- hey, i'm valerie june. coming up on reel south . - [chr] there'something wrong with this system. these people, they needed a place to start. - [valerie] a booming nashville grapples with the human cost of development. - where you gonna go? where you gonna run to? under the bridge, to the mission? but this is the point. we homeless. we ain't got nowhere to go. - [valerie] and a stalwart tent community unravels on the brink of eviction. - i'm not taking a thing off this hill. you want it?! it's yours! destroy my world! - [protestors] no housing! no peace! livinon thetreets! - [verie] foow along on "s" housing! no peace!

coming up on reel south. - [narrator] major funding for reel south was provided by the national endowment for the arts, etv endowment, and south arts. additional funding for "saint cloud hill" was provided by: [laid-back blues music] [musical vocalizing] ["man done wrong" by valerie june] ♪ [construction crane) [whistle blowing]

[car engines whirring] - bearing the cross of many. just one man. i ain't nothing. i'm just a 115 pound crazy ass new yorker with a big mouth and a dangerous pen. that's all i got. [somber ambient music] ♪

[wood splitting] ♪ [people chattering] ♪

[wind billowing] having a hard enough time with that. the mirror was shaking. look at that. look at that all come off! vern, you could be next. - [laughs] yeah, okay. yeah. - i could get it from there. - hey, look what i found. - what'd you find? oh, i get my choice! - if you need, you can get all three of them if you need to. - oh, that's a pretty purple one. - yeah, purple. i'm sorry i didn't have a pink one for you. - i'll hold off on the purple. [birds chirping]

oh look, timing's perfect. - hey! happy birthday! there's a meeting yesterday, i just found out about it, with the mayor's office, the puic defenders, thdistrict attorneys, some people from the homelessness commission, and some others, and they were talking about fort negley. megan plans to move forward with closing fort negley on april 15th. what we're very concerned about and we will be meeting about, and organizing about, and woing with you guys on is trying to sayt is not okay in the city of nashville to evict people with nowhere to go. so we're gonna fight it. - it's all they got. it's that or the doggone park bench, or bushes somewhere, or hiding under the bridge where they keep throwing them in jail for going under the bridge.

they get under people when they're down. we've had people going through chemo and the community around him would take care of him when he come back from his chemo. - yeah, and you got support for them so they're not alone. - what's really going on? is it a plan maybe formulated for after everhing does not go right? do y'all have a direction to go in or is it grasping straws time? - like outreach workers, you guys residents, other people. what direction do we go in? - [kelley] so it's a dividing line. they're already going one way, like i figure it's already been decided - i'm not taking a thing off this hill, so you can tell them my eight tents, my decks, all my tools, my clothing, my tables, my barbecue grill, my bicycle, take every bit of everything that i have 'cause i'm not taking a stick off this ground! you want it? it's yours!

destroy my world! - but chris, what you're saying is it unjusfor them to close this. this has been a stepping stone for a lot of people and you would rather hold a mirror up to how unjust it is and make them remove this than take it down becaus this is worth fighting for. - you know what? casualties of war. i'll take the loss. ♪ happy birthday to me ♪ i'm still on fort negley ♪ you're not kicking me out ♪ of that, there's no doubt - one of the terms chris used yesterday when i was talking with m. cod be put on a probationary period of like let's help you clean up this site as long as there's n violence and stuff,

you can exist on a probationaryeriod. - i don't think i'm at the place where i can vote for and the establisent of a sanctioned encampment, d the continued exploration of sanctioned encampments. - blic land needs be returned to the public. for instance, the park, but it would be inappropriate to return those people on that public land to the streets. that we find another solution. and i think it's up to us to find out, to recommend what that solution is. [train honking] - if y'all don't have anywhere to put anybody, what's the reason for ms. barry sending y'all out here? is that something for her to say, face to say oh, i'm at least trying to do something?

- i do know there is planni talks going on, but i don't know. - okay, so what can i do for you? - you tell me. what's the situation? how do you feel? - i did quite a bit of time in tennessee justice nter prisons. close to 20 years. and they kind of put me out with nothing. so let's say i can't work up enough money to get me a place. and april 15th come around, what am i gonna do? i work pretty much close to where y'all holding meetings down on van buren. so now if you move me somewhere way out to the airport, how am i gonna get to work? i have to be at work at five o'clock in the morning. buses ain't running then, so guess what? my job is shot. they pushing everything that they think is ugly or unseemly out, and it's kind of upsetting. you know, once i get something going again, i have to stop, pack up, and move.

