Homestead Community Land Trust is an incredible organization that works to provide access to affordable housing in King County. Their work is expanding an equitable economy for housing to create vibrant communities, help repair the harms of housing discrimination and protect vulnerable communities from displacement. It’s an organization that empowers, inspires and creates a real difference that creates a collective action about segregation, inadequate housing and is a part of the solution to really big social problems due to redlining and racism.
This event was hosted at Town Hall Seattle, and there was an open reception with the opportunity to connect with the sponsors, partake in a photo booth that called for affordable housing, and general networking and merriment brought to you by local orgs like Black Home Initiative , KUOW-PBS, Homesight as well as US Bank, Amazon, Umpqua and more.
They invited Dr. Henry Louise Gates, academic, author, critic, to speak to the Seattle community to inspire, inform, and enlighten around issues of race, equity and opportunity. He spoke about his most recent book, A Stony Road, and drew parallels from Reconstruction to today as our nation moves to continue to heal and evolve from the days of Jim Crowe. Dr. Gates had heads nodding, tears flowing, and belly laughs happening as he spoke the truth, his story, and declared that now is the time that we can work together to do and be better. It was powerful and a reminder that not all heros wear capes.
It was powerful to be a part of this event, documenting the wisdom, the joy, the lived experiences in the room that was both addressed and affirmed by Homestead CLT partners and Dr. Henry Louise Gates – inviting innovation that can happen through partnership, volunteerism and being a donor.
