COA | Chattanooga Organized for Action

Coalition to Save Lincoln Park Announces Formation

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:17:03 -0400

“Someone’s got plans for our community - plans that don’t include us.” said Ms. Vannice Hughley, a 74 year old African-American woman.

Ms. Hughley has lived in Chattanooga all her life. She is the President of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, a tiny little community tucked away in downtown Chattanooga. But Lincoln Park isn’t just any ordinary neighborhood - it’s home to the historic Lincoln Park, the community’s treasured namesake which was once the only recreation center for African-Americans.

Ms. Hughley, President of Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, standing at the old park site.

Ms. Hughley comes from a long line of past Presidents of her community, all Black women, who have stood up, despite all pressure and resistance, to save their community from powerful institutions and forces that would encroach on it and do it harm. Now, at the age of 74 and with the help of her daughter, Tiffany Rankins, Ms. Hughley must once again defend and preserve her community.

The threat this time is a proposed extension of Central Avenue to connect to Riverside Drive - an extension that runs straight through their historic park. Planned by the City of Chattanooga’s City Engineering department, the extension was proposed, planned, and passed without the consent or meaningful inclusion of the community itself.

“Its a funny thing to learn what’s happening to your community by having to read the newspaper. But then again, we’re always the first affected and last one’s notified.”

Victories in the Past

This isn’t the first time that Lincoln Park has been threatened - it’s also not the first time they’ve organized, fought back, and won.

“At the time, the nearby hospital was buying up properties and houses around the park. We even lost the park itself after the City swapped it with the hospital for property elsewhere. And the hospital kept developing and encroaching on the community, but that’s when “Mother” organized her residents and fought back.”

In the 1980s, Ms. Hughley joined a coalition of neighborhood residents to form the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Improvement League to save the community from continued development by the nearby hospital. The Improvement League was led by a woman named Georgia Mae Farris and Bessie Smith, known to the community as “Mother”.

“Mother reached out to me,” Ms. Hughley said. “She insisted that I get involved in the community, but I didn’t want to be bothered. ‘Just don’t have the time for it,’ I said to her. But she wore me down. ‘I’m still working,’ I told her. But she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I decided to get involved.”

“They used to march up there to the Board meetings at the hospital, and just stand there in the back, watching.” Ms. Hughley said. “They’d stand there to let them know the community was together.”

Through community organizing, Lincoln Park was able to halt the encroachment of the hospital and win a moratorium against future development on the old park site. But the Improvement League’s success didn’t end there. Together, residents worked to help one of their own, an elderly low-income widow, purchase her home and escape the threat of eviction. The hard fought improvements and successes of the newly-named Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association were marked by the dedication of an archway in front of the community.

“And then one day, Mother passed.” said Ms. Hughley. “And someone came up to me and said, ‘Well, that makes you President,’ and I said ‘But I’m only the Secretary.’ And do you know what Mother had done? She had gone and made me her Vice-President. Her successor.”

The Encroachment Continues

Now, after living in Lincoln Park for over forty years, Ms. Hughley will have to fight once again to save her community from outside forces that wish to encroach on it.

The City of Chattanooga Public Works and City Engineering Department are proposing an extension of Central Avenue to connect with Riverside Drive - an extension that could include up to five lanes of truck-heavy traffic all going straight over what remains of the community’s cherished Lincoln Park. To add insult to injury, City Engineering notified the residents only after making their decision.

Ms. Hughley and her daughter Tiffany, the Secretary of Lincoln Park, first found out that there were talks of an extension by reading an article in the Times Free Press in late 2011.

Alarmed, Ms. Hughley called then Mayor Littlefield, who attended the February 2012 meeting of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association and assured residents that the project was not a “done deal”. Alternate routes that did not cut through the park were still being considered, and getting historic preservation status for the park could still be a goal.

“And then the next time we heard about anything was the day of the City Council vote to accept funds for the project.” said Ms. Hughley.

On June 12th, 2012, the Chattanooga City Council voted to accept the project and approve funds for the Central Avenue extension, despite objections from Ms. Hughley and Tiffany that the community was not informed of the project and had no involvement in the decision-making process.

The next time that Lincoln Park heard from anybody about the proposed extension was the February 2013 Neighborhood Association meeting. There, members of both the Fortwood and Lincoln Park Neighborhood Associations heard from City Engineering and Public Works about their plans for their community. Maps were unveiled, explanations given, but the bottom-line was this:

“The goal isn’t for residents to say if they want the Central Avenue extension but to help the city determine the community impact it will have. It’s not necessarily a question of ‘do you want this or not.” - City Engineer Bill Payne, quoted in the Times Free Press article on 4/19/13

“I remember some of my residents being so worried. Tears in their eyes with worry. Old folks asking me if they should sell their homes and leave. And I told them “No, don’t sell. Don’t sell.” Ms. Hughley said.

Ms. Hughley had more words though.

“When it’s something wrong with our communities, when its the gangs, guns, and the drugs, they say ‘You can take your community back’, but when they want to build a road through your community, when they want to do something to your community, they say ‘You can’t do anything about it.’ So, who’s community is it?” - Ms. Hughley, President, Lincoln Park

The Coalition to Save Lincoln Park

The Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association is now leading the “Coalition to Save Lincoln Park”, a group of neighborhood associations and individuals who are working to oppose the Central Avenue extension and preserve this important piece of cultural legacy.

The Coalition is set to mobilize together at the Transportation Planning Organization Board Meeting on Tuesday, May 28th, at 1:30pm at the Development Resource Center. There, the TPO Board, which is charged with allocating Federal highway dollars to transportation projects, will vote to allocate $5.1 million dollars in Federal funds to the Central Avenue extension.

The Coalition will be asking that the TPO Board deny Federal funds to the project because they were fundamentally excluded from the decision-making process.

Later on that day, the Coalition will gather at the Chattanooga City Council at 6:00pm to ask the Council to stop the project altogether.

What you can do to help:

Call or e-mail Mayor Berke at 423-643-7800 and mayor@chattanooga.gov or your City Councilperson and ask the Administration to “Save Lincoln Park and Stop the Central Avenue Extension!”
Visit the Coalition’s Facebook page and help spread the word about Lincoln Park!
Sign the online petition at Change.org!

Resources:

Fact Checking Congressman Paul Ryan

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:48:00 -0400

While it was nice to hear Congressman Paul Ryan recognize Chattanooga Organized for Action’s work for social and economic justice, it is obvious from his discussion of our organization during last week’s Ways and Means Committee in the United States House of Representatives that he is deeply misinformed not only about the exempt status of our organization, but also the very detailed level of scrutiny the IRS gave our organization before awarding us our 501(c)3 designation.

Chattanooga Organized for Action is a 501(c)3 charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to assist individuals and organizations in becoming the essential agents of real systemic change to achieve social, economic and environmental justice. Our organization does not give money to political campaigns, political parties, or engage in activities that in any way support or oppose candidates running for elected office. Chattanooga Organized for Action is not associated or affiliated with any political party or political agenda. Our organization has absolutely nothing to do with “Organizing for Action”, the unfortunately named rebooted version of President Obama’s presidential campaign.

We filed for tax-exempt status in the summer of 2011 and were granted exemption after a rigorous process by the IRS in January 2013. During this period, we were in constant talks with IRS agents, who provided us with screenshots of our online presence, relevant news clippings of our organization, and a detailed multi-question probe into the legal boundaries of our organization’s activities within the federal guidelines for charitable non-profit organizations. Our status was granted only after we submitted an 18-page report detailing the history, growth, and development of our organization over a three year period and how our organization transformed from a progressive activist group to an educational non-profit. Any claim that our organization was not given due scrutiny by the IRS is simply wrong.

Our tax-exempt status is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, meaning that our primary activity is spent providing leadership development, educational workshops, and other valuable resources to grassroots communities in the Chattanooga area.

Other tax-exempt organizations, like a 501(c)4 social welfare organizations, may have lobbying as their primary activity without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. 501(c)4 organizations may also influence electoral campaigns by running ads for or against candidates running for office. This makes 501(c)4 organizations distinctly different from 501(c)3 organizations, such as Chattanooga Organized for Action, and any comparison between them is like comparing apples to oranges, they might both be fruit, but there are significant differences between them. We reject any comparison by Congressman Paul Ryan between a charitable 501(c)3 organization such as ours and politically active 501(c)4s, such as Tea Party and so-called “Patriot Groups”, that have become notorious front-organizations for millionaires seeking to further corrupt our pay-to-play political process.

As TomDispatch Associate Editor Andy Kroll makes clear in his fantastic piece detailing how organizations such as 501(c)4 social welfare organizations have become tools in the hands of the rising plutocracy:

So what is dark money? How does it wind up in our elections? Say you’re a billionaire and you want to give $1 million to anonymously influence an election. You’re in luck: you can give that money, as many donors have, to a nonprofit organized under the 501(c)(4) section of the tax code. That nonprofit, in turn, can spend your money on election-related TV ads or mailers or online videos. But there’s a catch: unlike super PACs, the majority of a 501(c)(4) nonprofit’s work can’t be political. Note, though, that where the IRS draws the line on how much politicking is too much, and even what the taxman defines as political, is very murky. And until Congress and the IRS straighten all of that out, donors wanting to influence elections have a mostly scrutiny-free way to unload their money… During the 2010 campaign, politically active nonprofits — “super secret spooky PACs,” as Stephen Colbert calls them — outspent super PACs by a three to two margin, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis.

