Asheville, NC: Graffiti Slogans Appear in Solidarity with #J20 Prisoner & Against Gentrification

September 7th happened to be the birthday of imprisoned J20 comrade Dane Powell. To catch some more info on Dane, check the link here. Instead of just sending a b-day card, it appears that in Asheville some wrote graffiti messages as well.

 

In the photo below, a graffiti message was written on a wall in West Asheville, historically African-American and also home to the working-class Pisgah View and Riverside neighborhoods. It has also been at the epicenter gentrification in this town. The majority of our friends and neighbors don’t appreciate the rapid growth pushing out their family and friends over the years. And we don’t fuck wit it either.

 

Some quick facts on Asheville’s gentrification problem:

Just earlier this year Asheville ranked no.2 in realtor.com’s top 10 list of “The U.S. Cities That Are Gentrifying the Fastest.” The median home price has almost doubled in just 15 years, from 2000-2015. Asheville’s apartment vacancy rate has been considered a city “crisis” in year’s past when it dips to 1%. But breathe easy, because we’re all the way back up to 2.7%, yaayyy…. We won’t unpack this issue here, but it’s a big fucking issue. Anti-gentrification efforts have got to step up here, and quick.

Solidarity with all the J20 defendants getting ready for their upcoming hearings! Stay strong, we’re with you through and through. That solidarity extends to all of the political prisoners of the world – we see you, we hear you, we feel you, we will never forget you. And lastly to those who continue to fight and risk themselves for our movement of a world without prisons, borders, a state, or hierarchy. You know who you are – we appreciate the hell out of you too.

P.S.

Dane Powell was recently transferred to FCI Coleman Low in Florida, where he and tens of thousands of other prisoners in so-called Florida and all along the coastal southeast united snakes now await the impact of hurricane Irma. Let’s coordinate with our prisoner outreach connections to make sure these people are not forgotten about. Look up your local Anarchist Black Cross chapters, prison letter writing groups, etc. and let these human beings know you give a fuck about how they’ll be impacted by these storms too. We know we wont be hearing about it in the news…