SHIFT USSF zine

8/7/2019 SHIFT USSF zine

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http://brooklynrail.org/2009/02/express/ups-and-downs-the-economic-crisis-pt-3

-http://www.brooklynrail.org/2009/04/express/what-is-to-be-done

Th e Right to the Ci ty Al l iance:-http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=229&p=3

-http://www.zcommunications.org/right-to-the-city-by-site-administratorReflect ions on gentr i f icat ion:

-http://angrybrownbutch.com/category/gentrification/

Pol ic ing and state v iolence:-http://imaginealternatives.tumblr.com/

LGBTQ and G entr i f icat ion:

-Flag Wars, (documentary film)

http://www.flagwarsthemovie.com/films_fw_synopsis.html

Solidari ty Organizing:-Kivel, Paul, Uprooting Racism: How White People can Work for Social

Justice, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Is, BC, Canada, 2002, 272 pages.

- http://www.paulkivel.com/articles.php

-Salomon, Larry R. , Roots of Justice: Stories of Organizing in Communities of

Color, Ed. Klien, Kim, Chardon Press Series, Vol 4 . #1,Jossey-Bass Pub. co,

San Francisco, 1998, 160 pgs.Organizat ions:Catalyst Project http://www.collectiveliberation.org/

Take Back the Land http://takebacktheland.org/

Project South http://www.projectsouth.org/

Right to the City Alliance http://www.righttothecity.org/

Push Back Network http://pushbacknetwork.org/

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About Shift NYC:

Vision:Shift NYC aims to end oppression and facilitate collective liberation in urban

communities. Individuals involved in Shift NYC all in some way have relative

access to resources and decision-making about the city where we live.

Grounded in this experience, Shift NYC provides education to allies about how

to engage in anti-gentrification organizing. Ultimately, this work aims tosupport organizing in pursuit of urban communities where historically

oppressed groups will be in control of economic, social and cultural relations

where they live. To that end, Shift NYC supports allies to prioritize and be

accountable to the leadership of low-income communities of color, that are

most often the target of gentrification and who lead land struggles globally.

Shift NYC recognizes that allies have diverse experiences with race, class,

gender, sexuality, ability, etc. and challenges allies to recognize how our own

self-interest and liberation is bound up in fighting gentrification. We challenge

ourselves and others to contribute to these struggles by bringing our

experiences and skills to the organizing table. We aim to engage people whoalready want to organize against gentrification but don't know how, and other

people who are potential but not current allies of anti-gentrification organizing.

We also network with similar solidarity organizing efforts in other cities

to develop the practice of solidarity organizing.Mission:In order to end oppression and facilitate collective liberation in urban

communities, Shift NYC educates and engages people who have relative access

to resources and decision-making about the city where we live, in anti-

gentrification organizing.

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History: ( a s o f J u n e 2 0 1 0 ) Shift NYC came together in early 2010 and is still in development stages.

Shift NYC has five members who are individually involved in a variety of

anti-gentrification and social justice organizations and coalitions in New

York City. So far, we have: had one on one conversations with leaders of

key anti-gentrification organizations in New York; developed anti-

gentrification solidarity organizing workshop curriculum; facilitated two

workshops to test our curriculum and develop our framework/analysis; and

created a zine with our basic materials. We are leading a workshop at the

US Social Forum predominantly to get feedback about the need for and

content of Shift NYC's work moving forward.

2

FURTHER RESOURCES:

(Work in Progress)

Explanat ions of Gentr i f icat ion as a p rocess:-Smith, Neil, The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist

City, Routledge, London, 1996, 288 pgs.

-http://members.multimania.co.uk/gentrification/whatisgent.html

-http://www.uncanny.net/~wetzel/gentry.htm

Local NYC:

-Moody, Kim. From Welfare State to Real Estate: Regime Change in New

York City, 1974 to the present. The New Press, 2007, NY, NY, 352

pgs.

-http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/3906/a-quiet-alarm-sounds -http://www.righttothecity.org/a-count-of-vacant-condos-in-select-nyc-

neighborhoods.html-Rezoning Harlem, (documentary film) http://www.rezoningharlem.com/

-Some Place Like Home: the Fight against Gentrification in Downtown

Brooklyn, (documentary film), http://furee.org/someplacelikehome

-Delivered Vacant, (documentary film, Hoboken, NJ),

http://www.offthegridproductions.com/pages/films/vacant.html

Global Capi tal :-http://abmp3.com/download/5937413-the-neoliberal-city.html

(mp3 of David Harvey lecture)

-Harvey, David, A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford Univ Press, New

York, 2005, 256 pgs.Foreclosure cr i s i s :http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=there_goes_the_neighborhood

-http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/01/there-goes-the-

neighborhood/6562/

-http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/10/express/up-in-smoke

-http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/11/express/risky-business

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and the need to organize against it. We recognize and draw inspiration

from folks who are mostly directly affected by the negative processes of

gentrification. We are interested in doing education work with folks who

identify as gentrifiers to support anti-gentrification movements.