The proliferation of dark money 501 (c)(4)s and Super PACs, which allow for unlimited contributions to support candidates or issues, have created a dangerous threat to our nation’s democracy by allowing a small amount of elite and wealthy donors to wield tremendous power. According to Demos, a public policy think tank, $9 of every $10 dollars raised by a Super PAC came from 3,318 people giving at least $10,000 or more. That’s equal to 0.0011% of the US population. And because 501 (c)(4)s are not required to reveal donors, the influence of wealthy donors is greater. A recent report by the Center for Public Integrity cites that politically-active non-profits outspent Super PACs by a three to two margin during the 2010 election season.

Ultimately, elite interests use dark money 501 (c)(4)s and Super PACs to purchase the electoral process so that they can control the outcomes. Wealthy donors have to control the process because the outcomes - from planned poverty, or sequestration, to the loss of workers’ rights, to the destruction of our environment in order to support corporate profits - are so unpopular that if candidates ran on them they’d lose. This way, by the time you and I get to the polls, no matter how you vote, you just voted for the 1%.

Chattanooga Organized for Action welcomes greater government scrutiny, oversight and regulation of secretly funded non-profit organizations engaging in political activity. It is about time that more light was shown on the workings of all the dark money that has so thoroughly corrupted our political process. Unfortunately, elected officials have been resistant to bite the hand that elects them.

That is, in part, why we don’t have faith or confidence in politicians to create the kinds of meaningful change we need in our world - and why we believe in the people. Because when we fight together, we win. You can help us in our mission by making a tax-exempt donation today by clicking HERE or by mailing a check made out to “Chattanooga Organized for Action” at 1211 Boynton Drive, Chattanooga TN 37404.

Request for Volunteers - The People's Mic

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:54:55 -0400

Urgent Request for Volunteers - The People’s Mic

Want an easy way to get involved with Chattanooga Organized for Action?
Want to help the voices of our grassroots communities get heard?

Then you should be a part of the People’s Mic!

At COA, we know it isn’t our role to give grassroots leaders a voice. They already have voices - voices that need to be heard.
We can, however, amplify those voicesand help make sure they are heard!

The purpose of the People’s Mic is to do just that - amplify the voices and message of grassroots communities so that they can be heard all over the city. As the People’s Mic, it’ll be your job to utilize social and traditional media, as well as your unique personal relationship networks, to get the message of the campaign out.

Examples can include:

sharing COA blogposts/videos
Facebook status updates
Tweets
contacting officials
making flyers and posters
writing Letters to the Editor
talking with friends and neighbors
using your imagination!

Please e-mail us at chattaction@gmail.com if you are interested in being a part of the People’s Mic. Just simple let us know over e-mail and we’ll put you on our mailing list.

PLEASE RESPOND ASAP
A grassroots community organization is currently waging a campaign to save one of this city’s most historic parks and cultural treasures. Their campaign is set to go live in the next several days and COA would like to offer “The People’s Mic” to help them achieve their goals!

Thanks,
Perrin Lance
Director, Chattanooga Organized for Action

North Chattanooga Parents Organizing to Save Head Start

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:19:17 -0400

In the heart of North Chattanooga, a small community of low-income families are faced with a terrible situation. Their local Head Start, which provides much needed early childhood education, is set to close this month due to the effects of sequestration.

While some may question the value of Head Start and early childhood education, these parents do not, and they work hard everyday to ensure their children can get good opportunities… even if it means walking in the rain to get their children to the Head Start program.

The North Chattanooga Head Start Parent Association reached out to Chattanooga Organized for Action in the past month, and we’ve been working with them come up with solutions to the challenges they are facing.

Please follow the link below to read the Chattanooga Times Free Press article about their story.

“Sequester Brings Cuts to North Chattanooga Head Start Program”

Please help spread the word!

A New Office for COA/Free Store Celebration

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:37:00 -0400

For the past three years, COA’s organizers and volunteers have been in communities all over the city working to build up grassroots leadership. We’ve organized, conducted campaigns, held forums, and met countless amazing individuals dedicated to social justice.

Although many people don’t know, we’ve done it all without an office, and while we think its nice to work in coffee shops and libraries from time to time, sometimes you just need a place to call your own.

That changes this Saturday! Through a generous individual donation, we’ll be able to build our own office at Renaissance Presbyterian Church in the Westside AND provide increased room for the Westside Community Association’s Free Store - a “free store” started with the assistance of the Grove Street Settlement House where residents take as they need and give as they wish in the form of much needed everyday items.

An office for COA isn’t just a space where our Staff can do their work - it can be a much needed space for community leaders to come and work together in building a better Chattanooga. Also, by increasing space for the Westside’s Free Store, you’ll be helping that community better serve it’s own needs!

Come join us on Saturday, May 11th, starting at 10:00am as we build a new shed and take donations for the Free Store and construct a new office for COA!

What:
Help Build an Office for COA/Free Store Celebration
Donations will be accepted for the Free Store at the church site.
Suggested donations include summer clothes and school supplies.

When:
Saturday, May 11th
10:00am - late afternoon
***Event will be postponed if there is rain***

Where:
Renaissance Presbyterian Church
1211 Boynton Drive
Chattanooga, TN 37402
[MAP]

Contact Person:
Perrin Lance
Director, COA
423-653-2393
perrin.lance@chattaction.org

Connecting the Past to the Future: Upcoming Planning Free School Workshops

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:47:22 -0400

Hello COA Family!

The Planning Free School, a partnership radical urban planning effort, is inviting you to several exciting workshops this Saturday, April 20th at The 4th Floor of the Downtown Library located at 1001 Broad Street in downtown Chattanooga [MAP].

Listed below are descriptions of the workshops. All events are free and open to the public! Lunch will also be provided.

Critical Conversation: Connecting the Past to Current and Future Social Justice Struggles

11:00 am - 12:45 pm

It is often said that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Yet the fields of urban planning and community development, with their emphasis on ‘progressive’ and ‘highest and best use’ development often fail to recognize the importance of community history to current and future visions for the city. In this inter-generational conversation, participants will critically reflect on what they see as the relationships between historical urban development, the present state of the city, and where we’d like to go from here.

Developing Neighborhood Assessment Tools: Part 2

1:00pm – 2:45 pm

How can we creatively, collaboratively, and systematically assess our neighborhoods and communities? What, if anything, are the built and social ‘elements’ of a just and sustainable city? How can we evaluate our progress toward these goals? In Part 1 of this two-part skill-share, participants drafted a neighborhood assessment toolkit for evaluating their neighborhoods. In Part 2, participants will share, analyze and compare the results of their own neighborhood assessments with others in the group. There may also be an opportunity to test out the instrument in the neighborhoods adjacent to the downtown library.

Beyond Tourism: IntegratingHeritage and Cultural Development into Economic Justice Planning

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Is local history and culture only to be accessed and enjoyed for tourisms’ sake? Whose stories are represented through these processes and who benefits from this inscription? How can we better integrate heritage- and cultural development-based planning into our everyday urban fabric? Join us for a conversation about democratizing heritage and cultural development in Chattanooga, where we’ll discuss, among other things, the current struggle to save Lincoln Park, a key historical and cultural asset for Chattanooga’s African American community.

Hope to see you soon!

Perrin Lance
Director, COA

In Love and Solidarity: Three Years of Chattanooga Organized for Action

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:53:00 -0400

It’s a new day in Chattanooga.

Over a thousand people crowded the seats and halls of the Tivoli Theater this morning to watch a new City Mayor take the oath of office, and to watch a new City Council pledge their service to their city. A little while later, close to two hundred people gathered outside the steps of City Hall as their new Mayor came to open the doors for the first time.

Not every Inauguration Day in Chattanooga can draw such a crowd. It’s not every season where people are filled with so much hope for change and renewal.

But where does that hope come from? Where does that excitement draw its source?

Maybe we get that hope and excitement from each other and the knowledge that so many of us, each in our own way, are making the choice to make Chattanooga our own. You’d be hard pressed to find a city where so many of us feel, deep down in our being, that our city belongs to us, that we have to take care of it, that its fate is bound up in the relationships we have with each other.

It’s a new day in Chattanooga, and it also happens to be the third anniversary of the founding Chattanooga Organized for Action, and for the past three years, our way of making Chattanooga our own is to work alongside everyday people who are doing just that - making their communities their own, taking ownership of the challenges, coming up with the solutions, and not resting until the work is done.

Even today, as new elected officials took their seats, we had the privilege of partnering with low-income mothers and fathers as they worked to organize to save their local Head Start from shutting down. On the Friday before Chattanooga’s Inauguration Day, we were at the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association Meeting, as they decided to organize to save their historic Lincoln Park from possible destruction due to a road extension.

And in the weeks and months leading up to today, we’ve been working alongside community leadership in East Chattanooga to develop a plan to strengthen the city’s Neighborhood Associations by recruiting new leadership, developing Community Visions, and turning those visions into accessible Community Plans for social change and social justice.

All of these stories, and more, are things you’ll be hearing more about soon. And hopefully, you’ll be hearing from us here at COA for a long time to come. As much as we’re happy to celebrate three years, we’re even happier to announce that, thanks to the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, we’ve been able to secure grant funding for a fourth year and beyond.

So, at the end of the day, what have these past three years been about?
And if you’ve never known, but been afraid to ask… what actually ‘is’ community organizing?

To us, it’s simple: community organizing is nothing more than love and solidarity in action. It’s a radical and revolutionary love that comforts the broken, where the community, as a greater-family, says ‘You are not alone, and I am standing with you’.

There’s a lot of people in our city that need to hear those words. From the homeless who seek shelter every night on our streets to the low-income families who struggle to keep a roof over their heads, in community organizing we love others when we see that their needs are inextricably bound together with ours, and we show solidarity when we stand with them until justice is done.

In whatever way you make Chattanooga your own, thank you. It’s been a wonderful three years and we look forward to many, many more.

