A Note from Localized History Project: This zine was donated to us by Aria Hossain and Akash Singh from DRUM YouthPower! We are thankful for their contribution to our archive. The below is their language, unedited and unchanged.
The Jackson Heights Walking Tour is a radical introduction to the organizing history of DRUM and other communities in Jackson Heights to fight for justice, dignity and care for working-class immigrants and all marginalized people. The purpose of this zine is to memorialize the tour and make it accessible for folks to self-guide and lead the tour for themselves. This tour was designed by Aria Hossain and Akash Singh, with the help of many, many people. We put together this tour to capture just some of the decades of organizing that DRUM and others in Jackson Heights have led to fight for justice, dignity and care for working-class immigrants and all marginalized people. We hope that this tour builds connections between participants and the people we meet in the neighborhood. We also hope that the st ries touch your heart and inspire you to stay connected to the movements for justice that define the neighborhoods we make our lives in. What will we do with these stories now that we know them? What is our responsibility to our neighbors and our history?
As we finish compiling this tour, the 2024 presidential elections are days away. Communities like Jackson Heights are already directly impacted by the anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric promoted by facists and centrists. How will we answer the call to keep us safe and organize to protect working people and immigrants?