Gentrification

purchased 47 buildings and 1,137 homes in East Harlem. News of these protests
reached England, Scotland, France and Spain. MJB made a call to action that
everyone, internationally, should fight against gentrification. This movement gained
international traction and also became known as the International Campaign Against
Gentrification in El Barrio.
Cereal Killer Cafe Protest
On 26 September 2015, a cereal cafe in East London called Cereal Killer Cafe was
attacked by a large group of anti-gentrification protestors. These protestors carried with
them a pig's head and torches, stating that they were tired of unaffordable luxury flats
going into their neighbourhoods. These protestors were alleged to primarily be "middleclass
academics," who were upset by the lack of community and culture that they once
saw in East London. People targeted Cereal Killer Cafe during their protest because of
an alleged article in which one of the brothers with ownership of the cafe had said
marking up prices was necessary as a business in the area. After the attack on the cafe,
users on Twitter were upset that protestors had targeted a small business as the focus
of their demonstration, as opposed to a larger one.
San Francisco Tech Bus Protests
The San Francisco tech bus protests occurred in late 2013 in the San Francisco Bay
Area in the United States, protesting against tech shuttle buses that take employees to
and from their homes in the Bay Area to workplaces in Silicon Valley. Protestors said
the buses were symbolic of the gentrification occurring in the city, rising rent prices, and
the displacement of small businesses. This protest gained global attention and also
inspired anti-gentrification movements in East London.
ink! Coffee Protest (Denver, Colorado)
On November 22, 2017, ink! Coffee, a small coffee shop, placed a manufactured
metal Sandwich board sign on the sidewalk outside one of their Denver locations in the
historic Five Points, Denver neighborhood. The sign said “Happily gentrifying the
neighborhood since 2014” on one side and "Nothing says gentrification like being able
to order a cortado” on the other side.
Ink's ad ignited outrage and garnered national attention when a picture of the sign was
shared on social media by a prominent Denver writer, Ru Johnson. The picture of the
sign quickly went viral accumulating critical comments and negative reviews. Ink!
responded to the social media outrage with a public apology followed by a lengthier
apology from its founder, Keith Herbert. Ink's public apology deemed the sign a bad joke
causing even more outrage on social media. The ad design was created by a Five
Points, Denver firm named Cultivator Advertising & Design. The advertising firm
responded to the public's dismay by issuing an ill-received social media apology, "An
Open Letter to Our Neighbors".
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