bronx for a party, “The Cipher,” hosted by Diaz and featuring many performances.
On Sunday, it’s back to Manhattan where a host of panelists–including Sam Anderson, Jazz Hayden, NeNe Ali, students from the Paul Robeson Freedom School and the Amsterdam News’ own Herb Boyd–will speak about the Black liberation movement and the importance of Black media at the Brecht Forum.
For more information and for a full list of events, visit tinyurl.com/OTHweek.
