By Abby Weaver, Social Work Intern, Alliance for Justice
Last year marked nearly a quarter-century since the historic tenant management victory of Kenilworth Estates, located in Washington, D.C.
Kenilworth has the distinction of being one of the first neighborhoods in the nation where tenants assumed management of the public housing where they lived. The woman who led the effort was resident and community organizer Kimi Gray. Over the years, Gray tackled a number of different challenges affecting the Kenilworth Estates–a public housing development known for high drug use, rare trash pick-up, and low rates of education completion.
The community took a remarkable turnaround, however, when Gray helped her fellow tenants see the connections between these problems and how they, as the people who lived the reality, could make a change by working together. Coming from the community, Gray knew that the tenants would feel more empowered if they were able to control elements of the housing project, she suggested they pursue tenant management. One longtime resident and tenant manager, Gladys Roy, explained the value of having tenants manage their own housing: “I know what the problems are. I live here, so I know them first hand.” This statement illustrates why community organizing is such an important route for social change efforts.
A national model
The result of the tenant management program in Kenilworth was nothing short of phenomenal. Through education and trainings, tenants were able to buy the complex. Through her ability to speak for those in her community, Gray succeeded in bringing national attention to problems in the run-down public housing units.
Eventually, the Reagan Administration took notice, making tenant management the cornerstone of its housing policy. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 allowed for similar empowerment models among other housing units nationwide. Self-management of the housing projects seemed to make sense and improve conditions.
A new generation continues to organize
The power of Gray’s leadership has inspired subsequent generations. Carrying on her community organizing legacy is Gray’s granddaughter Sequnely Gray. Sequnely Gray grew up witnessing the importance of speaking out about community concerns.
Following in her grandmother’s footsteps, she has been an advocate for her child’s education for several years. A single mother, she began organizing the parents from her child’s school in response to the threat of the school closing. For her, mobilizing fellow parents when education was in jeopardy just came naturally. The group Empower DC acknowledged her dedication and offered her a job as a fulltime organizer with the Childcare for All Campaign, a campaign that promotes awareness and use of the childcare subsidy voucher.
Sequnely currently motivates low-income mothers to get involved in sharing testimonials to decision makers in D.C., just as her grandmother did in order to get the attention of the president at the time. She provides constituents with a better understanding of the way government works through workshops on government structure. She values her constituents’ opinions and asks for regular qualitative feedback on meeting productivity.
Although her grandmother’s victory occurred 24 years ago, Sequnely still draws inspiration from the principles that motivated her grandmother’s efforts. She focuses on the need for education, community member empowerment, and evaluation of her impact. Many organizers consider the unique elements of community organizing to be leadership development and empowerment of vulnerable populations. These elements are evident in the campaign that Sequnely leads.
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For more Resources for Evaluating Community Organizing visit our RECO compendium.
For more information on the basics of building and maintaining a constituency using a community organizing approach, refer to the RECO resource, The Community Tool Box. To learn more on partnering with community leaders, read Chapter 4 of the document Getting Issues on the Public Agenda.
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