Fresh Ideas: Boggs Center in Detroit, MI
May 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pm (On Being An Ally, On Organizing)
A Place for Fresh Ideas: Check Out the Boggs Center:
“On Detroit’s east side, in neighborhoods where vacant lots and burned-out shells of former homes dominate the landscape, a radical vision is emerging. It is a futuristic view of urban redevelopment that draws heavily upon the past.” -Curt Guyette, Metro News
Many people think that Detroit is the blue print of the future of the US. By this we mean, that Detroit has experienced massive industrial build up, then pull out, and then urban collapse, losing half of its population, and now, trying to envision a different and sustainable future that puts poor people and people of color at the center of topics such as food sustainability, collective building, and gardening. For some time, at SONG, we have been thinking and learning about what it would truly mean to create a new kind of infrastructure–where land takes back cities, people take back communities from commerce, and we build democratically-led spaces.
At the Boggs Center in Detroit, they are thinking about these things too. That is why SONG sees the Boggs Center as kindred to ourselves.
From the Boggs Center website:
“For nearly forty years, the Boggs’ home…has been a community center and think-tank drawing together individuals and organizations from diverse backgrounds. People from around the world have come to create and discuss visions and strategies relating to local community struggles, workers’ movements, and global campaigns for social justice.”
GO TO: www.Boggscenter.org for more info, and check out their great blog called ‘Unending Conversations of Hope’!
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Do you know about sites of resource that SONG should be getting the word out about? Email us at: Caitlin@Southernersonnewground.org