A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
By Mia Harper
Homelessness and how to end it has been a topic of conversation over the past several years at the state, federal and community levels. However, there has been little conversation on how homelessness and racism are linked. It is time to speak up and call it what it is.
It is so sad that at this time being Black still feels like a crime in this country.
By Martine Khumalo
The intersection of Blackness and homelessness in San Francisco is a result of gaps in the system, and it is said you can’t beat the system. On any given night in America, there are over a half- million people who are homeless. Many suffer from chronic health conditions and have limited access to health care, or no access at all. This is an untenable situation, and it is not only a moral issue but also a public health crisis.
by Belinda Moses
What is racism? Racism is the prejudice, discrimination or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. There is a worldwide belief that some races possess distinct characteristics, abilities or qualities that make them superior to others.
Racism does a lot of damage to both individuals and the community.
by Terry Johnson
What would the future look like if racism were defeated? This question causes my heart to yearn. The belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities or qualities that distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another is what makes this world so divided. We could instead embrace a world that is diverse and colorful, full of different kinds of people with different mindsets and backgrounds.In a bid for racial superiority,
SUBTRACTED
by Dee Allen
Sisters aren’t valued
In this world of ours
Seen nowhere on the streets
Not the hospitals, malls or bars
Because they’re
Missing
Subtracted
From the city
Headcount cut down in size.
Sisters aren’t respected
In this world of ours
Yet their kin are fraught w/ worry.
by Tariq Johnson
It is a time of Reflection to sharpen my perception of who I am and where I come from. The struggles that my ancestors went through, to overcome the obstacles of racism and achieve their goals. So the positive definition of the word N-I-G-G-A could and would become: Never Ignorant – Getting – Goals Achieved.
I am 58 years old, born in 1964 when Black Power really meant something to my people.
Make the change
Give your change
Lend a helping hand
Buy a meal
Feed the soul
Don’t feed me the processed
Feed me the organic truth
The fiber, the greens
The antioxidants to give me life
Make the change
Give your change
Read me a lyric,a story
What’s your story?
Can you smile that it makes me want to dance and sing To perform art,
Less than two weeks before the planned closure of a shelter for unhoused families, housing and homelessness advocates converged on the steps of San Francisco City Hall to protest the Oasis Inn’s December 15 closing date. The demonstrators—many of whom live at the Oasis and are facing imminent displacement—demanded that the City move to buy the building in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood, while also calling on the Oasis’s owners to sell the property to the City or a prospective nonprofit contractor at the December 6 action.
By YHW
My name is Yaas. I, and my 9 year old sister, are residents at the Oasis Hotel, which is now a family shelter. It isn’t a matter of if this property should be permanently purchased, but when. For families like mine, it is the last option and for many, a safe haven making the name “Oasis” very fitting.
My sister and I are former foster youth—members of an oppressed class that makes up the majority of both homeless and imprisoned populations.
By Quiver Watts and Alastair Boone and TJ Johnston
On Tuesday, December 6, community members from around the Bay Area converged on the California Department of Transportation’s (CalTrans) District 4 office in Oakland, chanting “CalTrans: stop sweeping us up!” The action, led by POOR Magazine, was convened in order to deliver a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to District Director Tony Tavares, demanding all the internal communications and budget items relating to encampment sweeps in Oakland,
