"Poetry"

"Dear Gentrification..."

Jabari Lottie [JunioR, Manual High School]

The Communities I grew up in are changing...... As I ride the bus through the East Side of Denver to the Westside, I see places of where I used to reside, all altered in so many ways.

Parks turned to lots, lots turned to Skyscraping Apartment Buildings, My great grandmother's old home turned to a modern house that seems built for the Beach and looks like an episode of the Jetsons on the inside.

Everything is changing, the mist cultivating and stripping my communities cultures block by block.

Dear Gentrification, Do you Realize How much you steal?

The Value of our homes taken and destroyed. People displaced and forced to move to Places like Green Valley which truly is just Colorado Projects literally keeping minorities out of the city.

Who do you think you are??

Gentrification has forced myself and many of my family and friends out of neighborhoods we lived in for decades. I believe it is unfair to simply take land that isn't yours especially when you already have more than enough. This is a call to action. Let's stand up for our communities! Stand up for our cultures! And fight for our Land!

I ask of you please cease your spread, as money the antidote to your sickness is all too far from our reach.

Sincerely, Victim.