Reparations Means #LandWithoutLandlords
It seems like everyone’s talkin’ about reparations lately! This week, Congress is set to study the issue of reparations for the first time in more than a decade. Even Hollywood has been talkin’ about reparations thanks to The Last Black Man in San Francisco, an award-winning movie about a young man's quest to retake his family home by adverse possession.
Ta-nehisi Coates recently revisited his 2014 essay The Case for Reparations, in which he described the racist history of the American real estate industry. Coates noted that in 1930, only 30% of Americans owned their own homes; by 1960, more than 60% were home owners. "Home ownership became an emblem of American citizenship." But that emblem wasn't supposed to be awarded to Black folks:
One [home owner] said that his black neighbor was “probably a nice guy, but every time I look at him I see $2,000 drop off the value of my house.” - excerpt from The Case for Reparations
We've been talkin' about reparations too! We co-hosted a Reparations Brunch with the goal of developing more investment opportunities in the Black community.
At our Reparations Brunch, we worked with SURJ to reimagine our own access to wealth, networks, and other resources. It wasn’t hard to reach the conclusion that land liberation is a vital part of reparations.
That’s why we’re working hard to facilitate BIPOC and allied communities to cooperatively organize, finance, purchase, occupy, and steward properties to take them off the speculative market permanently.
If you weren’t able to come to our Reparations Brunch, don’t worry! We have plenty of other events lined up to continue this important discussion:
Upcoming Events
TOMORROW
Q&A with EB PREC
June 18 | 12:00PM-1:00PM | Online Orientation WebinarGet all of your questions answered & learn how you can plug into the movement.Join online or call in at 669-900-6833 (Meeting ID: 641)
WEDNESDAY
Community Owner Circle
June 19 | 6:30PM-8:30PM | SELC Office at 1428 Franklin St.
Project updates for EB PREC Community Owners.
Email info@ebprec.org to RSVP
For a detailed agenda, click here.
In Case You Missed It
Check out our very own Noni Session’s keynote speech at Self Help Federal Credit Union’s “Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is!" Also watch Ojan Mobedshahi’s presentation at “User Worker Owned!”
Wishing you a happy Juneteenth,
Noni, Greg, Ojan, Marissa, and Shira