Perrin Lance
Director, Chattanooga Organized for Action

Organizing Chattanooga: The Work Continues

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:08:00 -0400

Hey COA family!

The work of organizing Chattanooga continues.

These past few months have been filled with the great and quiet work of building new relationships, making new friends, and crafting a plan to build capacity for grassroots organizations. In the coming weeks, as we start our work to strengthen community organizations to advance the local movement for social justice, we’ll be asking for your help to partner with those communities and work alongside them as they craft the solutions to create the world-as-it-should-be. The grassroots communities of Chattanooga need your solidarity. Look for an announcement soon.

In the meantime, we’re proud to announce that the Planning Free School of Chattanooga is hosting a series of upcoming workshops this Saturday, March 30th at The 4th Floor of the Public Library in downtown Chattanooga that you may be interested in! The Planning Free School aims to deliver community-building tools, skills, and workshops that will enable everyday people to envision the kind of world that we all know could be. COA believes that strong communities are organized communities with a plan for success, and the Planning Free School can give us all the tools we need to dream big and create that plan for a more just and equitable city.

Here are some of the workshops that will be available:

The City as Play: Interactive Model Building

The goal of James Rojas’s “City as Play” work, which includes interactive model and diorama building, is to translate “the impenetrable maps and language of land use planning into a activities that are visual, tactile, and playful” (Rojas 2010).

The goal of these exercises it to engage people in a process of developing their values about the built environment. Participants will transform random found, abstract objects into places, effectively making these values explicit. This strategy is also a good way to get people politically engaged in neighborhood or community change, offering an alternative way of submitting input into ‘official’ planning and placemaking processes.

What:
The City as Play: Interactive Model Building

When:
Saturday, March 30th
11:00am - 12:45pm

Where:
The 4th Floor
Public Library, Downtown Chattanooga
1001 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
[MAP]

Developing Neighborhood Assessment Tools: Part I

How can we creatively, collaboratively, and systematically assess our neighborhoods and communities? What, if anything, are the built and social ‘elements’ of a just and sustainable city? How can we evaluate our progress toward these goals? In Part 1 of this two-part skill-share, participants will draft a neighborhood assessment toolkit for evaluating their neighborhoods. In Part 2 (April 20th), participants will share and analyze and compare the results of their own neighborhood assessments with others in the group.

What:
Developing Neighborhood Assessment Tools: Part I

When:
Saturday, March 30th
1:00pm - 2:45pm

Where:
The 4th Floor

1001 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
[MAP]

Everyday Mobility: Using Cognitive Maps to Understand Urban Access and Mobility

How do residents move through and access resources within the city? This workshop will engage participants in a creative cognitive mapping exercise aimed at understanding every day mobility patterns and sites of cultural/ community significance.

The purpose of producing and analyzing cognitive maps is to understand how people relate to and understand some specific aspect of their local environment (Lynch 1960, Downs and Stea 1973, 1977, 2005). Through these visual representations of space, participants convey key interpretations of the built and natural environment, including land uses, scale, threats and opportunities.

What:
Everyday Mobility: Using Cognitive Maps to Understand Urban Access and Mobility

When:
Saturday, March 30th
3:00pm - 4:45pm

Where:
The 4th Floor
1001 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
[MAP]

We look forward to seeing you soon!

In love and solidarity,

Perrin Lance
Executive Director, COA
423-653-2393
perrin.lance@chattaction.org

Announcements, Changes, and a New Year!

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:03:54 -0500

Happy New Year from all of us at Chattanooga Organized for Action!

We hope that the holidays gave you time to refresh, relax, and recharge. There’s much work and amazing things we’re going to do together in 2013, and we’ll need all the help we can get.

As we enter the New Year, we wanted to thank you for volunteering your time to keep the cause of social justice alive and well in Chattanooga. In the past year, we worked with residents of the Westside community as they defeated Purpose Built Communities plans to destroy their homes. With their victory secure, the Westside Community Assocation started crafting their own solutions to the lack of affordable housing in Chattanooga, proving yet again that those most directly-affected by the issues have what it takes to solve the issues!

To close out the year, COA organizers and public and subsidized housing residents marked a historic occasion in the creation of the CityWide Resident Council, a HUD-recognized public and subsidized housing tenants’ union. As the CityWide Resident Council gathers strength and makes its plans, their mission is clear: stop the planned destruction of Chattanooga’s public housing communities. As CityWide begins its fight, we know that they won’t be alone. Our volunteers will be there, as they always have, ready to march, lend a hand, and push the cause of justice to a bright new day.

One victory was especially sweet. In 2010, COA launched its first community organizing campaign, an effort to partner with residents of the Westside community to win back their community grocery store after the local Dollar General store had closed. Through marches, recruitment strategies, and community meetings and months and months of persistent effort, the day came: the Westside finally got its grocery store.

The New Year ahead of us has many challenges. Poverty, and all its consequences, is a growing affliction in Chattanooga. More and more communities in Chattanooga are sinking into poverty as the number of extremely poor neighborhoods in our city has more than doubled in the past decade. With the closing of seven area grocery stores this past year, food deserts are expanding their reach across Chattanooga. The rents are among the highest rising in the nation, and one of out every two Chattanoogans living in the urban core are economically burdened by housing costs.

Those affected by poverty deserve and demand justice. We at Chattanooga Organized for Action have always believed in the power of communities to tackle those issues themselves, and now, with more than two years worth of struggles and victories behind us, we have the proof.

In order to stay true to our principles of putting the leadership of the marginalized first, we have decided to transition to a new structure for COA… one that will make our organization the most authentic community organization in the city! But in order to get it right, we need to take a few weeks off to meet and plan with our grassroots organizations.

The Weekly COA Meetings that were held on Mondays are now cancelled and will be replaced with a Monthly COA Meeting where our grassroots organizations can get together to support and connect with each other for the purposes of creating a long-lasting movement for social justice in Chattanooga.

While the final details of securing the Monthly COA Meetings are worked out, our grassroots organizations will need YOUR help even more than ever before. As they take the lead in COA, they will be reaching out to you with more opportunities than ever before to lend your hand and help make their vision into a reality.

So, stay tuned for more announcements and updates in the coming weeks!

Thanks to all of you for the victories so far. In 2013, we can do even greater things together!

Sincerely,
Perrin Lance
Executive Director

Go and Make that Road: A New Year at COA

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:53:00 -0500

You Make the Road by Walking
an open letter by Perrin Lance, Co-Director

Almost three years ago, a group of citizen-activists sat down at a table to form a social justice organization. Seated together as friends, from that meeting came Chattanooga Organized for Action. Founded in order to bring alive the vision of a more just city, our journey for social justice has seen its trials, joys, and challenges. Together, we’ve formed friendships all across our city - friendships that make our organization strong and united towards our single purpose: to put power in the hands of the powerless so that together we can build the world as we know it should be.

The New Year is wide ahead of us. With the successful formation of the CityWide Resident Council, COA’s organizing work continues to gain momentum. Our partnership with CityWide to win housing justice for public and subsidized housing residents will continue into 2013 with the formation of new Resident Councils in more and more housing communities. COA will be proud to stand with them as we work together towards people-based solutions to the lack of affordable housing in our city. Further, through the Planning Free School, we are working with Courtney Knapp, a Cornell University Ph.D. candidate, to give our grassroots leaders the skills and resources necessary to make their own community plans.

Our goal for the New Year is to become the most authentic community-led organization in Chattanooga. As we continue to initiate, support, and connect grassroots organizations to make a real movement for social justice in our city, we want to continually put the very people we organize with in the leadership of our organization, forever ensuring that COA will always be true to our vision and principles.

Plans are in the works, changes are on the way, but our vision remains the same. And while we know there is a long road ahead of us, we know this - you make the road by walking.

That’s why we want to pause along the way to say “thank you” to one person in particular who has consistently helped make that road with us. As difficult as this path has ever been, Chris Brooks has stood with us, always at our side, and ready to work with us to make our vision for a better Chattanooga possible.

While Chris Brooks will always be there for us, ready to lend a hand, this year will mark his last year with us serving as a Co-Director of Chattanooga Organized for Action. In order to make sure that COA has the capacity and resources necessary to grow into our vision of an organization owned by and for the poor people of Chattanooga, Chris will be exiting his position with us and exploring new and exciting roads of his own.

For the past nearly three years, Chris Brooks has done everything in his strength to make Chattanooga Organized for Action a reality. A road-builder for the cause of social justice, we have made real and meaningful progress towards justice in Chattanooga because of his willingness to work, eagerness to listen, fearlessness to call out wrong, and his capacity to be our good and true friend.

On behalf of all COA, thank you, Chris, for everything you have done for our us.

Beginning January 1st, 2013, the two Co-Director positions will be combined into one new, full-time Executive Director position to be helmed by myself, Perrin Lance. I look forward to serving all of you much as I have for the past nearly three years, and as sad as I am to not have my friend, Mr. Brooks, by my side in the position as Co-Director, I know that this is an incredible moment to grow our organization.

Together with you, let’s make COA into the most authentic, community-led organization this city has ever seen. Let’s make a real movement for poor people in Chattanooga, and let’s make our city into the one we have always known it could be!

There’s much work to be done in the year ahead. Before we get there, though, let’s take time to celebrate. That’s why we’re inviting you to attend the CityWide Celebration & Holiday Potluck on Monday, December 17th at Renaissance Presbyterian Church starting at 6:00pm!

We would love for you to come out and celebrate the achievements and success of Chattanooga’s grassroots organizations with us and to thank Chris Brooks for all that he has done for COA.

