The fridge on our porch is slowly dying, and it’s getting to the point where it can’t keep produce fresh for very long. Especially in the summer, the community depends on that fridge to circulate fresh stuff like veggies, milk, yogurt, and prepared food. Without it, otherwise good food rots in the heat.
Do you know where we could get a working fridge, or want to help us get one? Please get in touch. We can pick up!
For those who don’t know, our screened-in porch serves as a free store for the community. It’s a great way for us to share food and clothes with people who need them. But it’s more than a charity project, it’s an anti-capitalist model for circulating resources. Anyone can take things from the free store, and anyone can contribute too.
So often, I step out into the porch and I’m surprised to find it filled with cool new stuff. Or I’ll find it cleaned and organized by someone who stopped by to pick up some vegetables.
It’s great to see folks sharing resources this way. Beyond helping people survive day-to-day, participating in the free store reminds us that we can survive without capitalism.
If you want to check out the free store or have anything to contribute, feel free to come by any time – the store is always open!
Earlier this year, APD tried to make us remove the political slogans we had painted all over our house. No law exists which prohibits us from painting what we want on our house, but because our messages include things like “Power to the People”, “#justice4jamar” and “No Cops”, the police wanted to make an example of us.
But after multiple court appearances and considerable legal expenses, the city has finally admitted that they have no case. All charges have been dropped.
The city’s failed effort to bully us is not just an attack on our freedom of expression. It’s also part of a coordinated effort to “clean up” Edgewood and continue the process of moving poor black people out to make room for luxury homes and condos. So while this case represents a victory, there is a larger fight against gentrification and development in the neighborhood that isn’t over.
We plan to bring a lawsuit against APD. More updates to come!
We got a quote in this deeply researched investigation of gentrification in our neighborhood – particularly the Edgewood Court Apartment complex, which is hated by developers and yuppies for being some of the only affordable housing in the area.
Other neighbors of Edgewood Court such as Marlon Kautz — one of the more divisive figures in Edgewood due to his affiliation with Copwatch of East Atlanta, an organization that monitors local police activity to prevent mistreatment within the community — are appalled by the thinking of some Arizona Lofts residents.
“The character of this neighborhood is very much defined by the people who have been here for a long time, and I think Edgewood Court is part of that,” Kautz says. “I think the perception of a lot of people moving into this neighborhood is that Edgewood Court is out of place. It’s this weird little enclave of poor black people in a neighborhood that is otherwise kind of ‘upscale and friendly.’ And that’s not my experience at all. My experience is that that is the neighborhood. That’s the neighborhood that I moved into, a mostly working-class black neighborhood.”