Watch: The Bronx in The 80’s

In this brief clip put together from a variety of sources (movies, etc) you get a visual representation of what the South Bronx looked like in the 1980s and when you look at it now in 2016 you see that this version, which still lives on in the minds of many, is gone.

I can vividly recall the smell of the rubble scattered throughout the neighborhood; the smell of decay, wet, burnt wood, and dust.

It was the power of the people of The Bronx that resurrected the borough. Blood, sweat, tears created a space that we cherish so deeply after being abandoned by government and pretty much everyone else.

What you see here is devastation but what came out was forged in fire. What was plentiful was life in all that misery others saw. Arts, music—so much was birthed during those times perhaps out of a sheer will to survive just as life clings even in the most unlikeliest of places.

Perhaps this is why we fight against outside interests and gentrification so hard because we rebuilt The Bronx when no one cared about us. This is why you’ll continue to see us fight against displacement and everything else that comes with gentrification because where were they when we were left to our own devices?

Anyway, The Bronx is beautiful and always has been even. Even through our worst years there was beauty to be had and seen.

Thanks to Dawn Michelle aka @cullin738 on Twitter for tagging us in the video!