Why is SHIFT NYC using the term gentrifier whilegentrification is a structural problem?

At SHIFT NYC, we do have a structural analysis about gentrification

and see it a s a process of neoliberal capitalist globalization. We also know

that there are folks who identify as gentrifier who are not interested in

participating in that process. So, we use the term gentrifier not because

we see gentrificaion as a war between individuals, but primarily as anoutreach tool. We are interested as a collective to explore both individually

and institutional ways that folks can stop the violent process of

gentrification.Are we a non-profit or a community organization?

No, we are a volunteer collective. We are not looking for more folks to

join our collective, instead, we would like to be in communication with a

network of folks who identify as allies in the anti-gentrification struggle so

we can share our work and learn from their work.

Do you think that gentrifiers or allies can reallysupport the anti-gentrification struggle?Yes, we believe that they can. In the anti-gentrification struggles we

have been lucky to be a part of, led by folks most directly targeted by theviolence of gentrification, we have heard a resounding need to organize

our own community to be in solidarity in this struggle.

What else should I know about SHIFT NYC?

We are a new collective that is only a few months old that got our act

going right before the US SOCial Forum because we wanted to bring our

ideas and network with other movement folks who might have criticisms,

ideas, or thoughts about our work moving forward. We are learning by

doing, and want to learn from and with you! Find us or email us at

[email protected]

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SHIFTING PAST THE PARALYSIS

A Workshop on Gentrification, Organizing, andSolidarity:Welcome to the Facilitators Guide for SHIFT NYCs workshop: Allies

Organizing Against Gentrification. We seek to educate and mobilize anti-

racist allies towards occupying enlightened and accountable roles in anti-displacement and land use movements. This guide contains the ins and outs

of our 3 hour workshop designed both to introduce a racial/economic

justice framework to understand gentrification and anti-gentrification

organizing in NYC and to introduce a framework to understand solidarity

organizing against gentrification. Each section of the workshop is broken

down into the materials needed, the Goals of the section, What We Did

during the workshop, the Facilitator Notes/Context/Main Points, any

Tensions that have or may come up during the section, and the time

allotted. After the Workshop Guide are the supplemental resources that

compliment the workshop: Definitions/glossary, History/Timeline of

Gentrification in NYC, RTTC points of unity, Tips/Principles for being an

effective Ally, Guidelines for being a strong White Ally, and Self-Interest

exercise. We offer this to you in hopes that you join us in the process of

figuring out the most effective roles for allies in the struggle and

acknowledge that this facilitation guide and our workshop needs continual

expansion and development- it is, as we are, very much in the work! We

welcome questions, feedback, and advice atShif t .NYC.Col lect ive@gmai l .com

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GOALS OF WORKSHOP

Introduce an racial/economic justice framework to understandgentrification and anti-gentrification organizing in NYC

Introduce a framework to understand solidarity organizing againstgentrification.

Discuss and get input about Shift NYC's framework and goalsINTRODUCTION: 10 MinutesMaterials: Goals/Agenda written out in advance on butcher paper and

posted throughout training

GOALS

* Introduce Shift NYC and facilitators

* Introduce participants

* Create opening space for people to speak briefly regarding hopes and

fears about the conversation

WHAT WE DID

* Introductions of facilitators: Facilitators say name, and a small piece

about why they are a part of Shift NYC

* Facilitators Introduce Shift NYC

* Review goals

* Review agenda

* Participants go around and say their name and their preferred gender

pronouns --> 30sec each: A concern I have about this topic is...

* Ask for any initial questions

FACILITATOR NOTES/CONTEXT/MAIN POINTS TOHIT

In this section we talk about who we are as a collective. Wed invite you

to talk about SHIFT NYC as a source of information and inspiration for

your workshop and talk about why you have gathered and what work you

hope to do. We hope that it is in line with our following points:

4

3. What are my central relationships and what do I get out of

these relationships?

4. Where do I put my time, energy and money?

5. What has been my history?

6. Where am I in understanding and coming to terms with my

own roots?

7. When have I felt all together, and when have I felt

fragmented?

8. What am I angry about?

9. Whats in it for me? (this may be the hardest question to ask

yourself)

10. Where and how do you want recognition or to be significant?

-- This Self-Interest Worksheet was Adapted from National People's

Action.

FAQ:

What is shift NYC?