What: CityWide Celebration & Holiday Potluck

Where: Renaissance Presbyterian Church, 1211 Boynton Drive, Chattanooga, TN [MAP]

When: Monday, December 17th from 6:00pm till 7:30pm

There is a long road ahead of us, and we need all of us, together, in order to make it. As we look forward to 2013, let’s reflect, refresh, and enjoy our friendships that have grown ever stronger through this past year.

Sincerely,

Perrin Lance
Co-Director

CityWide Resident Council Forms to Represent Public & Subsidized Housing Residents, Plans to Fight Proposed Destruction of Public Housing

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:18:00 -0500

The newly elected officers of the CityWide Resident Council stood today in front of the shuttered windows and doors of Harriet Tubman Homes, once the second-largest public housing site in the city, and said boldly and clearly “never again.”

CityWide is a HUD-recognized tenant’s organization representing Chattanoogans living in public and subsidized housing under the jurisdiction of the Chattanooga Housing Authority. Organized according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development rules and regulations, the CityWide Resident Council has elected officers from over six different public and subsidized housing communities across the city.

The CityWide Resident Council was officially formed on Tuesday, December 4th at a swearing-in ceremony hosted by City Councilman Andrae McGary at the Boynton Terrace Senior Center. The seven elected officers represent residents living in both CHA’s low income public housing developments and those receiving Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. The seven officers include:

George Walker of Boynton Terrace as President;
Roxann Larson of Dogwood Manor Apartments as Vice-President;
Irma Harris of Greenwood Terrace as Secretary;
Lisa Rooks of College Hill Courts as Correspondence-Secretary;
Lonnie Stewart of Mary Walker Towers as Treasurer;
Beulah Washington of Dogwood Manor as Historian;
Karl Kendrick as Parliamentarian.

“We decided to form in response to the destruction of our public housing communities here in Chattanooga. We’ve recently lost Harriet Tubman Homes and now College Hill Courts and East Lake Courts are scheduled for either demolition or sale in 2013. This is unacceptable and we will not allow it to happen on our watch.”

- George Walker, President of the CityWide Resident Council

Since 1999, six public housing communities in Chattanooga have been destroyed. Currently, there are 2,942 public housing units left with 1,477 people on the closed waiting list. The CHA’s 2013 Annual Plan calls for the planned demolition or sale of College Hill Courts, East Lake Courts, Missionary Heights Apartments, and the Glenwood – Devel Lane development, with a timeframe for demolition or sale within 2013. If the proposed demolitions or sales are approved, nearly 1000 families and individuals would be displaced. Even though Federal regulations require that persons displaced from low-income public housing developments receive a Section 8 housing voucher to help with housing relocation, there must still be a sufficient number of landlords willing to take the vouchers for those displaced people to find homes. The Chattanooga Times Free Press recently reported that scores of section 8 residents cannot find landlords to accept their vouchers.

“Where are you going to put a 1,000 low-income people if we tear down public housing? Are you going to send them to the Southside or an expensive condo in the NorthShore? The point is that there simply isn’t enough affordable housing in Chattanooga to house all these people. That’s why public housing is needed. This city is ours and we intend on staying here.”
- George Walker, President of the CityWide Resident Council

According to the Report on Affordable Housing, issued by the Westside Community Association and Chattanooga Organized for Action earlier in the year, over 50% of all people living in Chattanooga’s urban core live in unaffordable housing and are burdened by housing costs. The report also cited an earlier Times Free Press article, which stated that Chattanooga has the third highest-rising rents in the nation. In addition, a 2010 Brookings Report determined that 43% of our city’s population are classified as “low income” - making less than 200% of the federally recognized poverty line.

“All of these issues, from poverty to homelessness to a lack of affordable housing, disproportionately affect residents of public housing. But we pay our dues. We pay our taxes. Why shouldn’t we be treated as fair and as equal as everyone else?”
- George Walker, President of the CityWide Resident Council

The CityWide Resident Council will act as the authoritative advising body for the residents of public and subsidized housing and can replace the CHA’s Resident Advisory Board, a group of hand-picked residents meant to represent resident interests.

“The Resident Advisory Board did not come close to doing its job on informing residents on what’s going on. The residents that served on the Resident Advisory Board were hand-picked by CHA and ill-informed of what they were supposed to be doing. That’s why we’ve had to self-organize our own representative group. The HUD rules and regulations allow us this opportunity and we took advantage of it to further represent the interest of our residents.”
- George Walker, President of the CityWide Resident Council

The CityWide Resident Council will also serve to help residents in other public housing communities organize their own Resident Council. Partnering with Chattanooga Organized for Action, CityWide will provide residents with the skills and training necessary to form their own Resident Councils. Plans include establishing groups in College Hills, The Villages, Cromwell Hills, and Emma Wheeler Homes. Chattanooga Organized for Action had also partnered with public and subsidized housing residents to help them form the CityWide Resident Council.

Gloria Griffith Honored with 2013 UnBought & UnBossed Award

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:15:59 -0500

We are very pleased to announce that Ms. Gloria Griffith has been named as an honoree of Girls Inc.’s 9th annual UnBought and UnBossed award! The UnBought and UnBossed Awards were created to recognize Hamilton County women who through their career achievements and community leadership have had a significant impact on improving the lives of girls and women.

A Woman Determined and Audacious in Her Beliefs

Ms. Gloria has faced numerous challenges and obstacles throughout her life, but through it all she has exhibited pure grit and determination in upholding what she knows is right, no matter the consequences. This tenacity of spirit is balanced with the warmest love, and can be seen over the span of her long life, even back forty-three years to the incredible story of her wedding.

Ms. Gloria Jean Carter became Ms. Gloria Jean Griffith on August 28th, 1969 – and in doing so Ms. Gloria (a Black woman) and her husband, Rev. Leroy Griffith, (a white man) became the first legally married interracial couple in Hamilton County and the second legally married interracial couple in the State of Tennessee.

Anti-miscegenation laws (laws created to “protect the integrity of the white race” by making marital or intimate relations between people of color and white folks illegal) in the South, including the State of Tennessee, were not overturned until the summer of 1967 when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that such laws were unconstitutional. But, being made legal and being made socially acceptable are different matters, especially in the South.

Being the first legally married inter-racial couple in Hamilton County in 1967, just a year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was incredibly controversial and dangerous. So much so that a long list of local preachers refused to perform the ceremony out of fear for their lives and jobs. One pastor that was a close personal friend of both Ms. Gloria and Rev. Leroy backed out just two weeks before the wedding. Likewise, a string of local church congregations refused to allow the service to take place within their walls.

In the lead up to the wedding, a group of white vigilantes, looking to terrorize Ms. Gloria and strike fear in the hearts of other interracial couples who might be thinking of following her example, tried to firebomb her family’s house in the Glenwood neighborhood.

All throughout the refusals by clergy and congregations to bless their union, the attempted firebombing, the threats and anger, Ms. Gloria remained undeterred. She and her fiancé solicited the help and support of Leroy Phillips, author of Contempt of Court and a local legend in the legal community, who agreed to represent the couple pro bono in the event that the Hamilton County Clerk’s office denied them a marriage certificate. Ms. Gloria did not stop there, she was absolutely determined to make certain that her wedding would not only happen, but that it would be a community event the likes of which no one had ever seen.

Together, Ms. Gloria and Rev. Leroy made the decision to get married in a large open field in the Westside, with the full blessing of Renaissance Presbyterian Church, the congregation that Rev. Leroy ministered, and a promise by the Rev. David Campbell – pastor of the 1st Presbyterian Church of Cookville, Tennessee – to administer the ceremony.

Over 500 people came to the event, including many living in the Westside and even Times editorialist and future mayor Gene Roberts. A local black power organization, based out of the Westside, shut down the roads leading in and out of the community during the procession for the protection and security of everyone in attendance.

Renaissance Presbyterian Church, the congregation that Rev. Leroy was ministering at the time of their wedding in the late 1960s, is today located on the very field in which Ms. Gloria and Rev. Leroy were married. Ms. Gloria currently serves as an elder in the Renaissance Presbyterian Church and to this very day there are members of the congregation and the Westside community who remember her wedding, the boldness and courage it took for it to happen as well as the feelings of hope it inspired in the community of a dream come to fruition, a dream for which so many had worked and died.

A Woman Dedicated to Her Community

Ms. Gloria’s contributions to her community and the work of social justice are numerous; her chief contribution, however, is the testimony that her whole life gives to the spirit of service and to the defense of her community. Ms. Gloria was born a child of Chattanooga, and the struggles of its poor and oppressed people have always weighed heavy on her heart. She calls the Westside her home, and every day that she opens the doors of her church, Renaissance Presbyterian Church, people from all over the community know that they can go in and see her, get help when they need, and find in Ms. Gloria a friend and an advocate, no matter the cost. If the fabric of a community was held together by threads of compassion and love, then it is Ms. Gloria who sews this thread, with all grace, for so many in the Westside community.

Take the Free Store, for instance. Every Saturday at 10:00 AM, rain or shine, Ms. Gloria opens the doors of the neighborhood church where, one by one, mothers and babies, men, children and families from the neighboring College Hill Courts and the whole Westside travel up and through the doors with clothes and blankets and household supplies. And by the time the doors close at 6:00 PM that evening, literally hundreds of her fellow people have passed through, each taking with them the necessities of existence, the clothes they need, that jacket for their school children or just enough laundry detergent to make it through the month. The Free Store is an experiment in radical hospitality – a space where folks from all over the neighborhood can come and give freely of the things they no longer need and take freely whatever they need or desire. There’s no papers to sign. No need to prove your worth. There is only the free opportunity to come as you are and see for yourself that communities have the full capacity to take care of themselves – that your physical and material needs can be met simply by opening the doors, in gracious hospitality, to the neighbor you’ve always lived next to but have yet to meet.

