The People's State of the City

On July 11th, Mayor Michael Hancock held The State of the City address at DIA - a convenient location for literally no one in the city of Denver. Of course it may be a coincidence that the Mayor made the State of the City in a location where in order to attend a person either needs to own a vehicle or pay the $12 there and back light rail fee, or it may just fit into the Mayors policy of exclusion towards the most disenfranchised in Denver. In response to Mayor Michael Hancock’s speech, groups such as Denver Homeless Out Loud, Centro Humanitario, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, People Rising Against Poverty, Fourth World Center of UCD, 9to5 Colorado, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, American Friends Service Committee, Black Lives Matter 5280 held a People's State of the City in Civic Center Park, which in contrast was accessible to everyone. It may not have had a brass band on site but the event did highlight pressing issues that Mayor Michael Hancock wouldn’t: the continued persecution of the homeless with no attainable housing policy, the struggle for immigrant families to stay together, and police brutality towards people of color, were just some of the issues addressed.

"I'm really excited to announce a new program, Denver's Road to Nowhere. This program makes the A-line free for anyone making under a certain level of income, on one condition: once you get to DIA you board a plane and never return."  - Luke Leavitt

"Names like Sheridan, some of the worst Indian killers in this history and we have names dedicated to them in this city. That is unacceptable...This whole city is based on structural racism and the displacement of indigenous peoples." - Sky Roosevelt Morris