Shift NYC is a collective of white folks who identify with some privilege

who have experience doing community and/or land struggle organizing in

New York City. We are a collective that has come together initially tofigure out how to work in solidarity with local anti-displacement and anti-

gentrification groups such as Take Back the Land movement and Right To

the City Alliance. We are currently building relationships with these

organizations and developing educational and analytical tool kits to educate

and mobilize an accountable anti-racist ally base in NYC"

Why does SHIFT NYC exist?

SHIFT NYC exists because we see the need for folks who identify as

gentrifiers to educate themselves about the destructive process of

gentrification

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13. Talk with your chi ldren and other young people aboutracism.

F: SELF-INTEREST EXERCISE(Fo r add i t i ona l deve lopmen t / u se ) What is My Self Interest?

What is My Self Interest?

1. On a piece of paper, draw a stick figure that represents you.

2. Draw and label an arm for each of your major motivations that you

know about.

3. Write a few headlines on how you developed one of thesemotivations (self-interest).

4. Be specific and clear and rank your self-interests so that you can

figure out what drives you.

5. Dont just describe the activity or interest but get at the why you

are doing it. Only by knowing the whys will you get to know yourself.

6. Around which self-interests do you organize your life?

7. What is the most important to you?

8. What does it mean to you to be a success?

Keep this exercise and check in with it regularly. This will help you see

what your self-interest and how it changes.Questions to ask yourself when figuring out yourself-interest:

1. What drives me?

2. What am I passionate about?

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* Shift NYC is a new collective created by folks who have experience in

community and land struggles and community organizing

* The goals of this collective are to do solidarity organizing with allies

for community and land struggles

* We are beginning with do ing workshops about gentrification and

solidarity with potential allies

* We all hold certain amounts of privilege and want to support already

existent movements and support anti-gentrification organizing throughout

the city* Know gentrification is a systemic problem

* Know there is lots of good organizing already happening around

gentrification

* Know that ALL people are affected by gentrification -- though some

more impacted than others and those people clearly impacted (i.e. being

displaced right now) are doing great organizing

* Know that people with privilege are involved with anti-gentrification

work already -- but we are talking specifically about solidarity

ORGANIZING (i.e. building power in your own community) ... Like

what happens with other issues (mostly international) is absent in anti-

gentrification... This is about organizing MY community...

* Our current goals are about engagement, education and fine-tuning a

framework for Anti-gentrification Solidarity Organizing -- we are not

supporting 1 specific policy campaign right now

* Be clear on when talking about systemic (policy/systems) /vs.

individual culpabilities (individual decisions) to say the interplay between

systemic and individual responsibility is nuanced and complicated but right

now we're talking about________

* We encourage people to do a preferred gender pronoun introduction

to help create trans inclusive spaces in our organizations. This practice

makes space for our members to self identify and have their gender

identity respected. Even if you dont think you have trans or gender non-

conforming participants we encourage you continue to do this practice.TENSIONS

* Make sure that keeping time begins here- it is tempting to unfold into

conversations here but assure participants that we'll delve deeper in

conversation later and keep the agenda moving along! Be sure to call out

that this is an ambitious agenda for 3 hours and gently ask for participants

support in moving through the workshop.

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* If participants share statements/comments in the go around that might

be indicators of a misunderstanding of goals of day/politics being

represented- take a moment to reiterate purposes and talk about creating

a safe space for deepening analysis/understanding of all participants.

DEFINITIONS: 5-10 MinutesMaterials: Butcher paper with Definitions already set up/Supplemental

Definition/Glossary hand outGOALS

* Get on the same page about some of the words that areused throughout the workshop

* Put forward an analysis that sees gentrification as deeplyconnected to larger systems

* Put forward a definition of community improvement that

contrasts with gentrificationWHAT WE DID

* Facilitator introduces the definitions.

* See addendum for full list of definitions of: gentrification,

privatization, displacement, capitalism, globalization, white supremacy,

privilege, community improvement

* The terms and their definitions are already written up on butcher

paper and the facilitator hands out a handout with the definitions. the

Facilitator asks folks to read both of the definitions, one after the other. if

folks disagree with the workshop terms, the facilitator pushes thediscussion to the end of the reading of the definitions.

* At the end of reading the definitions, the facilitator asks folks what

was something that clicked with them in the definitions, and if they have

any questions?

* There is a BRIEF discussion about the definitions and then the

facilitator closes the section by making the point that oftentimes

gentrification, globalization and capitalism are thought of as positive,

6

2. Not ice who i s the center of at tent ion and who i s thecenter of power. Racism works by directing violence and blame towardpeople of color and consolidating power and p rivilege for white people.

