/futures jan 1 '17
Uncertainty isn't the problem. The problem is what we do with it.

The stories of manifest destiny and colonialism are diseases, namely spoken through white, male bodies. They belong to nobody. Decolonization means not letting someone else speak an intention (in-tension…) through you. It means not trying to rewrite someone else's story with a story that wasn't yours in the first place (that narrative was rewritten onto your ancestors long ago). Decolonization means resisting all efforts to be un-storied.

My personal life’s passion is captured in the sentiment, "You have the power to create your own story." I want everyone in this city to understand that they are already living out this sentiment, more so here than any other place I know. I'm not from here, but that's why I fell in love with this city. Community. Self-storying. From the murals that decorate the city landscape, to the thriving urban agriculture scene, to the many hustles that make up each neighborhood and block, there's a lot of power here.

That's why Philly citizens are resilient. Empowerment means being aware of the power that you possess and express, and living fully in it. I want everyone to own their power and not be distracted by the endless, subtle incursions of authoritarian forces into (and onto) their stories.

Colonization is an incorrect incursion into a reality older than history. It's a virus - a mental disease. Through the lens of futurity, we can heal it. Imagine.

We been here. Healing. We been here. Dreaming the new.

Own it loud, own it quiet, own it however you do.

It's 2017, y'all. Let's begin.

-Marlon MacAllister
Philadelphia assembled Mobile version