Before they gentrify you, show them who you are.
Fuck the red, white and blue.
We’re black, brown and come in different shades too.
Our blood seeps into this stolen soil.
Our ancestors’s back bones are the foundation of this so called great country.
Where we live; we’ve built these communities with our bare hands.
You try to come into our safe haven, fuck shit up and try to make us follow your demands.
We march through these streets and you try to clean us out.
Gentrification.
Genocide.
They both coincide.
You’ve tried to kill us and we’re still alive.
Resilience doesn’t die.
Before they gentrify us, let’s show them who we are.
Fuck the red, white and blue.
This is black and brown power.
And fuck you too.

*The opinions and ideas expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the opinions of The Bronx Brand*

Ashley Effrece is from the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx and grew up in the Throggs Neck projects. She loves the Bronx and considers it a damsel in distress. Her mission is to defend the Bronx, and help promote it’s culture, truth and light. She loves that the Bronx is raw, beautiful, gritty, resilient and so are the people. Bronxites are leaders, fighters, and winners. “We are the strongest New Yorkers I know.”