New York, NY (1888PressRelease)
November 10, 2008 - Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), in conjunction with the Medgar Evers School of Professional & Community Development, will premiere a scathing documentary showing the impacts of the City’s 2004 Rezoning on Downtown Brooklyn on December 5, 2008. Narrated by author and activist, Kevin Powell, the film shows the stories of residents, business owners and other community stakeholders whose lives and community were devastated by the rezoning and subsequent demolitions and major construction projects. The film also features commentary from prominent scholars, activists and elected officials including, City Council Member Charles Barron, Makani Themba Nixon from the Praxis Project, Neil Smith, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the CUNY Graduate Center, and Reverend Clinton Miller of Brown Memorial Baptist Church.
With an expected audience of over 200 individuals, elected officials, community residents and community leaders, the premiere will be held at the Medgar Evers College Founder's Auditorium at 1650 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. The event will commence at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by performances and a reception.
“We are fighting for the right of this community to determine its own future,” says Beverly Corbin, FUREE Board member who is featured in the film. “For decades, no one – not government and not corporations – cared about Downtown Brooklyn. And now that it’s considered ‘valuable’ we’re not going to stand by and watch families get thrown out on the street so the City can build a parking garage. We won’t let another great Brooklyn community be gentrified, destroyed and displaced just so developers and real estate agents can profit.”
Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) is a grassroots membership organization. FUREE has hundreds of members who are organized to build community power to win exits from poverty. FUREE’s members are largely low to moderate families of color.
###