3. Not ice how racism is denied, minimized, and just i f ied.4. Understand and learn from the hi story of whi teness andracism . Notice how racism has changed over time and how it hassubverted or resisted challenges. Study the tactics that have workedeffectively against it.5. Understand the connect ions between racism, economicissues, sexism, and other forms of injust ice.6. Take a stand against injust ice. Take risks. It is scary, difficult,and may bring up feelings of inadequacy, lack of self-confidence,

indecision, or fear of making mistakes, but ultimately it is the on ly healthy

and moral human thing to do. Intervene in situations where racism is

being passed on.

7. Be strategic . Decide what is important to challenge and whats not.Think about strategy in particular situations. Attack the source of power.

8. Don t confuse a batt le with the war . Behind particular incidentsand interactions are larger patterns. Racism is flexible and adaptable.

There will be gains and losses in the struggle for justice and equality.

9. Don t cal l names or be persona l ly abusive. Since power isoften defined as power over othersthe ability to abuse or control

peopleit is easy to become abusive ourselves. However, we usually end

up abusing people who have less power than we do because it is less

dangerous. Attacking people doesnt address the systemic nature of racismand inequality.

10. Support the leadership of peop le of color . Do thisconsistently, but not uncritically.

11. Learn something about the history of whi te people whohave worked for racial just ice . There is a long history of whitepeople who have fought for racial justice. Their stories can inspire and

sustain you.12. Don t do i t alone . You will not end racism by yourself. We can do it ifwe work together. Build support, establish networks, and work with already

established groups.

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Respect us Listen to us

Find out about us Dont make assumptions

Dont take over Stand by my side

Provide information Dont assume you know whats best for me

Resources Money

Take risks Make mistakes

Dont take it personally Honesty

Understanding Talk to other white people

Teach your children about Interrupt jokes and comments

racism

Speak up Dont ask me to speak for my people

Your Body on the line Persevere daily

Basic TacticsEvery situation is different and calls for critical thinking about how to

make a difference. Taking the statements above into account, I have

compiled some general guidelines.

1. Assume racism i s everywhere, every day. Just as economicsinfluences everything we do, just as gender and gender politics influence

everything we do, assume that racism is affecting your daily life. We

assume this because its true, and because a pr ivilege of being white is the

freedom to not deal with racism all the time. We have to learn to see the

effect that racism has. Notice who speaks, what is said, how things are

done and described. Notice who isnt present when racist talk occurs.

Notice code words for race, and the implications of the policies, patterns,

and comments that are being expressed. You already notice the skin color

of everyone you meetnow notice what difference it makes.

30

and a lot of urban policy decisions comes out of the dominant idea that

these are positive forces.

FACILITATOR NOTES/MAIN POINTS

* We know that there might not be solid agreement on all ofthese terms, but these are the definitions we will use for the

duration of the workshop* We took most of these definitions from the Right to the

City Alliance, a national network of community organizations

doing anti-gentrification work throughout the country. Right tothe City is an alliance we are in solidarity with and take

inspiration from.

TENSIONS

* Some feedback that we got indicated that it was hard to take in this

much information in this format. On the other hand, we very much wantedto ground the conversation in a larger political context. In addition, we

wanted more time to dig more deeply into other sections later in the

training

* We decided to cut from training all but gentrification, displacement

and community improvement. We felt these were the most important to hit

on so that we could reiterate that gentrification is systemic and impacts

everyone, but that only some are actually displaced by it. Also, putting

forward a positive frame for how communities can organize for change in

their neighborhood.

* Mention connection to globalization and capitalism in one or 2 lines:

this helps make the connection between the systemic forces we are

discussing and that gentrification is symptomatic of errors ofcapitalism/globalization. Make reference to supplementary useful terms

for further developing analysis on gentrification. We feel as though right

now, because we are working with folks that we assume to have an anti-

capitalist analysis, that we dont have to spend an enormous amount of

time on definitions. If we expand our target participant range than this

will likely change.TIMELINE/HISTORY OF GENTRIFICATION:20-25 Minutes7


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Materials: Time-line hand-outs prepped/tape/Decade indicators to post on

wall/visuals or power point to supplement vocal narrativeGOALS

* Contrast between dominant narrative about development/growth of

city and the reality of the neo-liberal city

* Briefly introduce policy decisions and movement responses that

impacted gentrification

WHAT WE DID

* The Facilitator asks the participants to tell the dominant story of New

York City how they have heard it. If the participants cannot tell the story

then the facilitators tell it between themselves. Main tenets of the story:

New York is a haven for immigrants and where a lot AfricanAmericans from the south move after reconstruction

The good immigrants make money and move out to the suburbs Cities become crime and drug-ridden Police get involved in the 90s and clean up the cities Cities are clean, safe and hip now

* Facilitator says at the end of that narrative, now we will go through

the themes of each decade to get some of the historical trends.

