Still We Rise | A Collection of Learnings & Toolkit for Advancing Racial Equity
“The actual foundation of racism is not ignorance and hate, but self- interest, particularly economic and political and cultural. Self-interest drives racist policies that benefit that self-interest. When the policies are challenged because they produce inequalities, racist ideas spring up to justify those policies. Hate flows freely from there.”-Ibram X. Kendi
For the last six years, HAND has been intentional in our approach of reaching beyond the symptoms of inequity to address the root causes that amplify housing disparities and restrict access to opportunity for communities of color. If you’ve been following our journey, you know we have prioritized educating our members on racial equity issues and how they intersect with our work in real estate and community development – from 2015 when we began integrating trainings on fair housing and best practices for working with returning citizens; to the 2018 Annual Meeting featuring the “Undesign the Redline” exhibit on the history of discrimination and housing policy; and last year’s launch of the “Red Lines, White Papers, and Blue Prints” learning series designed to further build members’ capacity in operationalizing racial equity.Over the years as we saw an increasing need for this work, we doubled down on our commitment to provide ongoing learning; while also modeling for our members what it looks like to implement racial equity in our work. In 2020 alone, we launched both the Housing Indicator Tool – a policy platform grounded in a racial equity framework; and Equity in Action – a debt and equity platform designed to support black and brown real estate developers who too often face the obstacle of accessing the capital needed to execute their visions for equitable communities. Here at HAND, we believe that the change we seek is the cumulative impact of anti-racist interventions on the institutional and personal levels. In each of these spaces we must consider what role we play in dismantling these toxic systems and structures designed to benefit a select few at the expense of others.
Today we are excited to release, “Still We Rise: A Collection of Learnings & Toolkit for Advancing Racial Equity.” This toolkit captures the learnings of HAND to date and will be useful for members wherever they are in their racial equity journey. Each section includes a session summary, how it relates to the housing industry, a series of reflection questions and search terms for continued education. We encourage you to take advantage of the toolkit, and share with your colleagues, family and friends. We look forward to hearing how you are leveraging this work to create positive change in the office, your home and our communities.
Invitation to Submit Proposals for Initiative to be Considered at the Heirs’ Property Prevention and Funders’ Forum
Heirs’ property occurs when a property owner dies intestate or with a will that leaves property to multiple beneficiaries, resulting in a fractured or entangled title. Left unresolved, this becomes a barrier to the ability to sell, collateralize, improve, or otherwise transfer the property. Because heirs’ property is disproportionately found in racial and ethnic minority, low-wealth, rural, and distressed urban communities, it is a critical barrier to minority homeownership and the creation of generational wealth and racial equity. As a significant contributor to blight and unrealized equity in poor neighborhoods throughout the country, the scale and pervasiveness of this challenge is shocking. For example, in the state of Georgia, $34 billion worth of tax appraised property is probable heirs’ property according to a 2017 USDA study. In 1980, the Emergency Land Fund estimated that 41 percent (3.8 million acres) of all Black-owned land in the Black Belt region was heirs’ property.
On December 2, 2021 in Atlanta, GA, the Funders’ Forum will seek to bring together potential funders with dozens of nonprofit and other organizations from 22 states and the District of Columbia. The intended outcome of this forum is to establish a capital, human, and organizational support basis for heirs’ property resolution and prevention pilot initiatives in the following areas: education and awareness; pro-bono legal services; academic research; local government innovation; and developer/contractor driven affordable housing initiatives. Potential funders, including philanthropic and other grant and resource providers, law firms, financial institutions, and builder and realtor trade groups, will have the opportunity to hear from nonprofits and other organizations as they pitch scaled pilot solutions to this group in an in-person and virtual environment. The forum has been designed to allow funders and organizations with initiatives in their market to connect and determine their mutual interest in funding a proposed solution.
Kaiser Permanente Announces a New RFP
In June, Kaiser Permanente sponsored a Regional Forum on Homelessness to foster collaboration among cities and counties in Greater Baltimore, suburban Maryland, DC, and northern Virginia to reduce the prevalence of homelessness. This regional collaboration is Kaiser’s answer to homelessness since people experiencing homelessness often cross city and county boundaries. In an effort to continue working to provide solutions to end homelessness, Kaiser Permanente intends to award at least two grant awards of $50,000 each before the end of 2021 to nonprofit organizations that are working to address homelessness in more than one city or county. The grant term will be from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. The deadline for applications is September 9, 2021. The Request for Proposals is here, and you can also access the project budget template and logic model template, referenced within the RFP.
Celebrate Veterans Day with Montgomery County
Remember our veterans on November 11th! Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH) serves veterans in both its emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing programs. You can honor Veterans Day by providing a financial donation, donating a meal, or by donating items that our veterans need.
The winter holidays are also approaching and MCCH is working to adjust its holiday gifts and meal donations for clients to ensure the safety of all. If you, your family, or an organized group would like to provide a meal to our shelter or one of our programs for any of the upcoming holidays, please reach out to: volunteer@mcch.net
Is a Public Ally in Your Organization’s Future?
Public Allies is a social justice organization committed to changing the face and practice of leadership by recruiting and training talented young leaders, with a passion for social impact, to create meaningful change in our community. Allies are diverse, equity-centered, innovative problem solvers, dedicated to mobilizing community assets to develop solutions to local challenges. In partnership with nonprofit partners, the organization delivers its nationally recognized, values-driven, results-led apprenticeship to advance our mission to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it. Public Allies Washington, D.C. is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network.
What do Allies Do?
Allies work on capacity-building projects that are likely to have an impact beyond their terms. This can include but is not limited to: recruiting volunteers, building partnerships, expanding outreach, and launching new programs.
What do Allies Learn?
The leadership development program challenges and supports Allies to become leaders who connect across social boundaries, facilitate collaborative action, recognize and mobilize community assets, commit to continuous learning and self development, and are accountable for creating impact. Allies gain a deep knowledge of their community and important skills from local community leaders, practitioners, educators, and residents. They also learn from the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of their fellow Allies.
For more details, check out these FAQs or visit the website.