i'm not moving. [chainsaw rumbling] [people chattering] - [all] i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and juste for all. - amen. - amen. our trails are gonna look beautif. we got two more loads of mulch coming. we have the potential to really have something amazing and the mayor and her crew are gonna be blown away.

this will work. i don't see any other. if anybody's got a better plan. - hey, hey. [whistles] hey, hold up. what do y'all think about this idea? i mean really, what do y'all really think about it? - [chris] yeah, let's get some input. - can we have some honesty around the campfire? hey, do y'all care about this place? - [female speaker] yes, we live here. - okay, if you care about this place, then it's time for you to do something about it. we can protest, march, something. we don't have [beep] but the tents we live in and they finna take that from us. where you gonna go? where you gonna run to? under the bridge, to the mission? but this is the point. we homeless. we ain't got nowhere to go. so if you want to have what you got, y'all say y'all like the security. we do have security ouhere even though we a't got [beep]. we're a community.

[faint speaking] - yeah, it was! [laughs] [chris] damn, that pile was so big this morning.

- [male speaker] it was! - it was a mster wood pile! we got a little bump in the road. - april the 15th on the closing of fort negley. - [male speaker] start of enforcement-- - where did the day come from? where did the day come from? - i think the work that's happening with six weeks notice or more is consistent with the recommendations around what we've provided. and there is ctinuous work going on around alternates, but the deadline is the deadline. [chainsaw stalling] [heavy breathing]

[chainsaw rumbling] [chainsaw stalling] - bugger! - hey, we got about three or four more of these down there we can get. we don't need to cut no more of them. [chansaw stalling] [yelling] [chainsaw stalling] [yelling] [heavy breathing] [chainsaw stalling] [yelling] [chainsaw stalling] - vern, try to start this! i'm killing myself, here.

oh, vern! just shoot me. i got one little hole that's left. i give up. they win, i lose. they win, i lose.

- made sure that was in there good. got 'er done. [chris groaning] - how many of you guys have no place to go on friday? you don't have somewhere you can go stay? you would be looking at another campsite that's also illegal. how many people have nowhere to go on friday?

can you count that? and all the other campsites are illegal, right? - mm-hmm. - they're not legal. - and the housing situation, there's long waiting lists everywhere right now, right? so let's keep talking and thinking about how you guys want to respond to that - father god, dear lord jesus, we come to you right now with humble hearts and a touch of fear, and doubt, and trepidation what's gonna happen. but we're joining together in unity and we're joining together in you. keepers to the kingdom, that's what we're trying to do, bring your kingdom here on earth. we love you and we come to yowith grateful hearts. help us to be grateful for all that you give us. in jesus' holy precious name, amen. - [all] amen.

[fire crackling] [protesters chanting] - [male speaker] raise hell. [protestors chanting] - i hear them. - [male speaker] it's for us, chris. - that's one way to win friends d influence people, i guess.

- no justice! - oh my god. look at this turn out! - bigger turn out downtown, i heard. [laughing] - [male speaker] i think we're gonna have quite a crew staying up there. - i know, i gonna start setting up people's tents, i guess. this is too cool. this is too cool. look at this! i gotta go say hi and welcome and thank people for being here. [motorcycle engine rumbling] [people applauding] but thank you, thank you all for your support and for being here tonight. you made this my best doggone friday night of my seven years here in nashville! i look at steve, the poor man, he had this life all together and he had a catastrophic operation. no insurance. wipes out his whole friggin' bank account, everything.

didn't think he'd ever end up on the streets. lost everything. is the man worth helping? come on, he's was there for homeless people all his life. help the guy back up. and it can happen to anybody. - that's right. - i've seen him get off crack. i've seen him get off heroin and meth, seen him get clean because he's hanging out with good people who are doing the same thing. people coming out of prison, you know how hard it is for them to readjust to society? living in communities and learning social skills. th will help them fit more properly and more readily into society. soe did good tonight. we really did good. we showed unity. we showed solidarity. that's a 50 cent word. [laughs] and we had a lot of fun with good people, broke bread together and enjoyed it. it was all good. thanks again. i'm captain.