* Facilitator passed out different pieces of paper with themes anddecades and facilitator asks participants to read them and put them up on

the wall as a timeline. (See addendum b for what we used)

* Facilitator hits on the main points about the contemporary situation:

Increase of development projects Billionaire as mayor Under-funding and interest in privatizing public resources Mass immigration into urban areas from the global south Extremely rich folks on wall street and mostly underpaid service

jobs

Increase of private and public agencies that take public money butservice capitalism

Increase police brutality in gentrifying neighborhoods* The facilitator transitions to the next exercise with: so now we talked

about some of the historical themes of gentrification in NYC, we are going

to talk about how gentrification manifests itself in all different aspects of

life.

8

* Demonstrate accountability by following through on work, showing up,

and doing what you say you are going to do.

* Demonstrate a commitment to stand against systems of oppression,

both in people's personal and public lives. Individuals can be accountable

to themselves and their politics by incorporating their politics into the way

they work for social change.

* Being accountable to oppressed communities means respecting the

leadership of those whose vision and work you are trying to support, and

having means of sharing and receiving feedback and constructive criticism.* In respecting others' leadership, one strives to also respect one's own

leadership and be accountable to one's own politics and commitments.

* Understand and be clear with yourself about your personal stake in

the work. What is your self-interest? Why are you, an ally, part of this

work?

* Listen! People are experts on their own lives, and we can learn a lot

from listening deeply to someone else's story.

* Don't be afraid to try, to make mistakes, and get told when you make

a mistake.

* Understand and respect that sometimes people who share an experience

want space to just be with each other. Allies may not be needed in every

conversation;.

* Take responsibility for your own learning, and a lso for helping orient

and develop more allies.

* Be willing to be uncomfortable and take (thoughtful and constructive)

risks. Growing and learning new things isn't always comfortable

E: GUIDELINES FOR BRING A STRONGWHITE ALLY(For additional development/use)Adapted from U p r o o t i n g R a c i s m : H o w W h i t e P e o p l ecan Work fo r Soc ia l Ju s t i ceBy Paul KivelWHAT KIND OF ACTIVE SUPPORT does a strong white allyprovide to a person of color? Over the years, people of color that I have

talked with have been remarkably consistent in describing the kinds of

support they need from white allies.

What People of Color Wan t from White Allies

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Mayor Giuliani establishes quality of life p rograms which gives police

justification to arrest homeless folks.

C: RTTC POINTS OF UNITYLand for People vs . Land for Speculat ion: The right to land andhousing that is free from market speculation and that serves the interests

of community building, sustainable economies, and cultural and politicalspace.Land Ownership: The right to permanent public ownership of urbanterritories for public use.

Economic Just ice: The right of working class communities of color,women, queer and transgender people to an economy that serves their

interests.

Indigenous Just ice: The right of First Nation indigenous people totheir ancestral lands that have historical or spiritual significance,

regardless of state borders and urban or rural settings.Environmental Just ice: The right to sustainable and healthyneighborhoods and workplaces, healing, quality health care, and

reparations for the legacy of toxic abuses such as brownfields, cancer

clusters, and superfund sites.

Freedom from Pol ice and State Harassment: The right to safeneighborhoods and protection from police, immigration, and vigilante

repression.

Immigrant Just ice: The right of equal access to housing, employment,and public services regardless of race, ethnicity, andimmigration statusand without threat of deportation by Immigration and Customs

Enforcement or employers.

Services and Community Inst i tut ions: The right of working classcommunities of color to transportation, infrastructure, and services that

reflect and support their cultural and social integrity.

Democracy and Pa rt ic ipat ion: The right of community control anddecision making over the planning and governance of the cities where we

live and work, with full transparency and accountability, including the right

to public information without interrogation.26

* Be clear that in this section we are talking about systemic (not

individual) ways gentrification plays out.

* The reason to place filled out sheets identifying all the ways

gentrification plays out in scattered form around the frame will become

more evident in next section: but the idea is that from all of these

overwhelming negative impacts- in order to deepen our analysis and figure

out what as individuals/collective we can do- we must pull from this a

framework to ground ourselves in moving forward. This visual helps

reinforce the connectivity and arc we are moving along.

TENSIONS

* Throughout these sections its important to be clear about when youare talking about gentrification as a force/systemically vs. when you are

asking individuals to speak from the identify of a gentrifier or how their

individual choices can make an impact.

* This exercise has proven to provoke lots of thought and its important

to strongly facilitate conversation- people could talk about what they see

for a long time.* This is also an interesting teaching movement in terms of working

with folks most directly targeted by gentrification and folks who identify as

gentrifiers-many people might say things that they themselves are not

experiencing in their neighborhood but they have either seen ortalked about. it is important to draw out those tensions because

it can be a point in which folks realize they need to do morework in learning from folks who live in their own neighborhood.

