Greetings, Blessings, and Boons:

My name is Khonsu X, and I’d like to introduce you to my parents, Elizabeth and Harold.

They were married in 1982 and 8 years later, I was born in Germany, while they were stationed overseas. After 30 years of active duty in the Air Force, my father retired. My mother remained in the reserves, and they bought their first home in Harrisburg, PA. For the past 26 years, they raised me there and built community in the area.

My father is 80 years wise and my mother is 71 years young. When Covid hit, my partner and I felt called to hunker down close to family in Harrisburg. We arrived with our trailer and a transient ethic of being outside as much as possible.

Harold and Elizabeth delighted in having “the 12” home – 8 paws, 4 feet -- as we arrived with Dutchess and Penguin, our ESAs. As the weather warmed, we celebrated Juneteenth and my parents’ birthdays in the yard.

During this same time, our family came under increased police scrutiny, driven by the Township and harassment by yt neighbors, including false accusations, invasion of privacy, and stalking. Non-traffic citations turned into summons –trying to address the citations turned into financial extortion and delays by contractors.

On July 26, 2021, four years of that harassment came to a head, culminating in my mother, Elizabeth, being subject to police brutality. My father, Harold, could have died due to memory difficulties and elder neglect, after being released to the streets of Harrisburg from the court with no ride home. The police intentionally withheld specific information on their whereabouts for hours. Below, I’ve included a short clip that cannot tell the full story of the trauma visited upon Elizabeth.

What you are unable to see in the video is that my partner and I were held back by police with tasers drawn, unable to intervene until she was already dragged from our property. While I can’t speak on the events in detail, due to potential legal ramifications, I’d like to tell you how my parents are doing after that horrific day, and why I’m here to ask for yr support.

My mother is fighting felony-level charges and we would like to take legal action against the Township and Police Department. We need help with criminal and civil legal fees, including a lawyer and the many court fees heaped upon the accused.

Asking $10,000 for starting goal.

Elizabeth was physically brutalized through over 6 hours of confinement – shackled, handcuffed, and banded. As a result, her medical conditions have been exacerbated and my mother, who would always hop in the car and drive away, hasn’t driven in over two months, at the time of this writing. She has been subject to X-Rays and CAT Scans. Her doctor has ordered aquatic therapy; however, in the time of Covid, and with her complicating condition of COPD, exposure risks are high. Furthermore, the abuse experienced by my mother has made walking and running difficult.

We are asking for help in financing an Endless Therapy Pool that would allow Elizabeth to do aquatic therapy from the safety of her own home. --- $65,000

Speaking of the safety of home, the events of July 26th made clear that the time has come to leave, or at least provide a reprieve from the systemically racist enforcement of local code ordinances. After over a decade in what they described as a diverse neighborhood, my parents watched other neighbors of color move due to arbitrary complaints about issues like parked work vehicles, dogs barking, or the use of wooden boards as wheelchair planks.

When new neighbors moved next door, citations began mounting over menial concerns, like the repurposing of tires as flower planters, “overgrown grass” (not recognizing we choose not to mow our clover, violet, and ivy ground coverings, along with cultivated mugwort and perennial flowers). The yard is a garden and oasis of tree coverage for a thriving ecosystem of pollinators, birds, squirrels, and bats. The yard is full and busy with cookout set-ups, gardening spaces, an outdoor library in a converted trailer, and salvaged sculpture art materials. This yard is why Elizabeth and Harold were brutalized by the police – for using their land as they desire to support their family.

My father is currently fighting non-traffic citations totaling over $5,000, including a municipal lien on the home my parents worked hard to own outright. His memory isn't what it used to be, so I've been representing him.

We intend to hold on to the PA house and fight back against the subtle ways in which gentrification, code enforcement, fines, and police overreach push people of color out of their homes and communities. A donation of $5,000 will support Harold in this fight and grant him peace of mind in his elder years.

Because our PA yard supports such a diverse ecosystem of trees, it has been decimated by the spotted lanternfly and emerald ash bore infestations. $3,500 has already been spent this year for tree care. We are seeking funding of $7,000 to remediate the land and continue caring for Elizabeth’s beloved trees and gardens.

Ultimately, this fundraiser will support our family in finding a healing sanctuary in a place where nature is accessible and people are truly free to tend their homestead as they desire. My parents, partner, and I are buying an old farmstead in VT where we can all rest together without constant state oversight and harassment – 13 acres ready to be sustainably farmed, with clean air, and few zoning restrictions.

We need yr help with closing costs totaling $15,000 and moving expenses totaling $5,000 to transition both Harold and Elizabeth to Vermont.

Funds up to $50,000 over our initial ask of $107K will go into maintaining the 1860 farmhouse and starting the Black-led farm as an autonomous space for Black and queer people healing from state-sanctioned violence.

Funds beyond $50,000 over our initial ask will start a neighborhood mutual aid fund based in Central Pennsylvania for land and infrastructure remediation, such as broken fencing or tree care, as well as township fines and court fees related to property code citations. We already have a mutual aid relationship with some of our Black neighbors, who are no strangers to yt neighbors harassment through the police. We're dedicated to changing that dynamic.

Help us raise $107,000 for Black Veterans supporting Intergenerational Queer Family! Fight the system, stand up to the cops, provide healing and safety! We need you.

Stay tuned for updates! Thank you for taking the time to read our story.