And when Christmas comes around, Ms. Gloria can be found in the church, all the way in the back, directing a whole group of her volunteers and family members towards wrapping up presents, filling stockings, making last minute phone calls to find just the right toy for this young mother’s child, or a new jacket for the boy that’s grown faster than expected. She can be found behind a mountain of bows, cutting ribbons, taping packages, driving between this store and that – all so that she can bring Chattanooga’s low-income children the Christmas they deserve. Every year, Ms. Gloria, teams up with many of Chattanooga’s other Presbyterian ministries to go to area schools and make sure that no Christmas passes any child by. Stuffed into big Christmas stockings, hundreds of children every year enjoy warm hats, comfortable jackets, mittens, and toys thanks to the hours and hours of work that Ms. Gloria puts in to make the holidays possible for those for whom much is impossible for.

Providing for her community is something that Ms. Gloria does without second thought, and when her community’s only grocery store closed up shop and left in the summer of 2010, Ms. Gloria thought that even though she probably couldn’t open one up herself, she could bring a grocery store back to her community. And she did. Together with Chattanooga Organized for Action, Ms. Gloria knocked on doors all throughout the Westside to let her neighbors know that it was time to end their community’s food desert and to get out in the streets and speak their minds so their vision for their community could be known. The result was the Food March of 2010; an effort of Westside residents to bring attention to their community’s lack of access to affordable and healthy food – and hopefully attract a grocer. Over 100 people from all over the city came and marched on a cold December day to the nearest grocery store to show what it was like to walk in the Westside’s shoes, and right there, leading the way, was Ms. Gloria and her family.

The march ended up working, but not before Ms. Gloria had helped to organize her residents for action to an even greater degree. Ms. Gloria, together with community leaders from all over the Westside, worked in the fall of 2011 to start the Westside Community Association, a city-recognized Neighborhood Association representing the interests of the over 2,000 people that call the Westside home. Out of the first series of meetings came a Neighborhood Watch and, at long last, the efforts that brought about the return of the Westside’s grocery store. Now, nearly a year and half after the Westside’s grocery store closed up shop, you can find children buying candy, mothers buying dinner supplies, and a community thankful for the gift of having a local grocery store – all because Ms. Gloria, and those who followed her lead, got up and demanded great things of themselves, their community and their city.

Chattanooga Organized for Action is proud to take leadership from Ms. Gloria Griffith, a strong Black woman whose vision, dedication and passion are an inspiration and model for us all.

2012 Chattanooga Truth Commission on Human Rights

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:46:51 -0500

The 2012 Chattanooga Truth Commission on Human Rights will be held on December 10, 2012 in recognition of International Human Rights Day. This event will take place from 5:30 – 8pm EST at the Chattanooga Downtown Public Library.

This event is free and open to the public.

International Human Rights Day is a globally observed celebration marking the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values. In honor of International Human Rights Day, Chattanooga Organized for Action is joining with the Grove Street Settlement House and several local organizations and community leaders to organize The 2012 Chattanooga Truth Commission on Human Rights. Truth Commissions are designed to expose the truth about systemic human rights violations and injustice that powerful forces would rather keep hidden. Truth Commissions provide a forum in which masses of poor people who are normally ignored, silenced, and made invisible can speak out and be seen and heard.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
5:30 - 6:00 PM: Community Meal and Fellowship
6:00 - 6:30 PM: Cultural Intermission
Moment of silence - for the homeless lost over the last year and those experiencing the violence of poverty
6:30 - 7:30 PM: Testimonies & Statements of Faith
7:30 - 8:00 PM: Facilitated community conversation
8:00 PM: Resolutions: Statement from Truth Commissioners

When: Monday, December 10th beginning at 5:30 PM

Where: The downtown Chattanooga Library Auditorium, 1001 Broad Street

View Larger Map

The Truth Commission in partnership with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, is pleased to offer mobile enrollment in SNAP (food stamps) benefits on site at the event. Childcare is also provided. If you require assistance to fully participate in this event please call 667-1967.

Questions about transportation assistance, call Felicia: (423) 362-0721

Join us on FACEBOOK or visit the 2012 Chattanooga Truth Commission BLOG.

Westside Sock Ministry

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:31:43 -0500

Donations and volunteers are needed!

Chattanooga Organized for Action is proud to support Westside leaders and the Renaissance Presbyterian Church and other Presbyterian churches in Chattanooga in their annual Christmas sock ministry. Poor children, who are not expected to receive Christmas presents from their families, social service agencies or other churches receive Christmas socks filled with a cap, gloves, warm clothing, socks (and sometimes shoes), a personal toy, a family game, and a Bible. All the presents are wrapped with bows and stuffed into a giant Christmas stocking. Last year, more than 215 children joyfully received these socks thanks to the the help of present-wrapping volunteers and the generous donations of toys, clothing and money by folks from all over the region.

The children are selected by the directors of Newton Child Development Center and Chattanooga Human Services Child Care program, by social workers at Battle Academy, Brown Academy, and Donaldson Elementary School, and by Elder Phyllis Thomas, the commissioned minister of social work at Renaissance Presbyterian Church.

Volunteers are needed to help with wrapping and tagging presents and filling the stockings and distributing them.

Wrapping days: 2pm - 5pm Dec. 1, 7, 8, 14, 15
Wrapping will be taking place in the Westside at Renaissance Presbyterian Church located at 1211 Boynton Drive, Chattanooga TN 37404

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Donations of clothing, toys, games, and money are deeply appreciated. All donations can be mailed to or dropped off at Renaissance Presbyterian Church at the address above. Checks can be made out to “Renaissance Presbyterian Church Sock Ministry”.

For further information please contact Phyllis Thomas at 423-624-0724

Report on Affordable Housing

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:29:00 -0400

CHATTANOOGA: A HOME TO ALL

Over the past twenty five years, Chattanooga has experienced an urban renaissance. Once the “dirtiest city in America,” Chattanooga’s transformation, led by committed residents and practitioners, has produced a downtown that is clean, environmentally sustainable, culturally vibrant, and which economically, defies many state and national trends in downtown urban growth.

Although this progress is notable, we cannot deny that its benefits have not been shared equitably across its citizens. For some Chattanoogans, this urban growth led to better, higher paying jobs and moves into luxury housing along the riverfront. But for the majority of Chattanoogans living in the urban core, the experiences of the city’s renaissance have been increasing housing costs that outpace the growth of their incomes— leading to greater housing insecurity and unaffordability for folks living and working across the city. In other words, the new Chattanooga is a place where fewer and fewer existing residents can afford to call it ‘home.’

The Chattanooga Affordable Housing Report - produced by Housing & Economic Development Planner Courtney Knapp, the Westside Community Association and Chattanooga Organized for Action and presented to the Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday September 25, 2012 - reveals the startling truth of the affordable housing crisis that is well under way in Chattanooga:

1 in 2 - or 8,825 - total households in Chattanooga’s urban core live in unaffordable housing and are burdened by housing costs.
More than a quarter of all renters - 3,234 households - are severely burdened, paying more than 50% of the their total income on housing costs.
Almost half of all mortgage-holding homeowners living in the urban core—2,756 households—live in unaffordable housing relative to their incomes.

These facts, when combined with the plans by the Chattanooga Housing Authority to displace the hundreds of families living College Hill Courts and East Lake Courts, spells disaster for the thousands of poor and working class families that are struggling to live in the urban core. Many are being pushed out - further away from public transportation, grocery stores, schools, jobs, the communities they grew up in and their places of worship.

YOU CAN READ THE ENTIRE REPORT BY CLICKING HERE

As this report makes clear, we need our city government to take action - sooner rather than later.

THERE IS A SOLUTION!

The Affordable Housing Ordinance is a solution to the housing crisis being faced by thousands of families in our city – and it’s not just any solution, but it’s a solution crafted by grassroots leaders from the Westside Community Association, an organization of low-income public and subsidized housing residents from one of the most vulnerable communities in Chattanooga.

The Affordable Housing Ordinance affects only the Urban Overlay, which is the downtown core of our city. Neighborhoods and communities from Hill City to St. Elmo to Orchard Knob and Glenwood would all be positively affected by this ordinance.

The Affordable Housing Ordinance, if enacted into law, would increase, maintain, and improve the supply of affordable housing in Chattanooga. Here’s how:

Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning: This provision of the Affordable Housing Ordinance would increase the affordable housing supply in Chattanooga by requiring that new residential developments built in our city’s urban core lease at least one out of every ten of their units to low or moderate income people. For the newest developments, the required number of affordable units would be up to three out of every ten. Mandatory inclusionary zoning laws are very common in the United States. In fact, two entire states and over 200 cities have used inclusionary zoning laws to provide affordable, mixed-income housing, making their communities more diverse and integrated and protecting families from displacement when new investment occurs. Many cities have adopted mandatory inclusionary zoning because voluntary incentive programs have historically proven to be ineffective at producing significant numbers of affordable housing units. You can read about Chapel Hill’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance by clicking HERE.
1-for-1 Replacement of Low-Income Housing: This provision of the law would maintain the affordable housing supply and make sure that the loss of many of our affordable homes stops. It would require that any new residential developments built by making way for the destruction of low-income public housing have just as many affordable units as there was before. Basically, if it was affordable then, it should stay affordable now.

Blight-Reduction: This provision of the law would improve the quality of the affordable housing supply and make sure that the newly-created affordable units are built to the highest standards possible. Any new units must match the strict guidelines followed by the Federal government to ensure that Chattanoogans aren’t living under slumlords.

YOU CAN READ THE ENTIRE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE BY CLICKING HERE

Make the Affordable Housing Ordinance a reality!