FRAMING OUR ANALYSIS: 15minMaterials: Tape/Picture Frame drawn or actual/RTTC points of unity cutup points

GOALS

* To Introduce the Importance of having a framework for ones political

analysis to help

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* To introduce the Right To the City points of analysis/framework via their

organizational points of unity

WHAT WE DID

* Ask people why have a framework?

* Facilitator passes out the cut up Right To the City points of unity and

participants have a moment to read their points silently and thoroughly

before one by one reading off the principles and either getting upthemselves or handing them to facilitator to post one by one ON the frame

itself.FACILITATORS NOTES/MAIN POI NTS

* These are a ll really big and hard to manage concepts, so we want to

introduce the framework we use to think about these big issues. This

framework is taken from the Right to the City allianceand we are in aweof it. We are also are interested in the long-term of developing our own

ally focused solidarity framework of liberation to partner with this RTTC

framework. At the end of the framework exercise, the facilitator says thatthis is something we are still developing and interested in adding to-if

there are pieces you would like to add to it, please put it in the evaluation

form.

* It is important to share a b it about Right To The City at thispoint:Right to the City emerged in 2007 as a unified response to gentrification

and a call to halt the displacement of low-income people, LGBTQ, and

youths of color from their historic urban neighborhoods. They are a

national alliance of racial, economic, and environmental justice

organizations. Through shared principles and a common frame and theory

of change, RTTC is bu ilding a national movement for urban justice, human

rights, and democracy.TENSIONS

* Overall people wanted to know how we are connected to RTTC.

Facilitators make clear that we are building off other groups and are in

solidarity with them. After having several encouraging initial conversations

with several member groups from RTTC and Take Back the Land

movement, we decided to move forward to create our training and develop

our work to see what we could do on the ground.

12

The Black Panthers and Young Lords organized in urban areas in anti-

gentrification struggles in their communities for self-determination.

Many cities became sites of urban resistance where there were riots as

reactions to police brutality and poor economic conditions.

Nationally, the divide between the rich and poor begins to grow

significantly.

1970s:

In the 1970s, landlords, as a way to evict tenants, would light their own

buildings on fire to collect insurance money, which led to displacement in

low-income neighborhoods.

Care for mental patients is federally being de-funded which leadstoincreased homelessness in urban areas.

Large affordable housing developments were built throughout the city.

Pro-landlord legislation is passed in the New York State Senate to take

the

In 1975, New York is in an extreme fiscal crisis and the federal

government refuses to bail NYC out and the real estate sector does bail

NYC out, changing the political power balance between the real estate and

landlord lobby and the tenant movement.

1980s:

This begins the rise of the Neoliberal city, which in NYC was manifested

in the loss of middle class and working class jobs infavor for high wage orlow wage jobs in the social service sector, mass immigration into the city

from countries in the Global South, and the privatization of public

resources.

The crack epidemic hits urban areas.

The trickle down economic theory federally leads to a public policy shift

towards facilitating wealth into the hands of the few and de-funded and

cutting much needed social services for low-income folks. the homeless

population increases exponentially in urban areas.

1990s: 25


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income neighborhoods, especially Harlem, where they organized eviction

blockades and rent strikes.

1932: The Great Rent Strike war of the Bronx took place where

thousands of tenants throughout NYC withheld their rent for both lower

rent and for better conditions.

1933-36: The New Deal passed as a response to the Great Depressionwhich establishes the social security system, the National Labor Relations

Board, and other elements of the Social safety net.

1940s:

Metropolitan Life built Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village in

Manhattan for veterans returning from World War II as middle class

housing for white folks and after court cases, became an integrated

development.. At the same time, the Riverton was built for black veterans

in Harlem. Stuyvesant Town was not fully integrated until BLANK.

Robert Moses rose in prominence in NYC with the displacement of

thousands of tenants to build a highway. the common phrase is that Robert

Moses took a meat axe to the Bronx.

At the end of World War II, the NYC tenant movement fought and won

Emergency rent control which was developed into NYC's current system of

rent-regulation.

1950s:

The Federal Housing Administration gave low cost loans to white familiesto move to the suburbs, which was the beginning of mass suburbanization.

Before the 1960s, many suburbs had restrictive covenants that maintained

them as white communities.

Unions built housing in NYC primarily as working class/ low-income

housing for folks in unions. This was mostly for white folks.

1960s: 24

* What isnt clear is that we dont know what our relationship is to RTTC.

