The people’s freedom caravan was a great experience!! The chance to learn about and experience environmental/social racism and make a change was just overwhelming and a great occurrence. I had great honor of going on the People’s Freedom Caravan with my friends and co-workers, Josh Horton and Bashar Abdeljawad, and also documented our journey to Detroit!
On our way to Detroit, we stopped in 5 cities and drove through nine states. One of the cities that we stopped in, and touched me the most, was Ponca City, Oklahoma. In Ponca City, we met with the Ponca Tribe and they told there story about being moved forcefully to Oklahoma from there native land around the country and the impact Conoco-Phillips has changed there way of life. They also talked about a prophecy that included us as saviors or something! The day after we arrived in Ponca City, the people of the Ponca Tribe took us on what they call the Toxic Tour. The Toxic Tour was a tour of the Conoco-Phillips Refinery to see the impact it had on the environment. The part that impacted me the most was the toxic tour when we saw these horses that looked bloated. They were fat but you could still see there bones. The genetic mutation that happened because of Conoco-Phillips was extremely painful to see!!
The best part of the United States Social Forum was the Opening March. There were about 16,000 people in the march and just seeing everyone standing in solidarity was just an amazing experience! My Journey to the United States Social Forum on the People’s Freedom Caravan will be one I remember for the rest of my life.
By: Jeremy Jones