flowers_and_bullets flowerock  Leigh Found it! -- "Does anyone remember “red lining”? That was the practice of banks and other lending institutions that outlined neighborhoods where people of color would not qualify for home loans as a way to keep them out of said neighborhood, or the practice in many large cities in this country that would stop collecting trash, maintaining roads and other infrastructure and would not loan money out to the residents for home improvements in certain areas so that the neighborhoods would descend into blight lowering property value. Once the value had dropped significantly many people left and sold their properties a below market prices. Many of these neighborhoods were older communities in the inner city. Once the people left those neighborhoods they went from being ghettos to being “HISTORIC” neighborhoods”. “Barrios Historicos” . “Historic Core” and such. Suddenly the property values skyrocketed. Infrastructure that had been neglected for decades was repaired and maintained properly and many working class families were priced out of their own neighborhoods and communities. These things were very real. They are not made up or imagined. This was a one way street meaning that not everyone could move into a white neighborhood back in the day, but the barrios in Tucson did welcome everyone . They were working class enclaves where a family with a consistent steady income could raise a family , live in a decent home, and have a good quality of life regardless of your race. In Chicano communities there were white families, Black families, Asian families who could maintain a decent quality of life. Another fact that is often overlooked is that economically these families carried those communities through the difficult times. Mexican families often opened up small businesses. Restaurants , “tienditas”, repair shops. there were seamstresses, and carpenters that helped family and friends improve or expand their homes . We were a very communal people, much more than we are now. We preserved our culture, traditions, music, and art in a way that most of America did not, This made our communities very colorful, festive. and comfortably insular. My mother , Amelia , who was borne in the little adobe home that still stands at 1647 W. Delaware in Barrio Hollywood back in the 1940’s along with her brothers and sisters, talks about here upbringing. “we were poor but it didnt feel like it, everyone worked. Picking cotton in Marana, in construction, in the mines and in many other things. The barrio was a safe place, there were places we were not allowed to go much less live in so we cherished our community where ANYONE could come and live. ” And thats just it. Our culture is not a fashion statement or a political statement. The barrios and barrio life were just that a very real way of life, a very special and unique way of life. I imagine that its very similar to older African American communities in new Orleans, Los Angeles, in Places like El paso, and countless other places. I can see how it would be attractive to people who were raised in tract housing, by strip malls, where no one talked to each other and where a very tall fence or wall separated them from their neighbors. Those places made for sterile environments. Barrios, despite their many problems ( I dont like to romanticize the places) still provide a very human, very communal experience. Something that often went contrary to the Me and Mine mentality of many people in the United States. To the people just “discovering” these communities, I say Welcome. Its important to remind you that before “sustainability” became cool, we were already practicing it. Before growing your own food became all the rage, we were already doing it, Before “hacking” of any kind was popular , we were already improvising and living in a manner that did not harm the earth, the air or the water. We walked everywhere , we were commuting by bicycle, we were carpooling out of necessity. When a family in the community was low on food, we feed them. When a couple welcomed a new child into the world, we got together and help build a new addition to their home. We not only grew vegetables in our gardens, we also grew cannabis and even poppies for medicinal purposes ( there was no abuse of this medicine). We did not do these things for profit, we did it out of necessity and love for each other. Interestingly enough white people from rual areas in the United States lived in our communities because they shared very similar values to Indigenous and Mexican families ( there was also discrimination amongst what we perceive as “white people” ). They had a special connection to the land, self sufficiency was admired, expected and taught to the young. They had a strong work ethic and a deep rooted commitment to their families. Back in the day if you could make an adobe brick, you could have a home, provide shelter for your family without signing away your life to a bank or a corporation. If you were not afraid of a little hard work, you could supplement your families meals with fresh healthy home grown food. When it was too hot to sleep inside in the summer nights, your family could sleep outside because there was no AC or even swamp coolers. Everyone did it. In the winter the humble adobe walls kept your family warm around a wood burning stove or a “chiminea”. The simple but delicious meals of beans, nopalitos, home made tortillas and sun tea filled you up and made you happy. On your way to work you carpooled with your neighbors. Our homes were painted in bright colors, music could be heard often walking through the neighborhood. All these things happened because thats who we are as a people. To the homies from Flowers and Bullets. Thank you for maintaining those traditions and practices. You know as well as I do that its something that we have always done and will continue to do. Thank you for sharing that knowledge. It was never about profit, no one ever got rich doing these things, at least not in our neighborhoods, or to look cool, or to feel superior or more enlightened that every one around you 151110 what's it to you? who go blather from