i'm the crazy captain. [laughs] [birds chirping] it was a regular street festival out there. steve, it was a street festival. it was the best night i've ever had here in fort negley. - [steve] we've got some good things going. we've kind of got to just turn this around a little bit and i think there's hope. - all they wanted to do is find out who's still here after the-- - [steve] that's all they want, that's all they want. - they didn't want to write no tickets. - [steve] no tickets. - they just wanted to know who was still here. - it's a small group of people who have to figure out what to do and we buy time. we get more time. giving the idea we're working with you like trying to find a solution. and if we go with that sort of attitude rather than hey, those other guys,

let them go and out protest. the kids have had their fun. now, the adults are gonna figure out what to do. - [chris] okay, it's close to-- - [steve] 'cause otherwise. you gonna get some rest? you gonna eat? - no, we're gonna listen to a prairie home companion, npr. [laughs] it's five o'clock saturday night. - five o'clock. i was wondering like it's five o'clock somewhere. what's going on, you know? - it's five o'clock sunday night. we're gonna listen to a prairie home companion. great radio show. we do it on saturdays. [laughs] - yeah, he kinda got me hooked on it. - [chris] that's it. no, that's not it. that's it. it's just starting. turn it up. yup, just started. - [radio announcer] coming to you live from town hall here in west 43rd street. - [chris] new york! - [radio announcer] it's a prairie home companion. presented by public media and produced by-- - [chris] that was fun. ♪ i'll never love again

all put the big old scare into people. they came out with that radio program and-- - [chris] you weren't around for when they came out with it. - [male speaker] wasn't it? - he wasn't around. you'd have to be 70 years old to be around when it came. he saw the movie about it. - [vern] i mean, i didn't see the movie about it. they actually said that it caused a big scare in the world. - [chris] yeah, there was a movie about it. - [male speaker] oh my god. [audience applauding on radio]

[footsteps] [somber ament music] - what's your first name? - vernon. - vernon? - yeah. - [officer] is there an address on your id? have you ever been arrested before?

that's just a yes or no answer. - [male speaker] yes, sir. - [officer] okay. - [officer] if you'll sign here. it's not a mission. - i know. - [officer] i'm saying i explain to you the charge and that you're gonna receive a copy of the citation. the charge is camping and the court date is wednesday which is the 20th. and it's at 2:30 in courtroom 5d of the a.a. birch building. - [chris] we're doing the right thing. you know, no matter what anybody says, we're doing the right thing by people, by americans. - working through a solution at some point. you know it, i know it. everybody knows it. thargument's old water. didn't see that one coming.

they had no other cards to play. i guess i'm gonna testify. right is right and wrong is wrong. wasn't exactly what i wanted to do. i thought we were over it. [laughs] i thought we had won. oops! miscalculation on that one.

[winds billowing] - do you hear that? 'cause i thought it was coming in this way, but it's coming in that way. [tractor engine whirring] - come on up here. come on and take care of this here. they're up here taking care of this kind of stuff right now. they're saying they're gonna pick up trash, but i don't wanna believe that 'cause they got too many people out here. they've even got the cops out here. we need you out here now, everybody. [tractor engine whirring]

[chainsaws rumbling] [people chattering]

- [chris] oh my god. - they told us come pack our stu. we have to be out today. [train honking]

[people chattering] - i have nobody thinks i'm a coward for leaving. i'm not a quitter, - been telling you for months it's coming. like you didn't know, jackass.

i don't really think they'rgonna donything. - [male speaker] yeah, they are, kelley. - they're gonna keep stripping. - okay, so you got all the answers then. what are you crying about it for? - [chris] i ain't crying, i'm leaving. - will you shut the [beep] up? - [chris] i ain't worried. - i can't tell. you crying about it. sound like you're worried. - [chris] i ain't worried, i'm gone. - well, take your ass home. - [chris] i'm gonna. - bye. he ain't left yet? toodles. [laughs] - [chris] all yours, 'kay? - [jeff] they're gonna mow yours over too. - who's all mine? who's all mine? - it's all yours. - i never wanted it. - [chris] well, you got it. - what are you concerned about what they're gonna do with mine? you ain't got no investment over there. - [jeff] i'm just sayin' youe acti like they're n gonna do nothing except go around the tents. they're not. - you ain't got to say though. - [jeff] huh? - you ain't got to say though. what is there for you toay? - [jeff] i can say ything i want to. it's a free country. - not really. you didn't want to have no part in any of other discussions we had other times. - [chris] we don't need to fight amongst each other, kelley. - [kelley] so now, all of a sudden-- - i'm just expressing to you that they're gonna take-- [beep] your stuff too. - [chris] silence is golden, jeff.

