Friday, November 18, 2011

Detroit Mom Ife Johari Uhuru Wants To "Occupy The Hood"

Uhuru, 35, is one of two core coordinators behind Occupy the Hood, a group that aims to bring the concerns of people of color to the global Occupy Wall Street movement. On Monday, she needed to add a few palliative posts to a debate raging on Occupy the Hood's Facebook page about which issues the group should rally around. She needed to design and print a new flyer for Occupy the Hood's ongoing food and clothing drive for Detroit's poor. She needed to convince a few more businesses around town to serve as collection points for the goods. And, in about 20 minutes, Uhuru's client's hair would require her full attention. The woman was there to have her dreadlocks washed, deep conditioned and re-twisted.
"I'm a single mom, a small business owner, a daughter, a neighbor. I have a lot of obligations," said Uhuru, who is black and lives in Novi, a community about 30 minutes northwest of downtown Detroit. "But trying to foster something where people who look like me, who have the same concerns as me are seen and heard? Doing that, I've discovered a whole new kind of busy."

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