10/9

this parade goes up franklin avenue
and the sounds of the marching bands
enters neighboring homes and
propels one into the street to watch
but
its popularity has diminished over the years
with the onset of gentrification
and franklin ave is no longer synonymous with panamanians

infact
years ago
the panamanian american council
came to our community organization: crow hill
and wanted to co-name our stretch of franklin: "panamanian way"
we opposed it
and it didn't happen...
now,
that seems mean-spirited and perhaps short sighted
but
the panamanian community had done NOTHING to help improve the neighborhood...
though repeatedly asked,
they wouldn't partner with us on any projects
or even pay nominal dues to the organization
so
while a co-naming might have given a sense of history to the area
the reality is
the history franklin is was known for:
drugs and the ensuing gang wars
was actually
a panamanian problem to begin with

i have photographed the women in the center
repeatedly over the years
strangly,
none of those images
are here on fotola