By Evan Martinez, Formerly of NLIHC
NLIHC celebrates our 50th anniversary this year, and from the very beginning, our efforts to ensure affordable and accessible housing for people with the lowest incomes have been driven by residents and tenant organizers. Founded in 1974, NLIHC was meant from the outset to serve as a hub for low-income housing advocates interested in learning about federal housing programs, policies, and advocacy. The first board of the Low Income Housing Information Service (LIHIS) – one of our constituent organizations in those early days – was comprised of low-income people, and its first chair was Tony Henry, a tenant organizer from Philadelphia. Today, tenant organizers in NLIHC’s network continue to play a central role in our activities, participating in federal advocacy, sitting on our board, and advising NLIHC about how to make our practices, events, and policy priorities more relevant to all our members.
Tenant organizing has always been the bedrock of housing justice. From tenement organizing in industrial cities during the late nineteenth century to present efforts to prevent displacement and evictions, tenant organizers have always stood up to advance housing justice. In this edition of Tenant Talk, we explore the long history and the current state of tenant organizing in the U.S. You’ll hear from those with decades of experience, as well as youth advocates new to the movement. You’ll encounter stories of tenants organizing on the local and state levels, as well as those engaging in federal advocacy at the national level. You’ll read about organizers’ work to strengthen disaster recovery, promote rent stabilization, and address source-of-income discrimination, among other efforts.
We hope that as you engage with these articles, the history of tenant organizing comes alive in new and exciting ways that inspire future action and expand your understanding of the essential role played by tenant organizers in the fight for housing justice.