4:00 to 4:45pm |  Registration, Dinner, and Networking

4:45 to 5:00pm | Opening Remarks by Graham Hughes, Co-Director of City Roots Community Land Trust

5:00 to 6:00pm | “A Gift From A Stranger” Performance

A Gift From A Stranger: A Story of Community Renewal, Friendship, Family Affirmation, and Healing Personal Trauma is written by Christopher T. “Amunubenheh” Brown and directed by Almeta Whitis.

Description: When a homeless woman detours from a mission of vengeance into a long-established neighborhood sweet shop in Rochester’s 19th Ward, the sense of community grounded there allows ancestral healing that traces its roots back to Ancient Egypt. 

• Almeta Whitis – Producer, Director, Dramaturg, and Actor
• Jade Hodges – Technical and Lighting Director
• Aisha DaCosta – Actor, Dancer, and Singer
• William Jones – Actor and Dancer
• Wendy Low – Freelance writing coach, Teacher, and Editor

Almeta Whitis, founder of Chanticleer Productions, has been provoking insight and building community through story, dance, theater and song across 7 decades. She is pleased to support this effort at nurturing healthy communities in her hometown.

6:00 to 7:00pm |  Q&A and Closing Remarks by Calvin Eaton, Founder and CEO, 540WMain, Inc.

10:00 to 12:00pm | Community Fair

This is a collective space to reimagine a community without gentrification. Community partners will offer hands-on experiences for people and offer services that are rooted in solidarity, community organizing, activism, and alternative economies.

• City Roots Community Land Trust: Testimonies of City Roots Community Land Trust tenants and members.

12:00 to 1:00pm | Workshops

Workshop 1: “A Black and Indigenous Perspective of Gentrification:  Resistance, Reclamation and the role of colonization, capitalism, and white supremacy in perpetuating displacement from our ancestors to us.” Presented by Halima Aweis and Akoni Kwa Amani.

• To own property in AmeriKKKa is to own a piece of Indigenous Turtle Island land, and is one of the most sought-after aspects of a capitalistic society. It is considered an acme of achievement or a racially privileged birthright through inheritance. Gentrification is a norm that has been managed for generations by federal, state, and local housing policies. These symptoms include colonialism, forced relocation, mass rape, mass incarceration, and genocide of African and Turtle Island and Abya Yala indigenous peoples.

  As a result, many of our ancestors, elders, and children have become refugees in our “own” land or on that of our indigenous benefactors’. Gentrification is a racist capitalistic tool used by affluent Whites, which impacts the cost of living of poor and working-class peoples, many of whom are multi-marginalized by a society that is predicated on inequality around perceived race, gender, class, culture, etc. Gentrification not only prices us out of our neighborhoods, affecting our physical safety but also that of our mental and spiritual wellness.

  Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the tools and motivations used to perpetuate gentrification from our own bodies to our own neighborhoods. This thoughtful session will include a brief oral history of gentrification through broken US treaties with Indigenous peoples, genocide, racial covenants, heir property, land grants, redlining, federal, state, and local racist housing policies, religion, and terrorism, along with local case studies and the tools marginalized people historically used to resist and dismantle gentrification.

Workshop 2: “Power Mapping Workshop: Unmasking Gentrification’s Allies.” Presented by Stanley Martin and Kelly Cheatle.

• In this engaging workshop, we’ll delve into power dynamics and uncover the hidden connections behind the push for Business Improvement Districts. We’ll map out influential figures, corporations, and stakeholders supporting the BID proposal. Drawing inspiration from abolitionist principles, we’ll explore how these forces prioritize profits over community well-being. By understanding the web of interests, attendees will be empowered to challenge gentrification, recognizing that the fight against BIDs is part of a broader struggle for justice.

Workshop 3:“Bountiful Blocks: Systems and Practices for Building Community.” Presented by Jonathon Jones and Gwen Olton.

• Join Gandhi Institute facilitators for an experiential session where we’ll learn from, and share with, one another some of our favorite practices for building and nourishing our support systems and community. In this session we’ll cover relationship-strengthening practices, setting up support systems, gift mapping, and more. We intend for all of us to leave this session seeded with ideas, with an increased sense of hope, and with a few more tools we can use in our grassroots groups or on our own streets!

1:20 to 2:20pm | Workshops

• A vision of our schools, institutions and wider community that has overcome systemic oppression has become a pipe dream as leaders are struggling with how to both heal the harm that structural and oppressive barriers continue to cause and champion change. As a Community Freedom Leader in the 21st century we are called to repair, restore, heal, and deepen our relationships to ourselves, each other, and the larger community.

Workshop 2: “Community Engagement as a Tool for Mitigating Displacement as a Result of Gentrification.” Presented by M. Ann Howard, Nancy Maciuska, Helen Dumas, and Mckenna Erwell.

• In January 2022, a New York State Park at High Falls was proposed, which would provide 40 acres of park to the communities of Rochester. In anticipation of the park and the impacts of this project, Genesee Land Trust has created a survey in partnership with New York State Parks to gain feedback from the communities surrounding the proposed park. Mckenna and Helen will discuss the plans for the State Park at High Falls, the survey, their progress thus far, and several other topics about the Proposed State Park at High Falls. 

Workshop 3:“Abolitionist & Anti-Capitalist Mechanisms to Combat Gentrification.” Presented by Halima Aweis.

• In this immersive workshop, we invite attendees to explore the intricate connections between gentrification, capitalism, and policing through an engaging, scenario-based game. Two teams will take on the role of community resource funds, equipped with a budget to combat gentrification challenges. Drawing scenario cards, each team will confront issues like skyrocketing rent prices, cultural erosion, and displacement. Here’s the twist: they’ll then choose from a set of abolitionist and anti-capitalist mechanisms, each with associated costs, to address these scenarios. But not every mechanism will be a perfect fit, requiring strategic thinking and resource allocation. The audience, representing the general community, will have a voice too, voting on which mechanisms they support. This mirrors the importance of community engagement in real-world decision-making. By the end, attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the challenges gentrification poses and the creative, community-driven tools available to resist its impact. Join us for an interactive journey into the heart of urban development and equitable change.