Interview with Elder Jewelean Jackson
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today, Jewelean. I want to start off by asking if you can tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved in the housing justice movement?
My name is Ms. Elder Jewelean Jackson. I am a longtime educator, now pushing 80 years old as an elder. I added Elder to my name because I want to help my peers recognize that from the cradle to the grave, we still have value.
I was born into homelessness as an army brat. My father was deployed three times: during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. I was also the eldest of eight siblings. My mother was left across the pond to figure out if we would live out of our station wagon or return to find housing in the Alabama Delta.
Now one thing to note about trying to find housing is that people always talk about housing being affordable and safe, and choice in housing; but often they neglect the quality of housing. So as part of my charge, I have always advocated for quality housing because I saw the negative impacts housing can have on someone when it isn’t quality.
While in adulthood, I had experienced many evictions and even a foreclosure, during which my house was sold to a white man, and we can clearly see the discrimination in that circumstance.
However, I got pulled into the homelessness arena when I was the chair of the board at the University of Minnesota’s Community Healthcare Center. It was in this role that I recognized a very prominent intersectionality between housing and health.
I’ve been involved in this work since. I know the resources are there to eradicate homelessness tomorrow, we just need the political will.
What do you think about when you hear this issue’s title, “Collective Strength Through Adversity”?
Well, I’m a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel. I am also a firm believer in collaboration and partnerships. Teamwork makes the dream work.
There is an African folktale where a spider overcame a lion by coming together with other spiders and spinning a web around it, meaning that we’re all in this together. When it comes to the public health crisis of homelessness, we created this reality and it’s going to take all of us to undo it. We are all in this together. We created this reality together. It will take all of us to fix it. There are so many mitigating circumstances that impact an individual’s experience, we cannot point fingers at individuals. A lot of people do not think about homelessness until it impacts them and their loved ones directly. How can we wake people up and get them to understand that it is part of all of us to undo this stigma?
How can being involved in your community play a role in collective liberation and healing?
Well, I think there’s a role to be played for everyone. When ICE invaded Minnesota, I had to set boundaries for myself and be clear that I couldn’t be in the trenches like I was during the George Floyd protests. However, I partnered with my daughter, who is a vegan chef, to cook and deliver food to people on the frontlines. We have to keep our eyes on the collective prize, and to make that happen we all need to play a role in the movement, regardless of what that looks like.
Now, I’m not sure I’m going to be around to see much change at this point in my life, but I have a feeling in my heart that what I’m doing is right and I’m proceeding accordingly.
I also think that making a movement intergenerational is so important. I’d like to think I bring a little bit of wisdom, and the young people bring the energy. Learning is a two-way street. It is clear to me that I do not come with all the answers and neither do the youngins, but hopefully we can all show up with an answer or two.
I was once told that as elders we must give what we have to the movement and get out of the way of the youth so that they can fly. Will they do it the same way we did it? No. Will they make mistakes? Yes, but let’s not forget years back we were also those young folks who made mistakes.
What are some lessons you learned organizing/advocating in your community that you would like to share with other communities across the country?
I think I’ve spent the bulk of my life organizing, be it internally or formally. I initially came into organizing through Saul Alinsky. It became clear in my work that the next step after organizing is to mobilize people. One cannot effectively happen without the other. I’ve also learned that no matter what I’m going through, my pain, story, and narrative can always serve to assist someone else’s betterment. For example, when my home was foreclosed on, I had 28 days to get all my stuff out before leaving. If I hadn’t been there to learn that I wouldn’t have been able to share it with others going through foreclosure.
I’ve also learned that no matter how dire my situation can be or has ever been, I still have choices. For example, during one of my evictions, I was offered a unit that I could afford but ultimately turned down because of safety issues. People rebutted me, saying “well this is better than nothing, this is better than what you have” and I would say, “perhaps.” But I still had options, I still had choices. I can still think for myself and make decisions accordingly. We did find a home to our liking shortly thereafter, which speaks to the sense of empowerment I had at the time. Even though I was going through something traumatic, I was able to say, “this is not what I desire.”
Empowerment is also an important element in the homelessness community, so they understand that they have the strength as they face the highs and lows of life.
We must also empower the infrastructure so the people with power and money can invest in communities, instead of blaming individuals.
The other thing I’ve learned is that policy and legislation is good, but we should also be aware of and celebrate the small wins. These wins usually come from people who have lived experience, since they often have the strength to fight when the time comes.
We must also focus on building wealth through homeownership. Rental assistance is important but if we only focus on investing in rental assistance, we will continue to fatten the already fat pockets of the property owners.
It’s also important for advocates to be educated on legislation, because while wealthy and powerful people create these laws and tax codes, they represent us and we should understand the laws, too.
Do you have any words of advice for the readers who are organizing on the frontlines?
It is critical that no matter whether you are a leader or a follower, you need to continue being trained and train others. Even though we have our martyrs, we need more than one person to lead this work. So, what does that mean for what you leave behind and the legacy thereof?
I would also like to see more emphasis on building intergenerational relationships in the movement.
I also want to see more action versus venting in the movement. There is a place for venting and getting something off your chest. Both are important but there is a time and place for venting and taking concrete action.
I want people to know that lived experience includes everyone from people currently experiencing homelessness to those working a 9-5 and in a stable home. All these perspectives are important in the movement. If you are an organizer, regardless of lived experience, you should be welcomed into the movement.
We must also meet people where they are. Not everyone wants to live in a house and who are we to tell people what they should want or have?
Ultimately, I encourage others to come into this work with an open mind and don’t be judgmental.