Big houses. Flashy cars. Fast credit. Fashionable clothes. All part of the American dream. At least, that’s the line we’ve all been sold. The truth remains that too many of us have become accustomed to the good life, leaving us vulnerable to changes in another people’s economy. Despite the increasing gap between the numbers of employed and unemployed Blacks, many still believe that, in the end, the government will come to their rescue.

What happens when that doesn’t happen? What happens when America’s so-called middle-class Blacks find themselves unemployed and on the verge of being kicked out of their homes? And what happens when these families who have paid into the tax system most of their working lives are forced into the streets by the very government they’ve helped to sustain?

Have we already forgotten what happened in the aftermath of Katrina? Or do we figure that could never happen to us, because we have decent jobs and don’t live in poor neighborhoods? The fact that we pay our taxes and stay out of trouble will ensure the government treats us with the same inalienable rights as others, right? Well, what if we are wrong—dead wrong? Just as wrong as those in Katrina, but more wrong because we are under the illusion that these are different circumstances and we are different people.

Tent Cities: The Black Sheep of the Family

Currently, there are tent cities all over America. Some talked about in small circles, some not but, most all, places that government and media dare not shine too much light on because many more Americans might grasp the seriousness of America’s economic state.

While media plays see-saw with the minds of daily viewers, those with their ears to the ground know that America is moving closer to the brink and that the sheep are already falling off the cliff. Still, there are those of us who continue to do the things we’ve always done—buying houses, clothes and cars, and thinking and believing that it will get better. But better for who? And when?

How many of us are candidates for tent cities and street living because we haven’t prepared? How many of us will be able to survive such conditions and keep our right mind? How many of us have banded together and formed groups to not just weather the coming avalanche, but to build something sustainable and long-lasting? These are questions we should be posing, especially those with children or elderly or disabled parents and relatives.

A collection of tent cities are listed below, some still in existence, others forcibly shut down by government that sees them as nothing more than the black sheep of the family. It pays to keep in mind that government, for the most part, has been unresponsive to those living within these encampments.

Tent City Listing

• Must Read! Miami, Florida (Also visit Take Back the Land.)
   
• Athens, Georgia
   
• Camden, New Jersey
   
• Los Angeles, California
   
• Outskirts of Ontario, California
   
• Portland, Oregon
   
• Reno, Nevada
   
• Sacramento, California (long-term tent city)
   
• Savannah, Georgia
   
• Seattle, Washington
   
• St. Petersburg, Florida
   

Nandi Asase Yaa