News

On Saturday, November 17, more than 100 community members from the city of Buffalo attended the Second Annual Anti-Gentrification Summit. During the month of November, the Our City Coalition has hosted events that challenge the dominant narrative of ‘Buffalo’s Renaissance,’ illuminating insidious economic development practices that pivot on private interests rather than people. The summit, held at East High School, was the keystone event in what has been named “Anti-Displacement Month.” As low-income communities of color continue to bear the brunt of gentrification, the summit enabled directly impacted residents to engage in conversations around creative resistance, community-driven development, and solutions-based policy.

Community representatives of the Our City Coalition introduced the themes and goals of the summit with moving personal testimonies on how they channeled their own experiences of displacement into advocacy. Following their opening remarks, a keynote address was given by Jacqueline Patterson, Director of the NAACP Environmental & Climate Justice Program. Throughout her keynote and Q & A session, Patterson presented inspiring examples from her work with intersectional movements and community-led projects that resist the harms of gentrification.

The event featured interactive workshops and presentations on a variety of topics: immigrant rights; structural housing discrimination; tenants’ rights; climate justice; community safety; youth movements; and collective ownership for community wealth.

This dynamic gathering of activists, educators, and community members reveals the struggle of many who have been excluded from the city’s progress, as well as demonstrates the potential of collective action to build our city on principles of inclusion and equity.   

The Our City Coalition is grateful to its sponsors: CEJ Buffalo, Justice & Opportunity Coalition, Justice for Migrant Families, the New York Immigration Coalition, Open Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, PUSH Buffalo, Public Accountability Initiative, Ujima Company, and the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization. 

Find out more about the Our City Coalition here.