You can help make the Affordable Housing Ordinance become law. The Westside Community Association asks that you contact your City Council representatives and let them know we need to solve the housing crisis! Go to http://chattanooga.gov/city-council to find your Councilperson!

District 1: Deborah Scott
phone: (423) 425-7858
E-mail: scott_d@chattanooga.gov

District 2: Sally Robinson
Phone: (423) 757-5334
E-mail: robinson_sa@chattanooga.gov

District 3: Pam Ladd
Phone: (423) 757-5344
E-mail: ladd_p@chattanooga.gov

District 4:Jack Benson
Phone: (423) 757-5196
E-Mail: benson_j@chattanooga.gov

District 5: Russell Gilbert
phone: (423) 757-5332
Email: gilbert_r@chattanooga.gov

District 6: Carol Berz
Phone: (423) 425-7852
E-Mail: berz_c@chattanooga.gov

District 7: Manuel Rico
Phone: (423) 425-7856
E-mail: rico_m@chattanooga.gov

District 8: Andrae McGary
Phone: (423) 757-5364
E-mail: mcgary_a@chattanooga.gov

District 9: Peter Murphy
Phone: (423) 757-5367
E-mail address: murphy_p@chattanooga.gov

Social Justice Bus Tour: Connecting The Dots of Oppression, Past & Present

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:36:00 -0400

Chattanooga has a long history of struggle & resistance, from labor strikes to Civil Rights sit-ins to Communism to Black Power, the interconnected issues of race, class, gender & the environment have played a pivotal role in defining the lives of Chattanooga residents.

Come learn about the history of social justice in Chattanooga & connect the dots of oppression by joining the Grove Street Settlement House & Chattanooga Organized for Action for a social justice bus tour. The tour will take a CARTA bus on the #1 Route from downtown Chattanooga to the historic Bethlehem Center in Alton Park. The tour will culminate in a forum discussion and dinner in the Beth Bistro.

Dinner & discussion is $10.00 at the Bethlehem Bistro. All money benefits the economic & empowerment initiatives at the Bethlehem Center. Also, don’t forget to bring money to ride the bus!

Bus Times:

View Larger Map

First Tour - 5:30 PM

Carta Bus Stop in front of EPB building on Market Street

Second Tour - 6:00 PM

Carta Bus Stop in front of EPB building on Market Street

Dinner at the Bethlehem Bistro begins at 6:30 PM, we will ride the 7:30 bus back to Miller Park on Market Street.

Please rsvp by emailing which bus tour you plan to attend at: info@chattaction.org

Support the Affordable Housing Ordinance!

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:53:00 -0400

The Affordable Housing Ordinance!

Families living under bridges, homeless shelters at capacity, rising rents, and people with nowhere to go…the lack of affordable housing in Chattanooga is reaching a crisis point. In order to offer a solution to this citywide problem, Chattanooga Organized for Action is proud to stand behind the Westside Community Association as they lobby for their Affordable Housing Ordinance!

THE CRISIS…

Chattanooga’s poor and working families need an affordable place to live, but with expensive condos and gentrification replacing our affordable communities, Chattanooga’s low-income people are being left with nowhere to turn!

The Facts

· Six public housing sites have been demolished since 1999. Then, our city had 3,692 public housing units. Today, we have only 2,942 units left with over 1,477 people on the closed waiting list. The Chattanooga Housing Authority plans on destroying seven more public housing sites, resulting in the loss of over almost 1,000 units.

· Over 5,000 people sit on the waiting list for Section 8 vouchers. Wait times sometimes take years, but fewer landlords are taking the vouchers. Currently, 125 people with vouchers cannot find landlords to take vouchers.

· While thousands sit on waiting lists, only 12 of the 48 public housing units have been leased at the new Maple Hills Apartments after nearly two months of being open.

· Chattanooga has the third highest rising rents in the nation, only behind San Francisco and NYC.

· According to the Och’s Center, Chattanooga’s wages are not keeping up with the increases in rent.

· The CHA’s 2013 Annual Plan makes it clear. To quote from the plan: “The waiting list for public housing is equal to 81 percent of the current occupied number of units. This demonstrates the critical demand for affordable housing that appears to be growing.”

A SOLUTION…

The Westside Community Association has written the Affordable Housing Ordinance. Laws like this are common all across the nation. The law requires that spaces in apartments, townhouses, etc., be leased only to low-income people. Here’s what the law provides:

1. Mixed-Income Housing: “That within the City’s Urban Overlay Zone all new multi-unit developments – apartments, condominiums and townhouses - are required to lease to low and/or moderate income persons at least one (1) dwelling unit for every ten (10) dwelling units.”

2. 1-for-1 Replacement of Low-Income Housing: “Any construction of development taking place on former public housing sites must provide low and moderate income housing in the number equal to the number of units previously demolished.”

3. Blight-Reduction: “That no unit shall be let to low or moderate income persons or families that does not meet or exceed the requirements of the Chattanooga Housing Authority regarding safety of occupants and the square footage of floor space and the number of rooms required per individual and/or family tenants.”

Click HERE to read the Affordable Housing Ordinance!

The Affordable Housing Ordinance is based on the demands listed on the petitions signed by over 1,200 public housing that were delivered to the City Council during the Westside’s “Not for Sale” campaign. Written by the very people who experience the housing crisis, this is the people’s solution to Chattanooga’s housing crisis!

But will the City Council listen?

The Westside has fought to make sure that the City Council listens to the voices of the people and make their demands known. But will the Council listen?

The WCA has given countless speeches at City Council asking the Council to make affordable housing in Chattanooga a reality and work with actual residents living in our most vulnerable and marginalized communities to get it done!
They’ve gone door-to-door in low-income communities to gather over 1,200 signatures on a petition demanding action be taken by the City Council on affordable housing.
They’ve organized a march from the Westside to City Hall to deliver the signed petitions and ask that the City Council make the right to housing a legislative priority.
They’ve taken the demands listed on the petitions and drafted them into legislation– an inclusionary zoning ordinance. Now, the City Council must act!

Make the Affordable Housing Ordinance a reality!

District 1: Deborah Scott
phone: (423) 425-7858
E-mail:scott_d@chattanooga.gov

District 2: Sally Robinson
Phone: (423) 757-5334
E-mail: robinson_sa@chattanooga.gov

District 3: Pam Ladd
Phone: (423) 757-5344
E-mail:ladd_p@chattanooga.gov

District 4: Jack Benson
Phone: (423) 757-5196
E-Mail: benson_j@chattanooga.gov

District 5: Russell Gilbert
phone: (423) 757-5332
Email: gilbert_r@chattanooga.gov

District 6: Carol Berz
Phone: (423) 425-7852
E-Mail: berz_c@chattanooga.gov

District 7: Manuel Rico
Phone: (423) 425-7856
E-mail: rico_m@chattanooga.gov

District 8: Andrae McGary
Phone: (423) 757-5364
E-mail: mcgary_a@chattanooga.gov

District 9: Peter Murphy
Phone: (423) 757-5367
E-mail address: murphy_p@chattanooga.gov

Make the Affordable Housing Ordinance a reality! Chattanooga’s most vulnerable deserve a home!

"Let's Organize the Hood" & Annual Membership Assembly: Wrap Up

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:33:00 -0400

“Let’s Organize the Hood” & Annual Membership Assembly: Wrap Up

Membership posing for a group picture from “Let’s Organize the Hood!” (photo by Jared Story)

The Long, Long Struggle

The pages of Chattanooga’s history have many names on them. But there’s a few that stand out to us. There’s a few names that call out to us as Freedom Fighters and as those who have persisted in the long struggle for social justice, and as torch bearers for all those who have come before us, we at Chattanooga Organized for Action were honored and humbled that Lorenzo Ervin, his partner JoNina Ervin, and Maxine Cousin would choose to spend a special weekend celebrating social justice and the long struggle against racism and oppression right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Chattanooga Organized for Action was proud to host Lorenzo and JoNina Ervin, both legendary anti-police brutality activists and organizers, and Maxine Cousin, a long-time champion for social justice in our city, for the “Let’s Organize the Hood” community organizing trainings and the First Annual Membership Assembly. Held over a span of three days between July 26th and July 28th, the organizing trainings and Membership Assembly brought together the Westside community, Chattanooga’s broader activist community, and the COA family together for a special time of reflection, energy, love, and renewal.

Reflections on a Movement: Lorenzo Ervin

(For mp3 podcasts of the “Let’s Organize the Hood” trainings, click HERE)

“They say you can’t fight City Hall. The Hell you can. You can fight it and you can win.” - Lorenzo Ervin, on Day 1 of the “Let’s Organize the Hood trainings.

After weeks of preparation, canvassing, community flyering, and anticipation, COA and the Westside Community Association opened the doors of Renaissance Presbyterian Church on Thursday, July 26th and welcomed all comers. Individuals from all over the city walked through the doors, signed petitions from the Westside Community Association against police brutality and to make College Hill Courts a National Historic Site, and listened as Lorenzo and JoNina give reflections on the movement that changed a city.

The first day began with the personal reflections of Lorenzo Ervin on the anti-police brutality activism and organizing in Chattanooga in the 1980s and 90s. Lorenzo’s arrival at Renaissance Presbyterian Church marked the first time in over a decade that he had returned to Chattanooga in a boycott protest over the city’s refusal to do anything about acts of police brutality against the Black community.

The story of Lorenzo Ervin, Maxine Cousin, and the Concerned Citizens for Justice’s struggle to end the racist and violent killings of Chattanooga’s Black community members began in many ways. For Lorenzo Ervin, a native-born Chattanoogan, the story of his entrance into the fight for social justice is intimately tied together with the start of the sit-in movement in downtown Chattanooga. Led by Black high school students from Howard High School, Black youth took to the streets of Chattanooga in early 60’s to protest racial segregation. The student-led protests successfully ended segregation in downtown Chattanooga’s establishments, but the burning question still remained: Was ending segregation enough, or was greater action necessary?

