The Legacy of Gentrification: Support Songhai City and Other Community-Run Spaces Across the City

As Philadelphia neighborhoods like Brewerytown are transformed by corporate development projects which place profit over people, we must support the communities that have fought for survival. Songhai City Cultural Center and the brave leaders of African American Business and Residents Association (AABRA) are a perfect example. Members of AABRA have fought developer John Westrum's vision of gentrifying this part of the city by bringing in high rent luxury condos and displacing the largely working-class African American community which has created a rich historical tapesty in this part of the city. In order to fight the dehumanizing ambitions of developers like Westrum, we must support the local community institutions where people gather, laugh, live and struggle. In the following video, made by Al Alston and the folks at AABRA, they call for precisely this type of support, which we should all take this very seriously.

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