We had a great conversation at our annual Board retreat about what we would like to accomplish in our programming in the coming year. We talked about some lofty goals — to turn ideas into action; to deepen our partnerships with community organizations; to activate our collections as integral to our work; to make sure that the labor movement is engaged as we build the capacity “to inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.”
It is exciting to think about how ESFL’s work to support projects and struggles for housing justice can bring these goals down to earth, down to the grassroots.
Early in the winter, we began conversations with our friends at ABC Realty about what we — together — could do to “close the housing gap,” the shocking disparity in home ownership between white Minnesotans (75% of white families are home-owners) and black Minnesotans (25% of African American families are home-owners). They suggested convening a community conversation at ESFL that would bring a range of organizations together: Habitat for Humanity, MICAH (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing), Project for Pride in Living, and Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services for a conversation with East Side community members. Despite a freak snowstorm, more than 60 people showed up and hunkered down for facilitated breakout discussions that lasted an hour and a half. The focus was not on accessing services but on developing, together, an analysis of the problem and identifying some possible solutions. The energy was inspiring!
ESFL and ABC Realty have now planned a series of programs to promote further discussions, discussions which can become incubators for action. We will also present a display of new books, many of them growing out of an exciting project at Verso Books (publishers of such works as Hollow City, Good Neighbors, and In Defense of Housing found in the library!) , to analyze the unfolding of the housing crisis since 2007-2008 and learn from the experiences of activists in a variety of cities. We want to encourage participants in our conversations to explore these and other resources so that they can inform their actions with ideas and strategies which have already been developed.
We are beginning with the next chapter in our yearlong program, “The Labor Movement and …” On June 25, a panel of activists from unions (the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, and the International Brotherhood of Electricians), the CTUL workers’ center, and community organizations, such as the Community Stabilization Project and Jewish Community Action, will discuss “The Labor Movement and the Fight for Housing Justice.”
In July, we will screen three films and use each as a basis for continued conversation. On July 9, we will screen Sold Out: Affordable Housing at Risk, produced by TPT-2 in 2017. On July 23, we will screen another locally made film, Jim Crow of the North (TPT-2, 2019). And on July 30, we will screen Detroit 48202, a new film in which an African American letter carrier leads a filmmaker through his neighborhood which has been devastated by plant closings. After each of these films, filmmakers, activists, and teachers will facilitate breakout conversations.
ESFL and ABC Realty will use National Night Out (Tuesday, August 6) as a platform to bring information and ideas to our neighbors, and to invite them to a broad community conversation on August 13, where we will seek to explore action steps that unions, grassroots organizations, and our community can take to close the housing gap.
We hope you will join us, too.