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The Buffalo-Erie Sovereignty Codex
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DEDICATION
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THE CODEX
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CHAPTER 1: THE THEORETICAL IMPERATIVE
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1.1 The Crisis of Extraction: Why We Are Poor
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1.2 The "Solidarity" North Star: Why Regulation Isn't Enough
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1.3 The Strategy: Using Different Levels of Government
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1.4 The Distinction Between "The Builders" and "The Reformers"
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1.5 The Mandate to Build: Creating the Future Now
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CHAPTER 2: RESTITUTION (THE FIRST PILLAR: GIVE IT BACK)
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2.1 Defining Restitution: It’s About Assets, Not Just Cash
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2.2 The Community Land Trust (CLT): Neighborhood Control of Land
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2.3 "Land Back" in the City: What to Do with Vacant Lots
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2.4 Restoring Rights: The "Right to Exist"
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2.5 COPA: Giving Non-Profits the First Chance to Buy
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CHAPTER 3: COMPENSATION (THE SECOND PILLAR: PAY THE DEBT)
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3.1 The Math of Theft: Calculating What Was Taken
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3.2 Direct Transfers: Moving Money from Extraction to Creation
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3.3 The "Fair Play" Law: Stopping Wage Theft
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3.4 Closing the Wealth Gap: Why Ownership Matters
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3.5 Compensation as Seed Money
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CHAPTER 4: REHABILITATION (THE THIRD PILLAR: HEAL THE WOUND)
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4.1 Trauma is a Public Health Crisis
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4.2 The Therapeutic Safety Campus: Replacing Jails with Care
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4.3 The "Healers": Why Social Workers Should Answer 911
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4.4 Education as Repair
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4.5 The Social Service Commons
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CHAPTER 5: SATISFACTION (THE FOURTH PILLAR: THE TRUTH)
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5.1 The End of Denial
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5.2 Monuments and Memory
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5.3 The Power of Apology
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5.4 Changing the Story: From "Rust Belt" to "Commonwealth"
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5.5 Art as Justice
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CHAPTER 6: GUARANTEES OF NON-REPETITION (THE FIFTH PILLAR: NEVER AGAIN)
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6.1 Dismantling the Machinery of Harm
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6.2 The "Guard": Community Control of Safety
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6.3 The "Right to Monitor": Protecting the Watchers
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6.4 Permanent Laws
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6.5 System Change
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CHAPTER 7: LEVEL 1: THE BUFFALO MUNICIPAL SOVEREIGNTY ORDINANCE
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7.1 Stop Funding Harm: The Divestment Mandate
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7.2 The Public Banking Commission
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7.3 Participatory Budgeting: The People Decide
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7.4 Ranked Choice Voting
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7.5 The "Right to Grow"
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CHAPTER 8: LEVEL 2: THE ERIE COUNTY GREEN DEVELOPMENT & TRANSIT ACT
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8.1 The Green Development Bank (GDB)
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8.2 The Hotel Tax
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8.3 The Dignified Separation Act
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8.4 Public Power: Taking Back the Grid
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8.5 Free Transit
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CHAPTER 9: LEVEL 3: THE NEW YORK STATE SOVEREIGNTY OMNIBUS
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9.1 Legalizing Public Banks
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9.2 Good Cause Eviction
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9.3 TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase)
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9.4 Supporting Worker Co-ops
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9.5 Gig Worker Rights
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CHAPTER 10: LEVEL 4: THE FEDERAL GREEN ECONOMY ACT
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10.1 Unleashing Public Housing
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10.2 The $180 Billion Investment
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10.3 Banking Freedom
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10.4 The Civilian Climate Corps
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CHAPTER 11: LEVEL 5: THE GLOBAL & INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY ACT
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11.1 The Missing Link: International Solidarity
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11.2 The "Human Rights City" Mandate
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11.3 Indigenous Sovereignty and Land Back
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11.4 Climate Reparations: The Global Solidarity Fund
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11.5 Direct Diplomacy: Bypassing the Gatekeepers
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CHAPTER 12: DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY (THE INTERNET)
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12.1 The Digital Divide
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12.2 The Buffalo Digital Authority
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12.3 Building "B-Net"
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12.4 Data Privacy
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CHAPTER 13: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY (THE FOOD)
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13.1 Ending Food Apartheid
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13.2 The Public Grocery Store
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13.3 Keeping Bread Affordable
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13.4 Supporting Local Farmers
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CHAPTER 14: LABOR SOVEREIGNTY (THE WORK)
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14.1 Fair Pay
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14.2 Hiring Co-ops First
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14.3 The Zero-Barrier Model
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CHAPTER 15: CONCLUSION (THE INTEGRATED STRATEGY)
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15.1 Summarizing the Codex
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15.2 The Role of the Writer as Architect
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15.3 The Battle Against Entropy
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15.4 A Call to Action
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15.5 Final Statement: Total Sovereignty
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BACK MATTER
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The Glossary of Sovereignty
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The Legislative Checklist
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About the Author
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About the Buffalo Writers' Co-op
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Final Call to Action
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