- well then go somewhere else and quit arguing here at our camp! - shut up. what you talking about? what you talking about? what you talking about? huh, you do all of this. what you talking about? that's what i thought. - [chris] kelley. this is why we're getting thrown out. - [kelley] that's what i thought. - [chris] we're under a lot of stress because of the situation. - but we don't need to attack each other at all. we don't need to attack each other at all. we're in this thing together. it's solidarity. - [male speaker] there ain't been no solidarity, there ain't been none, none whatsoever. [chris crying]

- i saw what they're planning for the whole forest, every inch of it. i saw what they're gonna do and i imagined it in my mind. and i don't want to see it. i don't want to see it. i don't want to see it. i don't want to be here to watch it happen, watch it go down. - get some rest. - i'm sorry, my brother. i hope i'm not a failure. you're not. we only got so much fight in us. - i've been up here long enough and i know they're crazy, but i kind of care a little bit, a little bit, but that's kind of like, it's been stepped on too many times to where i'm getting to where i just don't care. so i'm not gonna be mean anymore. i'm not gonna keep doing that. it's wearing me out to do it.

i don't like to do that. either i'm gonna break it or it's gonna break me one way or the other. - [chris] they got jackie and jim's place? - gone, gone. - what are we at now? one, two, three, four, five, six. - [vern] one, two, three, four, five, six.

yup. - [chris] d denyce? i don't know, she might be gone. of all the people to still be here. you know, you're the only woman on this hill. - really? - when are you leaving? - i don't know. i need to find somewhere to put my stuff. - [cis] did anybody say anything about helping you out of here? - no, not loading me up and taking me anywhere, no. - what do they want? do they want us to die? - and even rico was in the tent and they were taking that down and he was in there sleeping. it was early this morning.

- [chris] but they didn't take it, did they? - yeah, theyleared everything out. - [chris] and where's he staying now? - i don't know. he doesn't have no place. - now, he has no place to sleep. kelley, vern, dwayne, barry,nd me. seven stranded castaways here on gilligan's island. six guys and one woman. sorry i couldn't do more, denyce. - i know you did the best you could. we all have. i mean, you know? it's not nobody's fault.

- okay, if anybody asks, dumb chris changed his mind. he ain't leaving on tuesday. - i'll let him know. - [chris] grant wouldn't have given up and if he did, lee would have been winning. - it's time for me to give up on this area maybe, maybe.

i just can't imagine i all just gone, disappeared. love you, later, bye-bye. you might make it, tree. you're a big tree, you're a big tree. - jim, i need your expertise and your favor. i need a fire pit up here. - for what? you can't light a fire. you can't light one. - i don't care about lighting. i just want it for looks. - they're gonna mow it down. all three of mine, they're gonna destroy them. they're gonna mow them down, chris. it's gonna be a grass hill. no trees, nothing. - [chris] i want that fire pit. if i have to build it myself, i'll build it myself. - you start a fire. - i'm not starting a fire! i'm cleaning this place up so it's the most beautiful place in the forest. i quit yesterday. i came back today. i'm not gonna stop fighting 'til the end. i know what they plan on doing. i felt it.

but it's not over yet. we got a lot of support. they're counting on us. [train honking] thank you, jeremiah! god bless america! you got [mumbling]? - yeah, yup. - fill 'em up! keep 'em coming. one load of chips. can you do that for me, dwayne? one load of chips. can you do that for me?! - [dwayne] did i not say i'm not trying to please you, chris? - i knowi know

- [dwayne] did i not say that? - you guys just want to be saved, but you don't want to chip in anything to make it happen. - [dwayne] what you're doing is not gonna save us, chris! that's why i'm not helping you! - that's what everybody said. not gonna change a thing. - [dwayne] everybody sees it, but you don't. [chris grunting] our leader! - [chris] i got an idea. music soothes the savage beast. ancient wisdom. - [dwayne] unless you got the mozart, i ain't calming down! [upbeat country music] [train honking]

[somber ambient music]

- hey. the way i see it, guys, it's looking like this things are gonna play out the way they play out and we're gonna be [beep] outf luck.

- do you think we've been relying on god too much or is that stupid to even think that? - god always wanted-- - because i don't want to be. you know what i'm saying? - he wants his people to rely on him. - but we gotta meet him like halfway or something. - we do our part, but we take the good with the bad and we accepit as coming from his hand because he's got a better plan, a bigger plan that we can't see. you know, every bad thing that ever happened, okay? - just counteract it with the good. - and it always comes back to a good and it all comes down to god saying you don't remember all the times that i did get you through? what, you think i'm not gonna get you through this one? - [jeff] yeah, but we're imperfect human beings. - where's your faith? that's right, but our faith is supposed to grow with all of the things. you know, they saw the parting of the red sea. their faith should have grown. it didn't. - well, i guess the basis of me asking that questn was, well, i know the answer

