Hi friends and family!
Here’s an update for y’all, a lesson we learned in Jackson, Mississippi was: Mississippi Goddamn! During the course over the last couple of days this has been an emotional journey, especially in Jackson. We started the morning by meeting with Habitat for Humanity. Here, Habitat for Humanity is a religious based organization with a white savior complex. We were introduced to the organization through a slideshow that misrepresented the targeted population by “need” being romanticized. Following the introduction, we were greeted with feelings of anger. This is because she began giving us the tour of her “saving the hood”, by making individuals prove to her that the homes are not handouts but something they have earned from her. She kept emphasizing the word “work” with the insinuation that the people who do not qualify for the homes are lazy or slumlords. At the end of her tour, she stopped mid-street to a show us where THE GATE would be placed. We as a group silently questioned, what does this mean? She was demonstrating economic segregation or in other words making a clear indication who are the haves and the have nots. After she observed our body language, continued to defend herself and actions by mentioning how much of a “SCREAMING LIBERAL” she was and basic information about systemic oppression as a way to impress us. The sad truth is that, this is what a progressive individual looks like in Mississippi who thinks they are aiding but doing more harm than good. So, to represent our frustrations, we dedicate the song by Nina Simone called, “Mississippi Goddamn” (click the link to hear the song), which was to show her frustrations with the lack of progress the state made during the Civil Rights Movement and to this day. This can be shown through the Mississippi state flag that is uncanny to the Confederate flag.
Signing off xoxo
Ashley and Destiny