We are hoping to educate allies to be organized so that they can plug in

and do accountable solidarity work according to how/if at all, various

RTTC (and other) groups determine engaging with allies is strategic in

their anti-displacement work. As part of our ongoing work we need to

meet with each of the member groups to see which groups are interested

in having an educated/organized base of allies with which to plug in to

their strategic plans. We are following the Jews For Racial and Economic

Justice Model (JFREJ is a RTTC base-building ally group) We encouragefolks in other locations to learn more about solidarity organizing, reach out

to us and other base-building solidarity organizations, and engage in

conversation with grassroots groups of folks most directly and adversely

affected by gentrification and displacement--BREAK 10minutes--SOLIDARITY/ORGANIZING: 1 hourWhat is Organizing? 5min

Materials: butcher paper with definitions posted up/paper and marker for

notesGOALS

* Define Organizing and give space for participants to buy into

organizing as the model necessary to turn the framework into

movement/actual social change.

WHAT WE DID

* Post- Break revisit the RTTC framework and These changes happen

through organizing: the response to the problem/theory of change

* Put forth an organizing definition and model: SOUL (School of Unity

and Liberation): The process of bringing people together to use their

collective power to win improvements in peoples lives and to challenge

the power structure

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FACILITATOR NOTES/MAIN POINTS

* A simple subsection- the importance here is to hammer home

connection between a solid political framework and a model to move such

values/principles into movement building comes through organizing. Here

we just introduce Organizing and we'll come to define solidarity organizing

laterWHATS IN AN ALLY: PAIR-N- SHARE 20 minMaterials: Butcher Paper/Marker

GOALS

* Define Allies

* Get participants to understand nuances of how allies/folks not directly

or most adversely affected can participate in anti-oppression work by

reflecting on their own experiences

WHAT WE DID

* To get at how folks who are not directly impacted can participate in

liberation movements we modeled two examples of allieship: one when we

were an ally and another when someone allied us. (2 min)

* We had them break into pairs to Brainstorm experiences with being

an ally or having someone be an a lly to you: small personal examples (5-

7min)

* Report Out: What worked about those experiences/What was

challenging? What is important to keep in mind about this work? (10 min)FACILITATOR MAIN POINTS

* Remember to be clear on when talking about systemic

(policy/systems) /vs. individual culpabilities (individual decisions) to say

the interplay between systemic and individual responsibility is nuanced and

complicated but right now we're talking about individual things that people

can do- not systemic forces.

* Be sure to validate participants experiences/stories. If it seems that

folks are off track- try to ask engaging questions to pull them a bit deeper.

14

privatization has altered the fabric of their community too much.Global izat ion: The increasing concentration of wealth and power out ofthe hands of people and governments and into the hands o f a corporate

ruling class. A he ightened form of global economic and social control. The

process of getting rid of any barriers to corporate profit so that

corporations can trade and produce freely across borders and make profit

at the expense and exploitation of poor people, countries in the global

south, and the environment.Capital i sm: Capitalism is an economic system in which the means ofproduction are privately owned; supply, demand, price, distribution and

investments are determined mainly by private decisions and market forces

rather than through a planned economy; and profit is distributed to owners

who invest in businesses. (From Wikipedia) Capitalism is a system of

domination based on class in which the ruling class owns and controls the

resources of the society. (Taken from Challenging White Supremacy)White Supremacy: White supremacy is a historically basedinstitutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of

continents, nations and people of color by white people and nations of the

European continent for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system

of power, wealth and privilege. (Taken from Challenging White

Supremacy)

Privi lege: A benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity notenjoyed by others or by all; special enjoyment of a good, or exemption

from an evil or burden; a prerogative; advantage; franchise. (Taken from

dictionary.net)

Community Improvement: A positive change in a physical community(neighborhood), usually in response to organizing, by which aneighborhood gains access to more services, resources, safety, cultural life,

etc. This change happens with leadership from and in benefit of residents

who lived in that neighborhood before those gains were made. (From Shift

NYC)B: HISTORY/TIMELINE1930s:

After the Great Depression in 1929 , many tenants throughout New York

City could not pay their rent. The communist party USA was active in low-

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solidarity following the leadership of those most directly affected by theviolence of the forces of capitalism, globalization, and gentrification,

towards collective liberation.

SUPPLEMENTSa. Definition Glossaryb. History/Timeline

c. RTTC points of unity

d. Tips/principlese. White supremacy sheet

f. Self interest handoutA: DEFINITIONS GLOSSARY(Taken from Right to the City except where noted otherwise)Gentr i f icat ion: The phenomenon in which low-cost or "low-value"neighborhoods are developed and "improved" through purchase and

renovation of land and business. this process transforms the neighborhood

into a "high-value" neighborhood causing the displacement of long-term

residents and businesses who are often low-income, poor, and people of

color, to make way for the influx of middle class and upper class

communities. Gentrification also involves and relies on the support of other

institutions like the police, education/schools, transportation, housing, etc

to effectively pave the way for middle and upper class communities to move

in.Privat izat ion: When public goods, institutions, and services, like naturalresources, land, education, prisons, or health care become owned by

individuals or private corporations and run for profit.