will probably be yes in my case probably. i haven't done enough, have i? - only you can answer that question. that's between you and god. i can't answ that question for you. i can't say whether you've done enough or you've done a little, but you're here right now, and you've got right now, and you've got tomorrow, and you've got your future that you got, okay? and the present that you got. you know, whatever's done in the past, whatever's not done in the past is gone. - i believe that everybody is born into the world the same. some of us have higher or s to take care of ourself than others, but i believe everybody's got something. if they find it, they're very good at it. okay? so i think free will, your will to get better and to survive,

i think free will would erdo destiny. - [chris] whatever you got is what's in the future, at's tomorrow, what's tonight. that all you got. and this joint. and it's gonna be a good joint. that's what we got. [laughs] [somber ambient music]

- [officer] we talked to you this morning though, you know? - [denyce] yeah, but you dn't tell me - i told you tay was the last day and we-- - [denyce] last day for me to get things together. - [officer] and we agreed to pick it up, and they were here. - i will go berserk if you go in there. please, please. - turn around and put your hands behind your back. - see! - turn around and put your hands behind your back. - arrest me, man. this is not fair. why when i'm following the rules? - alright, can i go in there and get a shirt for you? - no sir, no sir. - you want to go without a shirt? - please don't go in there. - alright, i won't go in there. - please, i'm asking you! - i'm not. come on. let's go.

♪ once i had a tent on rocketar ♪ [lghs] ♪ got kicked out of tennessee ♪ fort negley, tennessee - well, my brother. ♪ ain't got no more tent [laughs] - oh no! ♪ the police took it from me - what are they telling you?

- what are they telling me? they're done playing with me. it means that all in all, sooner or later, we all have to negotiate with the inevitable. they wanted this land so bad. they were gonna get it. [somber ambient music]

[chainsaw rumbling] [somber ambient music]

never liked you much anyway. hey, you guys did good. no hard feelings. you guys did what you had to do. - take care. - let's get out of here.

[machinery beeping] your honor, several years i've plead not guilty to be able to come to court and present my case. now, my arguments are moot. they carried out what they were gonna do without ever coming to court. they've taken my home. there was no solution ever found.

these peoplehat were on that hill. they were thrown out. they were given them a hotel room for two wee. i saw no justice in this and there's something wrong with this system. these people, they needed a place to start. they had that. i'd spent years developing this. my right to due process was a week overdue. i have a problem with that. i have a real problem with that and i've lost everything. [somber ambient music]

how much fun would this be? how pretty would this be? listen to the water. gurgling brook. - [vern] babbling brook. - babbling brook. look at this, vern! look at this! could i pop a tent up on there instantaneously like? sweep it out, clean it out, make it happen? - no problem. only problem you'd have is how you took, hey, speak of the po-po. - come on down.

hey, officer. [mumbling] - [officer] what are you guys up to? - well, personally, they've pretty much taken down [mumbling]. - [officer] yeah. - i'm checking out this area. - if i can get you guys in here setting up tents and stuff, if they allow it-- - [chris] you'd like it, wouldn't you? - it would be better than what goes on back here. that's why i came down here. you guys got the creek right on the other side. - i seen it, oh my god. but we could do it right. - yeah. - what do you think? there's a possibility, huh? it's plausible. - [officer] it's not in the best location though. - no, but i think we could bring something good. we could bring something good. - it's worth a shot, you know? okay. - [chris] thanks for checking on us. - take it easy, guys. - hey, i like your tattoos. - thanks, my man. - i'm the captain. i'm down, but i ain't out. - [officer] i got you. - why not have huge picnic area for community felwship and to invite the rest of the community

to join with us, break bread? [somber ambient music] - want more reel sth stories? stream our films on pbs.org. join our southern conversation th @realuthds

faceboo twitter and ina. be sure check out reelouth shos onne or on faceboo [yeah! [group cheering] ♪eah, yea yeah ok. [laid-back blues music] ["man done wrong" by valerie june] ♪ - [narrator] major funding for reel south was provided by the national endowment for the arts, etv endowment, and south arts. additional funding for "saint cloud hill" was provided by: ♪ ♪ be more pbs

his revolved around changing the structure of the system that's programmed for disaster. i'd like to introduce david through some of his own words excerpted from his forward to my last book dreaming the future. david is an amazing right structural change requires tossing overboard many of the foundational myths of the modern world. the myth of lordly human dominance over nature the presumes that we know enough to manage the planet even though we can't manage the back forty. there's the myth that ignorance is a solvable problem