@justicecenterenelbarrio
A MOVEMENT
The Justice Center En El Barrio (in the neighborhood), is a community center in East Harlem that strives for social justice and community organizing. Also known as the PSL (Party for Socialism and Liberation), the Justice Center has organized events to help bring attention to certain causes such as women’s equality, the crisis in Puerto Rico, and helping tenants who reside within NYCHA gain a better quality of living. The Justice Center helped establish the Isaacs Holmes Coalition and aided them, alongside residents of Fulton Houses, in combating the NYCHA system.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
“It's really been my political home for the past five years,” says Monica Joy, who got involved with the center when she was just 20 years old. “I remember...being like 16 and calling myself a socialist” says Joy. She grew up watching Micheal Moore films, sparking her interest in a different type of political/societal way of living. Joy, who is a forum coordinator at the center, recalls her earlier memories, organizing events such as the liberation forums. “Our liberation forums are these community forums where we’ll discuss different...political topics, like things that are happening in the news, like particular issues of struggle.” Joy has worked alongside Emilie Rose and Gabriela Silva, who are also forum coordinators at the justice center, in planning events that hone in on community building. “It's just been like a really beautiful, beautiful place of just so much comradery.”
“My first introduction to organizing was just as a volunteer,” says Gabriela Silva, who got her start in Oregon. Silva was involved with “different groups that were facilitating...community forums and town hall meetings... I would go... and then started attending all of these protests that were happening in the hood, and they were like, huge.” At the time of Silva getting involved with different political communities, groups, such as Black Lives Matter, were starting to form. “The community is most affected by, you know, police brutality, police violence... and so that was really moving to me and I just was like, I want more of this now.” It was through attending these meetings and protests that Silva came in contact with members from the PSL and hasn’t looked back since.
“I came to New York for college more than 15 years ago,” mentions Emilie Rose. During her time in New York, she’d gotten involved in activism, specifically for public housing. She recalls a time when she was granted a scholarship to Venezuela. She was able to meet like minded people who were interested in politics. “People there would ask about what I was involved in as an activist in New York City and I would talk about housing. They were like ‘okay, that's cool. But like, then what? You organize the tenants and then what?” These people Rose came across in Venezuela challenged her way of thinking and how to move forward with combating a system that had been failing their people for decades. “You need something bigger,” they told Rose. “Like it's not just housing, it's this whole system... that has to change.” Once Rose came back from Venezuela in 2011, she decided that in order to make some sort of change, she would have to immerse herself within the community, bringing her to the PSL.
"THEY DESERVE BETTER"
During the march to Gracie Mansion, many residents voiced their opinions on the unjust mismanagement within their homes. Many called out the debilitated conditions that have caused numerous issues, especially for the thousands of children that have become ill with lead poisoning. The Justice Center did not hold back either. “The system like really robs people of their humanity,” says Joy. Rose chimes in with a similar sentiment.“You deserve to have a stove that works, you deserve to have a roof that doesn't leak.” She continues, “Like it doesn’t matter whether you live in NYCHA or not or whether you paid your rent or not.”
Joy believes that by raising children within these circumstances, it doesn’t give families a fair chance to establish a functional home. “It's so normalized because it's like our whole thing is ‘you just have to work harder, you can get up here’...it’s a lie,” states Joy. “Everyone is closer to losing a paycheck and then losing everything they have.” Joy feels as though, when parents are stressed, trying to make ends meet, it’s not healthy for a child to see. Many residents who marched to Gracie Mansion are single mothers, bringing their children to stand alongside them, gaining knowledge about the system that doesn’t serve them properly. “I think about like the children growing up in NYCHA, like with the Holmes Isaac's coalition… It’s really dope. It's a bunch of bad ass moms bringing their kids to the meetings...They deserve better than this.”
PRESENT DAY
2019 was a tremendous year for residents, organizers and allies. Between rallying and marching, protesting and calling out the administration; residents, organizers and allies have definitely accomplished one goal off their list: having their voices heard. While the journey continues, some setbacks have caused a shift in how organizations, like the Justice Center, fight for injustices.
@justicecenterenelbarrio
Covid-19, caused by Coronavirus, had begun to spread late 2019, beginning in Wuhan,China. As the months passed by, Covid-19 began to spread like wildfire. The World Health Organization officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11th. Since then, states, such as New York, have declared a shut down to slow down the process of Covd-19, through what is known as social distancing. Social distancing is the method of physically distancing oneself from other people in order to slow the spread of the virus. Large gatherings are highly restricted and as of lately, everyone is required to wear face masks.
With the changing of the times, new issues have arised for NYCHA tenants as well as many New York residents. Due to the state shut down and social distancing, many people who reside in New York City are out of a job. 3.2 million people in the U.S. have applied for unemployment benefits and 188,929 of those who did apply, came from New York City according to a report April 3rd. Many New Yorkers are now faced with a tough decision: risk your life to make ends meet or quit your job and lose your home?
With the changing of the times, new issues have arised for NYCHA tenants as well as many New York residents. Those who continue to face mismanagement within their buildings are struggling to practice safe social distancing as well as maintain healthy spaces. Rose explains how broken elevators make it hard for residents to leave their apartments. “It's a huge safety issue...even if just one elevator is out, it means that folks have a crowded risk of...being caught in an elevator with somebody who might be affected with Covid-19.” Rose continues “And there have been water outages, hot water outages... during this time where it's like, if you're supposed to wash your hands to stay safe from Covid-19, like how can you do that if your water is out?”
Aside from rallying and making noise, Rose indicates that the Justice Center has also been diligent on calling folks from the community, making sure they have everything they need such as ensuring they’re aware of places that are granting free food delivery services to those in need. “In terms of meeting, trying to help...support with like immediate needs as much as possible, and then like these sort of bigger organizing things around, like fighting for repairs, fighting for adequate sanitation in NYCHA,” it is important for the Justice Center make sure people are well taken care of all around, not losing focus of what's important.
@justicecenterenelbarrio