The result of the point in time of families experiencing homelessness on the night of Wednesday, January 28, 2015, in Portland, Gresham, and Multnomah County. 41% were said to be “people of color” A term that is archaic and erases the special needs of black Americans as other cultures that simply have melanin with different concerns. While this percentage cascades through these sentences you have to ask yourself what if I were crammed into this P.O.C (People of Color) grouping which ignores me and as result erases my special concerns culturally as a homeless person. You have to wonder why the gatekeepers of this term are doing this to you. Who does this 41% speak to individually in this grouping? And why is it used for categorizing the homeless in politics and media? If this labeling affects you, have to ask yourself and wonder who will advocate for you in your plight and special fate of being black American and homeless. This is a way to homogenize and raffle your culture in a homeless fishbowl class system. When will your raffle ticket win you out of being homeless? This erases the special and private problems you face as Hispanic American, Black American, Native American, etc. Grassroots advocate mainstays in those groups will let you know that too! They advocate for their individual cultures and rightly so. Get away from the judgment calls on how they ended up on the streets. Indeed, No one should have to go hungry in Portland or The United States. Maxine Waters found her way to curse out black American homeless people that were simply asking for help and she used the F word towards them. They were expecting her to understand. Is this the type of behavior you’d want to be reciprocated to you as a black American homeless person?
As a homeless black American would you enjoy the systematic labeling system P.O.C to erase your special needs?
Local change is good, but this is a national push. If you would like to change this continuum, please click the link below:
By Curtis Dunlap
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