Lorenzo Ervin, speaking during the 1980s anti-police brutality movement in Chattanooga.

That question, those sit-ins, the feel of the water cannons and the constant threat ofpolice violence led Lorenzo forward with a passion for community organizing for the rest of his life. From involvement in the Black Panther Party and their work in Chicago to his travels around the world helping people of color organize against oppression, Lorenzo left Chattanooga and did not return for many years, but when he did, his return changed the history of the city forever.

The nearly two decades of activism and organizing that followed, from the attempted recall of Police Commissioner Tom Kennedy, to the prayer circles outside the Chattanooga Jail, to the fights against white supremacist groups and the Chattanooga Police Department who brutalized the Black community of our city, to the historic Brown v. Board of Commissioners lawsuit which allowed for more minority representation in government… none of it would have happened if Lorenzo had not met the one individual who has continued to carry the torch for social justice in Chattanooga for decades, Maxine Cousin.

In the fight for social justice, there are some who choose the struggle. There are some who willingly and knowingly throw the weight of their full selves into the fight for justice, and there are some for whom the fight for justice demands the weight of their time, their energy, and the length their years.

In the early 1980’s, the struggle choose Maxine Cousin when her father, Wadie Suttles died in the custody of the Chattanooga Police Department. The resulting cover-up and conspiracy engulfed the city in turmoil. The Wadie Suttles case, as it came to be known, found Maxine Cousin fighting to win justice for the death of her father. Her relentless efforts at winning justice for the victims of police brutality were met not only with resistance from City Hall, but resistance from some within the Black community itself. Determined to press ahead and demand radical change to Chattanooga, Maxine Cousin, Annie Thomas, and Lorenzo Ervin founded the Concerned Citizens for Justice.

Maxine Cousin, pictured in the 1980s, as she fought against police brutality here in Chattanooga.

Together, these three freedom fighters forged a movement in Chattanooga whose effects and legacy we are still coming to understand today. Through thousands of hours of grassroots legal research, the three were able to launch a successful Voting Rights Act lawsuit, the Brown v. Board of Commissioners lawsuit, which fundamentally changed the structure of Chattanooga City Government from an at-large district representation system to one which allowed for minority districts to elect their own representatives.

But the Concerned Citizens for Justice fought for more than just a change of government; they fought to the end the legacy of police terror against the Black community. Today, a re-founded Concerned Citizens for Justice and the Westside Community Association are organizing to end cases of police brutality against the people of the Westside. Just as COA is proud to carry on the tradition of social justice in Southeast Tennessee, we are proud that the grassroots people of Chattanooga are still fighting for their freedom from police terror, gentrification, and for the liberty to make their communities the kinds of homes they want them to be.

“It isn’t organizers who make the movement, its the people. You have to empower the people or you have made a mistake. You have to show the poor and oppressed that the powerful can be beaten. That, despite all their money and power, that they can be beaten. Chattanooga, right now, has a real chance to build a movement that can change this city forever. But we challenge you…live up to our legacy. Live up to the legacy of the Concerned Citizens for Justice.” - Lorenzo Ervin, at the “Let’s Organize the Hood” trainings

The First Annual Membership Assembly

(For mp3 podcasts of the Annual Membership Assembly, click HERE)

The COA Principles of Unity

“Chattanooga Organized for Action is not your typical non-profit. You won’t find our staff downtown, you won’t find our board members at fundraising galas, and our membership don’t just show up, they run the show. Our staff work in public housing developments building tenants associations with residents, our board members lead marches on City Hall, and our membership live and breathe a singular, relentless passion: to make Chattanooga a more just place for all.” - from the Principles of Unity, Introduction

The COA First Annual Membership Assembly wasn’t your typical conference. After all, COA isn’t your typical non-profit organization. But what stood out, clear and above all talk of politics and organizing was this one word: love.

More than anyone word mentioned at our Assembly, love took precedence. Love towards each other in the struggle, love towards the world, love for the marginalized and oppressed. Love that gives both warmth and demands the end of oppression, and love that affirms value and yet challenges us all to move towards greater perfection.

At the center of our first Annual Assembly was the adoption of the new COA Principles of Unity, a document that outlines the vision for a better world that COA seeks to enact. The document, drafted by a committed group of members, is the best example of not only the kind of city and world we would like to see, but the kind of organization Chattanooga Organized for Action strives towards becoming.

In our document, you’ll find our analysis of the world as it is, a world of oppression and exploitation and unequal power, and our analysis of the world as it should be, a world where all power belongs to the people and all people have the right to determine the conditions of their living.

From that, you’ll find our methods and strategy for change, which include true and deep commitments towards each other and towards making sure that the value and strength of our relationships are put front and center. Lastly, you’ll find our commitment towards the world around us, a commitment to both oppose oppression where it stands and actively work to build new institutions for the world as it should be.

Click HERE to download a copy of the newly-ratified ‘COA Principles of Unity’!

Recognition and Awards

At Chattanooga Organized for Action, we know for a fact that all of our members work tirelessly towards our shared vision of a more just city, and for our first Annual Membership Assembly, we felt that it was an opportune moment to recognize a few individuals who have proved to be stand-out freedom fighters who are in it for the long haul.

“The Lorenzo Ervin Freedom Fighter of the Year Award”

Given to those individuals who represent a deep and life-changing commitment to the work of social justice, the “Lorenzo Ervin Freedom Fighter of the Year Award” is given to those people who in the past year have shown the courage, work and determination needed to make the world as it is into the world as it should be. Named after one of Chattanooga’s foremost freedom fighters, this award is meant to recognize those people who have carried on the rich tradition of social justice in Southeast Tennessee.

This year, our award went to Roxann Larson, the President of the Dogwood Manor Resident Association. From the very beginning of COA’s organizing work in the Wetside, Roxann Larson has shown the courage and commitment needed to help fight back against oppression. She helped to organize the Food March and, as President of her Resident Association, she has fought against management harassment and intolerable living conditions, such as bedbug infestations.

Ms. Roxann Larson, standing in front of her building, Dogwood Manor. (photo by Times Free Press)

Her fight didn’t end there, however. When Mayor Littlefield and Purpose Built Communities attempted to destroy her beloved community, Roxann Larson stood up and said “its time to get radical”. Her work led to the successful “Not for Sale” campaign, which saw the Westside Community Association collect over 1,200 signatures on a petition demanding that Chattanooga City Government recognize the right to housing for Chattanooga’s low-income people. She helped lead a successful march which saw over 100 people walk into the City Council and demand an end to Purpose Built Communities. The Westside successfully beat back Purpose Built Communities due to her efforts.

Roxann Larson currently serves as a vice-president for the National Alliance of HUD Tenants, where she represents HUD tenants from eight Southern states. Roxann regularly attends NAHT’s national conferences, where she lobbies Congresspeople to protect the hundreds of thousands of HUD tenants all across the nation. Thanks to her, countless lives and communities are being saved.

The Maxine Cousin Long Struggle Award

The struggle for social justice is long, and it will take many generations to achieve. Some knowingly choose this struggle and all that comes with it. But for others, however, the struggle chooses them. Given in honor of Maxine Cousin, who has worked for decades to achieve justice for the slaying of her father, Wadie Suttles, while in the hands of police custody, this award recognizes those people who have committed their lives to the tireless and singular pursuit of justice for all.

This year’s award was given to Ms. Gloria Griffith. Born a child of Chattanooga, Ms. Gloria’s entire life has been a witness to continual service for our city’s poor and oppressed. Everything about the life of Ms. Gloria speaks of the power of social justice. Even in choosing the love of her life, the Reverend Leroy Griffith, she showed that love could serve to triumph against the claims that racism tries to lay on our hearts. Her’s was the first interracial marriage in the City of Chattanooga, and only the second in the State of Tennessee, and, despite threats from white supremacist groups, she insisted that the entire community be welcome to her wedding.

Ms. Gloria Griffith, during the “Not for Sale” campaign, training canvas volunteers. (photo by Jared Story)

Her years of service are not limited to just our city. In her years in Atlantic City, she organized and led a successful wildcat strike as her labor union’s shop steward. All across our country, she has worked to win poor children much needed textbooks for school and, during each winter, she has worked to get poor children the much needed blankets, jackets, and presents so that they can the kind of Christmas that they deserve.

This past year saw one of the greatest accomplishments of her life. When Purpose Built Communities threatened to destroy the home she had always knew, her words were clear: “We want building for building, house for house, room for room”. Purpose Built Communities, a nationwide organization responsible for the destruction of countless public housing communities, had just met its match.

Under Ms. Gloria’s leadership, the Westside Community Association worked to articulate the demands of the people of the Westside. Not only did they say no to Purpose Built, but she brought forth a new vision for Chattanooga’s poor and oppressed communities: a vision where everyone in the city, regardless of income, has the right to a home. Together with members of COA, she helped create a petition and went door-to-door in every major public housing development in the entire city. Her efforts helped to gather over 1,200 signatures on that petition and she led over 100 people in “The March to Support the Right to Housing” where, standing in front of the entire City Council, she reminded them that the poor and oppressed people of her city are human beings. That they are Chattanoogan’s, too.

Chattanooga Organized for Action is proud to recognize Roxann Larson and Gloria Griffith as some of the finest citizens this city has ever known.

The COA Justice School Choir closes the the Annual Assembly with song and celebration!

The Work Ahead

Its a new day at Chattanooga Organized for Action, and our work from the previous two years is only a preview of what’s to come. We are proud to announce that we have been awarded a $40,000 Community Grant from the Benwood Foundation. Given to support our efforts at bringing community organizing into more and more of Chattanooga’s marginalized and oppressed communities, we will work even harder in this next year to come.