Displacement: The process of long term communities, residents, andbusinesses, getting pushed out of their homes, neighborhoods, and public

spaces as a result of gentrification and privatization. Often this process

breaks apart whole communities forcing people to move far from their

families, schools, places of work, and social life because they cannot afford

to live in their neighborhoods and/or because gentrification and22

* Themes that have come up include the importance of building

relationships to fine tune support/ importance of not always waiting to be

told to step up or how someone can be allied but stepping up and trying/

importance of not waiting to feel like we've got it down 100%

* Its Okay to make mistakes- none of us are perfect and the

revolution/movement we are trying to build must allow for honest

engagement/relationship building. Individuals must challenge themselves

to step up and speak out when they see injustice in one on one or inbroader contexts. Sometimes it is not appropriate to do so and the nuances

of learning when that is comes with continued engagement and

commitment to the work and learning and growing. Fears of continuing

imbalanced power dynamics are valid

* You dont get to call yourself an ally as a blanket identity: its not

something that you get trained up to do. It is what you do; its a practice.

WHAT IS SOLIDARITY ORGANIZING?:10minutesMaterials: Butcher Paper/Marker

GOALS

* Provide grounding in vision of liberation

* Put forward definition of solidarity organizingWHAT WE DID

* Write on board and read aloud: If you have come to help me, you

are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is

bound up with mine, then let us work together. -- Australian Aboriginal

Group

Discuss; what do you hear

* There are two categories of solidarity organizing worth

distinguishing- solidarity enacted by -

Populations with some kind of access or resources middle-classcollege students working with low-wage workers

Populations directly affected by many policies but not on a certainpolicy / issue i.e. tenants from public housing working on a

campaign for tenants from rent controlled housing

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TENSIONS

* We have an interest in building out the accountability section to

brainstorm with groups next steps that make sense for folks and tie back to

the political framework. (what groups exist in your hood/city that you could

approach to say- hey I'd be interested in supporting your campaign or your

work on this issue and i hope to get other allies involved/What does it

mean to make that commitment)* Make sure there is time for questions/group discussion

* Recognize that all of the great groups doing anti-displacement work

on the ground might not envision a place for allies in their struggle and

make sure its expressed that is valid and must be respected.

WRAPPING UP/NEXT STEPS: 15 minutesMaterials: slips of paper for each participant/writing tool/tape/evaluation

forms/butcher paper/markers

GOALS

* Hit home Goals of Workshop

* Have participants reflect on their experience and their personalcommitment and next stepsWHAT WE DID

* Closing go Around Exercise of reflection: Have everyone think for a

few moments and on their individual pieces of paper have participants

write one statement about the city/world you want to live in (getting at self

interest) and one statement about how you are going to work towards that

city in solidarity/being accountable to folks most directly/adversely

affected/displaced by gentrification.

* Have participants read these out loud as a way of being accountable to

themselves/other participants about what they will do as a next step as an

individual

* Invite participants to sign in our sheet to be kept in the loop about

upcoming actions/rallies that they can turn themselves/friends out to as

they are not- push them on thinking about how to be an ally and how that

doesnt need to step on their identity or hardships or other oppression).

20

ACCOUNTABILITY : 10 minutesMaterials:

GOALS

* Reinforce idea that solidarity organizing is lead by people mostdirectly impacted, and that our work should be in relationship to that and

according to how those folks decide how/where our efforts are most

strategic and appropriate for their work.

* Have people check in with their own sense of accountability to others

AND to themselves as individual examples of how people can be

accountable to other individuals

WHAT WE DID

* Invite everyone to join in a circle, either standing or bringing their

attention inward* Facilitators model the exercise, which is saying "I could be

accountable to you by..." and then filling in the blank. Each facilitator went

2 - 3 times.

* State that participants can think of specific people or groups either in

the room or outside of it that they are speaking to

* Go around in a circle with each participant saying "I could be

accountable to you by..." and then filling in the blank.FACILITATOR NOTES/CONTEXT/MAIN POINTS TOHIT

* If its a small group go around a couple of times* What is accountability? Key is that it is a relationship

* Some examples to model are: I can be accountable to you by taking

care of myself/by asking for help when needing it/by making sure I respect

your time/ by making sure I listen and really hear you/by doing the work I

committed to doing/by really being aware of my self-interest in doing this

work/by moving past feelings of guilt/paralysis to be open to understanding

right action.

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Documents

SHIFT USSF zine