Sharon Underwood’s journey into housing advocacy began when she moved from her home into apartments where she witnessed rampant tenant abuse and legal violations. Many of her neighbors were unaware of their rights and lived in fear. Motivated to make a change, Sharon reached out to the Texas Tenants Union (TTU), leading to her involvement with the organization Texas Housers and her eventual role as a Fellow with the Houser Academy in 2022. Sharon’s dedication led her to assist tenants in filing code violations and actively working to improve their living conditions. Her experiences included eye-opening trips to Montgomery, Alabama, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she drew parallels between historical injustices and the contemporary struggles of tenants.
Sharon firmly believes in the power of elections to drive change in housing policies. She remembers hearing about Georgia having a ban on giving voters food and water in polling lines. In Texas, the existence of legislation hostile to tenants’ rights underscores the need for renters to vote out landlord-friendly politicians. For Sharon, elections are a crucial avenue for tenants to voice their concerns and push for tenant-friendly laws.
Encouraging electoral engagement among tenants has been challenging. Having grown up in a politically active household, Sharon naturally values voting, but she recognizes that many renters feel disenfranchised. She cites a study by Apartment List that highlights the underrepresentation of renters in American politics and shows that only 49% of renters voted in the 2016 presidential election compared to 67% of homeowners. Renters constitute about 34% of the U.S. population, and their collective voting power could significantly influence housing policies. Despite this potential, many renters do not vote, often feeling their votes don’t matter.
Sharon argues that if renter votes were insignificant, there wouldn’t be efforts to suppress them. Historically, discriminatory laws have suppressed the votes of marginalized communities to keep them from exercising their power. Sharon saw a discriminatory voting test for African Americans displayed at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, that included questions that were impossible to answer, like “how many bubbles are in a bar of soap.” If African-Americans during the era of segregation couldn’t answer this question, they weren’t allowed to register to vote. Sharon argues that modern voter suppression of renters and low-income communities parallel this historical disenfranchisement, keeping these communities from expressing their political will. This is proof of the power of voting.
Education is key to overcoming these challenges. Sharon stresses the need to inform tenants about their voting rights and the importance of their participation in elections. She employs various strategies to encourage tenant voting, including personal reminders, assistance with vote-by-mail applications, transportation assistance, and social media to highlight the significance of voting. The continuous rise in rents and the lack of supportive policies should galvanize renters to vote. To strengthen renters’ rights, it is essential to elect officials who align with tenant values and beliefs. Sharon believes in the power of a united renter electorate to bring about necessary changes in housing policies and advocates for bold and vigilant participation in elections. By organizing and encouraging tenants to vote, Sharon continues to fight for housing justice and electoral engagement, believing that every renter’s vote counts and can drive significant policy changes.