Activist and musician Tef Poe and the Black Men Build (BMB) organization say distributing food in the community doesn’t mean as much if you don’t feed people’s souls too.
“It’s almost like generational wealth. A lot of this stuff is based off power. A lot of people think money is power, but people are really the commodity. People are power. There is safety in numbers.” – said Corey Black, a St. Louis-raised activist, and musician.
The St. Louis BMB contingent recently hosted a Feed the Block grocery distribution in partnership with The Salvation Army Midland Division and the City Mission Collective. One hundred boxes of groceries were distributed in less than two hours.
“A lot of people can give away food, do this, do that, but for us, if it’s not organized and pushing our populace of people to an organized mass, then it’s almost a waste of time,” said Poe.
“I believe it’s going to be the start of something that we’re going to try to really spread across the city, hopefully, and region, once we can really get things rolling right.”
The Salvation Army provided the grocery boxes, assisting Black Men Build in its goal to mobilize African American men to affect social change. The group also works to “undo injustices from a harsh economic and social system, particularly in urban areas, according to Poe. Anyone can join the BMB movement, and the organization doesn’t limit itself to African American men.
“Since 2014’s Ferguson protests following the death of teenager Michael Brown, women have done an outstanding job moving public opinion,” Poe said.
“What we’re saying is we want to find ways to bring brothers back to the movement, to stand side by side with the women. Get the work done and show up and be impactful at places, knowing that, a lot of times, men have done harmful things in the community through the vices of this world being a patriarchal world.”
The Oct. 9 event under a steady light rain drew more than 20 volunteers, including people from throughout the region. That group included one of Black Men Build’s leaders, Corey Black, a St. Louis-raised activist, and musician who served in the Marines during the 2000s.
“If all of us know how to lead, at least we have the mindset to know how to teach the generation to know to lead,” Black said. “It’s almost like generational wealth. A lot of this stuff is based off power. A lot of people think money is power, but people are really the commodity. People are power. There is safety in numbers.”
Black Men Build does regular street sweeps in north St. Louis. In addition, the organization has a food pantry, sponsors Black Teens Build, a chess club, diaper distribution, back-to-school activities and winter coat clothes drives.
“We’re here for the nourishment,” Black said.
“Anything that isn’t growing is dead. We’re just trying to make sure that the community stays fed.”
For more information on The City Mission Collective, go to www.citymissioncollective.com, or for more information on Black Men Build, go to www.blackmen.build.