Additionally, we would like to thank the Appalachian Community Fund for supporting the “Let’s Organize the Hood” trainings. Without their Technical Assistance Grant, we would note have been able to host the wonderful stories and trainings from Lorenzo and JoNina.

Foremost among our plans is instituting the COA Justice School. Designed to educate people in the theory and practice of community organizing, COA members and staff will be working with members of marginalized communities to form their own organizations, make their demands, and win real results. If the previous two years of organizing have shown anything, it is this: the work is working, and the work of community organizing works because the everyday people of Chattanooga are working, everyday, to make our city into the kind of place it was always meant to be.

GUIDE TO GRASSROOTS BANNER MAKING

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:41:00 -0400

THE IMPORTANCE OF ART IN OUR MOVEMENT

Education is the property of no one. It belongs to the people as whole, and if education is not given to the people, they will have to take it.

- Che Guevera

All organizing is story-telling. By organizing together to take collective action and change the material conditions of our lives, we write ourselves back into history. We flip the script and challenge the dominant narratives that are written to rationalize our domination and justify our powerlessness. By organizing together, we prove that another world is not only possible, but that we can make it real.

There is so much power in organizing and so much power in our own individual stories and our collective histories. That is why schools do not and will not teach us how to organize and take direct, collective action to change the world. That is why our own individual experiences are invalidated and not made a basis for deep critical reflection on society and analysis of contemporary issues. That is why our history is white-washed and dressed-up to the point of becoming nothing more than a long series of repetitive dates and so-called “Great Men”. The dominant institutions of today cannot teach us the truth, because if people knew the truth, they would be empowered to see themselves as the agents of history, not just the victims or consumers of it. If people knew the truth, they would stop leaving choices and action to politicians and corporations and just do it themselves. That is why it is up to us, the grassroots, to teach ourselves and one another our own power and our own histories.

Recognizing the incredible importance that the tools of creativity, imagination, art and culture play in re-shaping the world, our organizations and affinity groups should foster and cultivate these tools in all areas of our work. This pamphlet is intended to provide information on just one very specific use of art as direct action, the making of a grassroots banner, but it is our hope that by learning how to make a banner, and by teaching others, that we might become more empowered to infuse our own creativity and imagination into more of our work in the struggle for justice.

Both this guide and the banner shown being made in it are the direct result of training received by The Ruckus Society at the Highlander Research and Education Center. We are deeply grateful to both of these amazing organizations for their work in strengthening the movement.

More information please visit: www.Ruckus.org & www.Highlandercenter.org

STEP ONE: GET THE MATERIALS

Canvas drop cloth: found at most hardware stores in assorted sizes. For our purposes we got a 6 foot by 9 foot canvas drop cloth. Purchasing from the hardware store is much cheaper than buying by the foot at a fabric store.

Paint: You will need white wall primer to coat the canvas drop cloth prior to painting your message. Use only water-based acrylic or latex house paint. Do NOT use enamel or oil based paints. Spray paint can be used as well.

Brushes: Cheap foam brushes work really well. We recommend buying a packet of assorted sizes for edging. For applying primer you will need one or two paint rollers and a paint tray.

Large Plastic Tarp: A large plastic tarp is a good investment, ensuring a quick and easy cleanup. Large and relatively cheap plastic tarps can be purchased at most hardware stores.

Grommet Kit, a hammer and razor blade: A kit for installing grommets in fabric can be found at most hardware stores. You will need a hammer for using the punch to create a hole in the fabric. I also recommend getting an x-acto knife or razor blade for cutting out the hole punch.

Sewing machine and threading

Computer and digital projector

Pencils

Helping hands and a strong message!

STEP TWO: PRIME THE CANVAS

Lay out the plastic tarp flat on the ground and then lay the canvas drop cloth out over top of it.

We applied two coatings of water-based white wall primer to both sides of the drop cloth.

To ensure adequate pre-shrinking we applied the first primer coat equal parts primer and water. To do this, fill a paint tray with half primer and half water and mix with a stirring stick. Use the roller to apply the primer directly to the surface of the primer, making to coat all of it. Let dry. Flip and repeat.
The second coat is straight primer and should go on thick and even.

After the canvas has dried it should have a uniform white look.

STEP THREE: APPLY THE GROMMETS, SEW THE EDGES

After the canvas drop cloth has been primed and dried, you can decide what length you want the material to actually be. We folded the top down by two feet so that the length from the bottom to the top of the banner would only by 4 feet. This provides us with material on the backside that can be used to wrap around a pole and the new length makes it far more easy to carry upright while marching.

After we folded the backside down to make the banner the height we wanted, we duct taped the piece to itself.

We then turned the drop cloth over and marked the spaces for the grommets evenly across the top and bottom of the banner. Make sure to leave enough room between the grommets and the top of the banner to ensure that the sewing machine has enough room to sew a new hem where the fold is made. Or, better yet, sew the hem prior to installing the grommets.

The grommet kit should come with instructions for installing the grommet. First you will need to use a hammer to pound the punch into the fabric. After a circle is clearly pounded into the fabric, use the x-acto knife or razor blade to cut out the hole.

The actual grommet pieces will then fit inside this hole.

After you fit grommet and the washer together with the base, use the handle provided in the kit to hammer the two pieces together.

After you hammer the handle, the grommet should be securely fastened to the hole in the canvas.

Next, use a sewing machine to sew a new hem along the top of the drop cloth at the fold that was made.

Once you are done you should have a new hem at the fold of the canvas with grommets placed just below it.

STEP FOUR: DRAW OUT THE BANNER!

Create whatever graphic or text you want to use for the banner on a computer. Hang the banner somewhere straight with a backing, like a wall, to ensure that the banner stays straight. Using a digital projector, project the image onto the banner. Use a pencil to trace the images onto the banner.

STEP FIVE: PAINT!

After you have traced the images onto the banner, lay it on a flat even surface. Using the sponge brushes, apply the paint to the graphics.

STEP SIX: USE YOUR NEW BANNER!

After the banner is complete you are ready to hang it, carry it in a march, or use it as a backdrop for a video or booth. This banner will be relatively heavy and therefore should probably NOT be used for dropping off the side of buildings.

For more information on banner making and other fun direct action visuals, we recommend that you check out the manual provided by the Ruckus Society on their website: http://ruckus.org/downloads/RS_ActionVisuals.pdf

If you live in the Chattanooga region and would like help, support, or training on grassroots banner making, then please reach out to Chattanooga Organized for Action!

You can download this guide in a pamphlet form by clicking HERE.

"Westside Stories" - COA Awarded Highlander Grant

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:28:00 -0400

The Long Haul

Westside residents organized a “March to Support the Right to Housing” and a rally at the Chattanooga City Council calling for real, progressive solutions to the housing crisis in our city.

Chattanooga’s Westside communites and many, many more people from Chattanooga’s oppressed communities are fighting daily for justice. These struggles may seem unrelated, disconnected, even isolated, but we know the truth. The fight against injustice anywhere is a fight for justice everywhere.

That’s why its important to connect the struggles of the present with the historic legacy of the past. In order to preserve the memories of a community that has long struggled against oppression, Chattanooga Organized for Action has been selected as a recipient of the “We Shall Overcome Fund” by the Highlander Research and Education Center to create the tentatively-titled “Westside Stories” project. The project will feature talented artists and documentarians from COA’s Media Team working in partnership with the Westside Community Association to record the stories of their community’s history of struggle and resistance against racism and poverty in this historic downtown community.Through the “Westside Stories” project, the COA Media Team will collect stories of the fight for social justice from members of the Westside community.

Areas of interest will include documenting the devastating impact of 1950s and 60s Golden Gateway Urban Renewal project on the Westside community, to the Civil Rights-era leaders demands for the end of Jim Crow, to the tenant’s organizing for better housing conditions in College Hill Courts in the 1970s, to the 1980s fights against police brutality.

Copies of the documentary will be provided to both the local African-American History Museum and the Downtown Public Library so that the story of the Westside can be made a part of the permanent fabric of the Chattanooga legend. The documentary will feature interviews with both current and former Westside residents.

Once finished, COA and the Westside Community Association will host a documentary premiere and will provide copies of the film to the Chattanooga Downtown Public Library so that the story of the Westside can be made a part of the permanent fabric of the Chattanooga story.

The Tradition of Social Justice in Southeast Tennessee

The “We Shall Overcome Fund” grant was awarded to Chattanooga Organized for Action by the Highlander Research and Education Center. Formerly known as the Highlander Folk School, this social justice leadership training school was founded just north of Chattanooga in Grundy County in 1932 by activists, educators, and ministers who all held one thing in common: they wanted to fight back against the debilitating effects of systemic poverty, racism, and oppression, and make the “world-as-it -is” into the “world-as-it-should-be”.

Through the methods of popular education, Highlander staff trained community organizers whose names would go on to grace the pages of the history books today. Some of the greatest leaders for justice in the 20^th century learned the skills and vision they needed to make change possible through the Highlander Folk School, including Congressman John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Because of the dedication and passion that a few determined individuals had towards educating and empowering people to do community organizing and social justice work, Southeast Tennessee gave the world a gift it is still enjoying: real and lasting change for the better.

Martin Luther King, Pete Seeger, Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy and Charis Horton stand in front of the Highlander Library just north of Chattanooga in Grundy County, 1957

To understand the story of Chattanooga, you have to understand the story of the Westside. It is our hope that by working hard to document the Westside’s victories against oppression, that Chattanooga Organized for Action can continue the proud tradition of social justice here in Southeast Tennessee.