So I braved the poetry and the “wine bar” scene and came away quite energized by this gathering of Eastsiders; people that mostly come from a history of having land stolen, not willing to accept our name be taken as well. It’s late at the moment and I have to get my feo rest but I wanted to post this video so you can all get an idea of what went down in BH. (I hope to post more on this event tomorrow.)

It seems some people have had issues with the title of the event, as they think it might be inappropriate. Where you from? – that inescapable loaded question of my youth. What they don’t understand is the reality of how non-gang members experienced the question, having to say “I’m from nowhere” just to avoid getting beaten up, or worse. Intimidated to being from nowhere. Which is no different when newcomers to the city tell me, not ask me, that the term that has defined our reality is suddenly their domain, that they’re gonna tell me about some “fluidity” and their new logical reasons why I’m, yet again, from Nowhere. Yeah, fuck that.

I was especially awed by Dewey’s piece because the last time I spent much time with him was at Hollenbeck , where we were friends cuz of our fondness for Heavy Metal. I’m glad that all these years later we still have something in common: an understanding of where we come from,  and pride for our Eastside. Nothing like shared experiences to teach you the value of something as simple as a term.

Eastside, presente!