Posted on 09/01/2020 11:47:05 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
In the middle of the protests over police brutality and a pandemic, 19 black families have joined forces and purchased 96.71 acres of land in Toomsboro, Georgia. They plan to build a new, safe city there.
Ashley Scott, a Georgia-based realtor, started The Freedom Georgia Initiative with a few like-minded people.
In an op-ed for Blavity, Scott explained that the idea came after the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was killed by a group of white men while out on a jog.
“I am concerned. At times distraught. For the first time ever in my life, I felt disempowered. So much so that the overachieving, solution-oriented, practical, non-emotional person that I am had to stop,” Scott wrote.
“I sought counseling from a black therapist and it helped. It helped me to realize that what we as black people are suffering from is racial trauma. We are dealing with systemic racism. We are dealing with deep-rooted issues that will require more than protesting in the streets. It will take for us as a people, as Atlanta rapper and activist Killer Mike so eloquently put, ‘To plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize.’ So that’s what I and my good friend Renee Walters, an entrepreneur and investor, did.”
Together, they began to look for ways to change the world for the better in whatever way they could. “We wanted to make some kind of difference that could ensure the safety of our black sons and black husbands when they went about their lives just breathing and being. We wanted to do something to amass black power to affect real change.”
“We considered the reality that even in Atlanta, with an exceptional black woman like Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, there was still no respect for the humanity of blacks,” Scott continued. “Even with Erika Shields, a black woman chief of police at the helm, there was the murder of Rayshard Brooks. We can see there is something much deeper happening. Politics, as usual, isn’t the answer. Something new has to happen.”
The group joined several Facebook groups discussing building black cities and new Black Wall Streets, and it turned out there were more people who shared the same desires. “It was clear to me that developing new cities was necessary because these old ones, even with strong black leadership, have too many deep-rooted problems.”
As a realtor, Scott has been sitting in on zoning and city council meetings. “At first, I attended wanting to get a few new clients, but seeing the progress of the newly created city of Stonecrest, Georgia, inspired me.”
It motivated Scott to look more deeply into local politics and how cities are created. “My research into cityhood gave me insight that this is how we change our communities and build real black power.”
Black power comes from wealth,” Scott explained. “Wealth is created through cash-flow and assets. Who has more cash flow and assets than governments? Where does the cash-flow come from? Taxes and bonds. Who pays taxes? Landowners. Who runs governments? People. We are the people. We have to be more involved, especially young people!”
Scott said she knows people might start wondering, ‘What in the world does all this have to do with why you all purchased land in the midst of protests and a pandemic, and how you used cooperative economics to do it?’ According to her, everything.
“We figured we could try to fix a broken system or we could start fresh. Start a city that could be a shining example of being the change you want to see. We wanted to be more involved in creating the lives we really want for our black families. And maybe, just maybe, create some generational wealth for ourselves by investing in the land. Investing in creating a community that is built around our core values and beliefs.”
The plan is to create a community with green, environmentally safe, and eco-friendly building materials that honor Mother Nature, a community that is self-sufficient and thriving with a living food system built by black farmers to provide food security for all their neighbors, a community that prioritizes diversity and inclusion by hiring BIPOC and women vendors, suppliers and contractors, a community that boasts accessible spaces for all people, finally, a community where all black folks could come home without being murdered by police.
“We made a PowerPoint presentation the day after we left the ‘Toomsboro for Sale’ open house. We called our like-minded friends and family. We impressed upon them the urgent power of now. We brought 19 families together on one accord during a series of online meetings. We started an LLC. We considered a field and we bought it. We bought 96.71 acres of land!”
Policing provided by the Crips.
“So why not in South Chicago”?
That is a very stupid, idiotic question.
Try reading the story so you can make an intelligent comment.
97 acres, eh? Does that come with 2.4 mules?
“I sought counseling from a black therapist and it helped. It helped me to realize that what we as black people are suffering from is racial trauma.” Meaning ‘convinced’ of oppression regardless of success?
“We considered the reality that even in Atlanta, with an exceptional black woman like Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms...” Exceptional mare?
“...there was the ‘murder’ of Rayshard Brooks....”. Don’t fight the cops and live?
As they somehow purchase 90+ acres and plan to build whatever. Yeah, oppression sux. Crops and medical? Water, sewage? Garbage? Electricity? Good luck with y’alls plans.
It won’t take but a few months before it’s trashed. Count on it.
GMTA. Sorry I did not see your post or your more precise decimalization.
Well, someone has to provide power, water, internet, and sewage lines. Road infrastructure. HVAC for the homes. And there aren’t many black-owned utilities or journeyman plumbers or electricians. So.... that means the white devil will still be involved.
First, this woman needs to realize that the Media magnifies every instance of white on black crime while ignoring black on white crime AND black on black crime.
Second, I hope she has people with experience in clearing land, excavating foundations, building footings and forms for poured concrete, etc. Where will she get water? If it's from wells, she may have a problem with the local ground water. If it's from a municipality, her 97 acre "city" will be reliant on some other town, county or city. How about electricity?
All this to say, she has no idea what she's getting into.
Would equal housing laws apply if a white person wanted to rent or buy a home in their town?
I sense BLM is the core element in this here “city”.
I give this place 36 months. Then it will collapse in racial disunity, crime, poverty and general negritude.
Oh, you mean like they want a black only settlement...
But this is not racist.
Isn’t south Chicago already black only?
But not a safe Wakanda?
It is sooooooooo confusing.
In the actual black wall street in Tulsa, it fell apart with the civil rights acts and forced desegregation. As a result, black residents stopped supporting black businesses and they started failing.
Had some good black families in my former neighborhood. Two of them had had recently released felons come to stay. One if the felons was caught by a black deputy NEXT DOOR robbing his house. He had already robbed other homes in the neighborhood. (No car, you see.). The other released felon rapped the couple’s daughter.
I going to call the ‘over/under’ December 1st.
‘Assualt W/deadly weapon’...
Best wishes. I believe in private property and personal enterprise.
Piney woods and kaolin/fuller’s earth.
Trying to mimic the Koinonia commune across the state near Plains? But they let both Blacks and whites in.
Complete and utter bullshite.
Law abiding people of ANY color in Georgia are safe from the cops and White citizens and these people know it.
Nothing wrong with starting their own town, but their reasons are empty virtue signaling. Might as well see if Colin Kaepernick will serve as mayor.
How are they going to divy up the land? Some parcels will be better than others.
Who gets the higher ground and who gets the swampy marsh?
Ahmaud's jog started when he was chased from private property,
trespassing on a construction site.
The gaslighting media can't help but to bend, stretch or hide the truth so as to cast doubt in the minds of those whose recollection of events are not in line with the media narrative.
Lol!.... What police?
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