Never ran, never will.

That was the mantra of Brownsville because, as a kid, there was nowhere to run.

Brownsville is in the southeast section of Brooklyn that is too far from the luxuries of Manhattan, and yet, too far from the suburbs of Queens and Long Island. So with nowhere to run, we had to fight. We had to lock in and figure out how to survive.

That grit and determination is what you would see when you looked us in the eyes. You’d see the frustration from being under-served coupled with the belief that all we needed was ourselves. In Brownsville we would go outside and play skelly, manhunt and coco-levio as a form of escapism and in order to build trust and fellowship. Our skin was bronze because of genetics, but then became golden because of the sun. And as we stepped over crack vials and affectionately greeted crackheads, we packed away the pandemic of addiction in our community because there was stability in familiarity. But this was yesterday.

Today, we are unpacking our anxieties and realizing the manufactured systems of oppression. And in realizing structural improprieties, it’s become alarmingly obvious that our community survived purposeful design defects. Brownsville was a factory town engineered with an algorithm that under-estimated the beauty, resilience and brilliance of the diaspora. And so, as my brothers and sisters of Brownsville have emerged as a phoenix from the ashes, new perspectives and opportunities have arrived. But are they here to join us or to replace us?

Tomorrow is in question as we are witnessing a global investment into Urban America. Some are fearful of the changes coming to Brownsville and fear that affordability will leave with the color of the community. However, with white people, art exhibits, coffee shops and tech investment coming into Brownsville, it’s incredibly important to remember a guiding principle of any community: Spaces are only defined by the people who occupy them.

Old worlds end and new worlds begin everyday. And while much remains the same, the world is changing. There is nowhere to run. So let’s lock in and figure this out, Brownsville.

Never ran, never will.