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by Nija Grant, Youth Poverty Skola, POOR Magazine
“We want decent housing fit for the shelter of human beings” is No. 4 in the 10-Point Program of the Black Panther Party, as taught to us by Black Panthers Kathy Campbell and Aunti Frances Moore of Homefulness and the self-help hunger program.
I’m pretty sure that Tiny, her mama and the whole POOR Magazine and Homefulness family have said this same thing at one point in their lives and struggle.
A really long time ago, in 1966, the Black Panther Party and their partners were fighting the government for decent housing in their community, just like Homefulness and Deecolonize Academy – projects of the poor, Indigenous and houseless peoples’ movement known as POOR Magazine – are doing now. The Black and Brown communities in poverty are getting rent-free housing while white and/or rich landlords in the Bay Area barely wanted to let them lie their heads there.
I think what has been happening is an injustice and just evil. I also think that it’s not fair to the Black and Brown folks because of all the stereotypes that come with looking for a new space to live.
Tiny and all of us youth and families and elders in the Homefulness family are trying to change that by unselling Mama Earth and giving everyone a place to live with no rent, with healing, liberation, art and love.
I feel that the 10-Point Program should have been pushed so much that they became legal laws, because we still have a lot of the same problems today. Those were problems back then like homelessness, better education and justice to the right people.
But, changing the world’s mindset and beliefs would have taken a long time, and the government will do whatever they can to stop people like us from having or gaining power.
Black Panther Party 10-Point Program and Homefulness’ solution to homelessness
by Amun-Ra Ali, Youth Poverty Skola, POOR Magazine
The 10-Point Program is a formula that shares what’s needed in the Black community to create a better quality of life for all. The 10-Point Program also serves as a reminder that it requires collective work and responsibility to have a brighter future.
Aunti Frances, former Black Panther and co-founder of Homefulness, along with a guest speaker came to Homefulness and POOR Magazine and Deecolonize Academy and presented about being in the party. They shared stories that put me in mind of the long suffering that has been happening to people of color for far too many years.
We are a “for the people, by the people” kind of movement that’s making history and herstory all at the same time.
In the 10-Point Program, subject No. 4 highlights the demand for the Black Panther Party to have decent housing fit for the shelter of human beings. This is very similar to the concept we have at Homefulness to build quality shelter for families coming to live on the land.
We say homefulness is the solution to homelessness and we believe that everyone deserves a place called home. So the fight is still happening for Indigenous people to have quality housing even when you build it on your own. The city and government still finds ways to interfere with our solutions by taxing us and making us pay for unnecessary fees and fines.
But we will fight for our rights to have quality housing as our brothers and sisters did in the past. We will press forward to make it better in the future.
I like how POOR Magazine’s approach includes everybody, not just one kind of people. We are a “for the people, by the people” kind of movement that’s making history and herstory all at the same time. At POOR Magazine, we don’t bring out the guns or call the police if it gets hefty, we bring out the notebooks and pens to create plans and solutions by putting it in writing.
10-Point Program No. 4
by Ziair Hughes, Youth Poverty Skola, POOR Magazine
There are 10 points, but in this essay I will be focusing on No. 4: “We want decent housing fit for the shelter of human beings.” While we were at school having the 10-Point Program talk by Aunti Frances Moore and Kathy Campbell, they mentioned that the 10-Point Program is the blueprint to a successful life for POC (people of color) excellence and more.
Well, here on the land of Homefulness, everybody is practicing that same commandment, and for no cost at all. As people of struggle, we know how it feels to go through some rough things, so we build a platform for other people to live and work on, like a co-op.
If we as peoples can put all the other things that cause us to fuss with each other aside, including race, class and even gender, we will have a better life and world. At Homefulness, we’re doing this, ‘cause, as Mama Tiny says: “The revolution will NOT be melted in a pot” – meaning, we all have different walks and moves and spiritual traditions, but we are connected by our struggle as poor peoples, and by love and dedication to the liberation of Mama Earth. And we need help; we can’t do it alone.
Deecolonize Academy is a poor mama and uncle led liberation homeschool that happens on the land at Homefulness.
Homefulness is a homeless and landless self-determined solution to homelessness that has so far housed six formerly houseless families and elders and built four multi-family, rent-free townhouses which the City of Oakland is blocking from opening unless the poor and houseless builders pay a $40,000 impact fee for taking too long to build.
POOR Magazine aka Prensa POBRE is a poor and Indigenous people-led movement of art, education, media and revolutionary advocacy.
Nija Grant, 13, Youth Poverty Skola, writer, animal whisperer and student of DeeColonize Academy and youth in media reporter for POOR Magazine and daughter of Katrina.
Amun-Ra Lewis, 8, is a Youth Poverty Skola, revolutionary and journalist with POOR Magazine and student at Deecolonize Academy.
Ziair Hughes, 13, is a Youth Poverty Skola, po’ poet, author, artist, hoops genius, co-founder of TAZ foundation, journalist for POOR Magazine, sun of Audrey Candy Corn and brother of Amir and Torian, students at Deecolonize Academy.
