Why are we occupying space?

By Ariana Lima

Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors, when asked why she believed there is an ongoing perception that  Black folks do not occupy outdoor space in the same way white folks do, responded; “If you say over and over again that Black folks don’t like parks because they’re not in parks, the park service people begin to believe that and the Black people begin to believe it themselves…It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, to a lot of people’s satisfaction, quite candidly.” 

Black communities have been led to believe that they do not have the same right to access public space as our white neighbors, that strangely enough land our ancestors worked/toiled/flourished and died on is not for our use. It is not true friends and let me tell why! 

Black folks’ relationship with the land goes far beyond our enslavement and into our rich history on the African continent, it navigates through our traumas that seep into the soil, and it moves our bodies through different abilities and fears to call upon us generation after generation. Our bond knows the obstacles we face, it knows the pushback to Black bodies occupying public space as if we belong there (because we absolutely do), and yet it continuously asks us to make room in our lives for grounding, for joy. 

We occupy space because there is joy in community grounding, there is resistance in joy, and there is healing in resistance. We occupy space to make room for our children to do the same, always and in all ways. We occupy space because we must hold the white people in our communities accountable to solidarity in public, to fighting white supremacy at each juncture, and unlearning racism through actions. We occupy space because our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our spirits DESERVE!

Move+Occupy is the call to action for us all, for Black folks to occupy space PROUDLY and for white folks to stand in solidarity with them doing so, publicly and visibly.

We’ll see you outside!!