August 14, 2008

Let's Build Together

Posted by Rebecca McDonald at 10:00AM

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(This was originally posted on Rock the Trail -- a project of Rock the Vote and WireTap)

National Night Out: America’s Night Out Against Crime (NNO) reenergized the nation again for the 25th year on August 5, 2008. This community-centered event was initially developed by Matt A. Peskin, the Executive Director of the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). In 1984, (just months after my birth) Peskin launched NNO in Northfield, New Jersey- a small, predominately white community of just over 7,000 people. NNO was a creative way to address crime prevention and bring attention to programs as well as create unity among law enforcement and the community they serve. The first year's nationwide efforts brought out more than 2.5 million people into their streets.

What better way to check what’s going on in the streets of your hood than taking a stroll and hangin’ out for the night? Nothing unusual for us young folks, right? But what about your neighbor? Do you know who they are? Do you know what issues they care about on the block? Do you know if your neighbor is registered to vote? If you answered yes, then you are 10 steps ahead of the game. Unfortunately, most people do not know who their neighbors are, or interact with them much. In this time of technology, we spend a lot of time behind our computers (I mean c’mon now, face it. You’re at a computer right now reading this). We poke our neighbors on Facebook, and leave Myspace “Have a Great Weekend” glitter graphics on pages, but do we really care about our neighbor’s weekend? Do we really value real human interaction?

After a little thought, I decided to leave my last Myspace comment and close up shop, hitting the streets of the Twin Cities, Minnesota!!

I couldn’t quite shake the tech habit yet, so I sent a text message to a couple of my friends who might have heard about some NNO festivities. A few responses flowed in about a small block BBQ, rumors of ice cream and a few community center events. I quickly Googled “National Night Out 2008- St. Paul” and came across a gigantic list of block parties, public gatherings, ice cream socials, and cookouts all categorized by neighborhood. I decided to first peep out what was going on over on the West Side.

Nestled in the Mississippi riverbank in St. Paul by my favorite taco place, Boca Chica, was the Neighborhood House’s First Annual NNO. I don’t recall it being on the list. Actually, what drew me there was the spoken word vibes of Ill Chemistry (Carnage and Desdamona) over the loud speaker, and the hustle and bustle of the basketball tournament in the street. “Hustle the struggle, don’t let the struggle hustle you” was declared on the microphone. Young people rested on the sidelines, bounced in the hoper, and got ready for their dance performances. Even though it was the community center’s first NNO, the grassy field and nearby streets were stirring with change - real action taking place toward solidifying black-white-brown unity.

For many years, the District del Sol has been a growing, predominantly Latino community on St. Paul’s West Side. Patterns across the nation show that inner-city neighborhoods are becoming more and more integrated and diverse. Hmong, African American, Caucasian, Somali, Native American and Latinos gathered together in peace- not thinking twice about the cultural gaps they were bridging, the stereotypes they were dispelling, and unity across racial lines they were solidifying.

Enrique “Cha-cho” Estrada, the Community & Youth Advocate and National Night Out organizer for the West Side’s Neighborhood House stated, “There has been a lot of tension in the neighborhoods with the different races and the whole goal today is to bring everyone from the community together.”

Different from the initial intention of the first National Night Out in 1984, the Neighborhood House on the West Side found its own exclusive meaning: By simply hanging out for the evening, racial, economic, religious, and gender barriers were being shattered- this being the type of vandalism I can stand behind 100%. Forged upon these breakthroughs, a solid foundation built in trust and unity will be home to the next generation of revolutionaries.

Click HERE for more pictures from my adventures on the West Side!