31 South. Redlining Reloaded and Addressed.

Statistics do not convey a human experience like art and stories;

Sometimes, the same happens with words; they can not covey a lifelong making of a “moment.”

During the interview with Penily Ramirez, the Executive Producer for Futro Media, she sagaciously kept returning to the “why.” She wanted to know what motivated Martin Calvino and me to do what we did.

In simple terms, as she put it, “Not that many people do what you guys did.”

What is it that we did? Having been denied a mortgage application due to discrimination, most people would not have filed a complaint with the Department of Civil Rights, painstakingly and painstakingly researching the data available regarding the banking system and creating an art installation to tell the story. Yet, that is precisely what we did.

In particular, Martin, a research scientist, analyzed the mortgage and denial systems for hours, days, and months. We did not stop there; after that, we created an art installation to tell the story and eventually, as I like to say, “own the story on our terms.”

So why? Why did I even bother? In simple terms, human beings do what they do because, to a certain extent, it is essential to their survival. As a human being, I am not that different from others. Fighting back against discrimination is essential for my survival.

That was certainly the case for me. Surviving moments of discrimination is essential to my survival, metaphorically and literally. The Butterfly Effect was operating in me when Mr. Bodor, the mortgage banker, “ asked me,” what’s your zip code?

That question, which was his second question to us, after a very fake smile and a fist bump, would have been innocuous for anybody else.

However, that question resonated with the force of a typhoon within my entire body. That question brought me back to my childhood, to my teenage years, to my adult years, to my moments of homelessness, and caused the “Butterfly Effect” that was about to be unleashed.

To be continued...

The Project is a collaboration between 새싹 L.G. Jusleine Daniel ⭕️🌱 and Martin Calvino.

Portrait by Martin Calvino.