Out of the Way! The Gentrification of Francisville, Philadelphia

Check out this new documentary about gentrification in a North Philadelphia neighborhood covering the intersection of real estate, police, prisons, drugs, slavery, colonialism and the extraction of natural resources through displacement.

Ruby Sanders moved to Philadelphia in the 1960s after escaping loansharks in the plantations of South Carolina with her husband and their first 7 kids. In 2016, after living in her home for 50 years, she was evicted from the house because of gentrification in her neighborhood.

Her, her grandson Speedy, another young man from the neighborhood, Yusuf, and several other neighbors tell us more about how rich white people moving to the neighborhood is transforming their community. They also explain how gentrification is part of all the racist violence their community has been suffering throughout history. From the so called “war on drugs” to police brutality and from mass incarceration to public schools being shut down, this community is being pushed “Out of the Way”.

We have uploaded this video directly to youtube because we want it to be screened and presented anywhere and everywhere people deem appropriate. We want this video to be used as a talking point, but more importantly as an organizational tool.

There are many different factors involved in the gentrification of communities around the world that are all too often not included in discussions around why. This is not an academic or an intellectual perspective on the issue. This is a community based perspective on how communities of color in particular are being criminalized and displaced from their neighborhoods for profit.

Combative Communication along with the community members from Francisville interviewed in the film agreed to put “Out of the Way” online so that people could screen it and use it as a tool to share this experience, motivate communities to organize, and contribute to the fight against gentrification. Please let us know about screenings or organizing efforts in your community. We would love to support how ever we can.

Like the film?  Check out related documentary Gangs in Blue