Tag Archives: social justice

“Everyone ’Neath Their Vine and Fig Tree”

19 Feb
Anthony Manousos and Jill Shook

Anthony Manousos and Jill Shook

Last Thursday the Whittier Daily News published a commentary written by my husband, Anthony Manousos, and me. We’re thrilled at this chance to share about issues of faith, stewardship, and social justice with the greater Los Angeles community.

We enjoy both co-authoring and co-speaking. In fact, on Sunday we spoke at the Quaker meeting in Santa Monica about each of our books. It was very well received and people were inspired to deeper trust and action. We closed by singing our marriage theme song, based on Micah 4:3-4: “Everyone ’Neath Their Vine and Fig Tree,” which is the article title.

In the commentary, Anthony and I discuss the ways in which we try to live out our beliefs. Among them is my work in affordable housing, based in my view of Jubilee and of justice for all, especially lower-income people.

Here are some excerpts:

Although my wife Jill and I come from very different theological perspectives—I am a liberal Quaker, and she is an Evangelical Christian—we share many core values in common, including a deep concern for God’s creation. We both believe that the “earth is the Lord’s” and we have a responsibility to treat the earth, and all life, as sacred. …

“God’s green earth” begins in our own backyard and local community. Jill and I do what we can to make our lifestyle sustainable. We grow our own organic fruits and vegetables … We have a passive solar system to heat water for our showers. We are installing a solar power system and are using gray water. We hope to reduce our water consumption by 20-25% and electricity bill by 100% within the next year. …

We also advocate for policies that will benefit the poor and the environment. As a member of the Christian Community Development Association—a multi-ethnic, interracial group of Evangelical Christians committed to economic justice—Jill advocates for policies to create walkable, less car-reliant communities that are racially and economically mixed. …

Jill’s views on housing and the environment are grounded in the biblical idea of Jubilee, which means the God is the ultimate owner of all land. She argues for the creation of more community land trusts (CLT) because in a CLT, people own their homes but lease the land. CLTs ensure that housing will remain permanently affordable. Over 200 cities have CTLs that provide affordable housing to low income workers.

You can read the full article on the Whittier Daily News website. I’d love to hear your thoughts, and how you may also be trying to live out your faith.

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Making Housing Happen book review in Friends Journal

6 Feb

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed..." --Isaiah 58:6I was excited to have Making Housing Happen reviewed in the January issue of Friends Journal. Published by Friends Publishing Corporation, the journal serves the Quaker and wider communities through “articles, poetry, letters, art, and news that convey the contemporary experience of Friends.”

The book reviewer is Diane Randall, former executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, a Connecticut-based nonprofit focusing on affordable and supportive housing. Diane, who is now executive secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, writes:

How do people get caught up in the issue of affordable housing? Some do because they are poor and in need of a home that is safe and affordable, some because they see economic and environmental injustice played out in poor neighborhoods, and they are called to address it.

In the second edition of Making Housing Happen: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models, editor Jill Suzanne Shook addresses reasons why people of faith engage in the long-term commitment to create affordable housing that builds stronger communities. This book will resonate with those of us who have sought to justify zoning laws for housing density that make homes more affordable, those who have lobbied for independent apartments for people who have been chronically homeless, or those who have used any other approach that allows people to have a place to call home. Builders who have volunteered sweat equity on projects for first-time homeowners will also be interested….

You can read the full review on the Friends Journal website.

Photo: cc by Matti Mattila

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Saving Public Housing?

30 Jan

My friend Diane Miller, who just finished reading my book, made some nice comments. “I just finished reading MHH and was so encouraged by it. I love all of the tangible examples of what people are doing around the country.” I’m quite impressed with Diane’s efforts to save some public housing in Chicago. See the link below for more information about the work that she is doing.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/us-housing-policy-debate-rages-chicago-2014116616144124.html

With changing national policy, many public housing developments have been torn down.This is a good thing, but it has many unintended consequences of displacing residents. The HOPE VI funding is creating wonderful mixed income communities, but many of us feel that there is a need to retain some public housing. What do you think?

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MLK, Housing, and Civil Rights

23 Jan

cc-by-tychayWe are here today because we are tired. We are tired of being seared in the flames of withering injustice. We are tired of paying more for less. We are tired of living in rat-infested slums and in the Chicago Housing Authority’s cement reservations.

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, one aspect of his legacy that has sometimes been overshadowed was his advocacy for affordable housing. But as Terri Ludwig points out, ending discrimination in housing and ensuring decent, low-cost housing for all was inseparable from Dr. King’s overall mission.

Terri is president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., a national nonprofit that provides capital and knowledge to create affordable homes. In “MLK’s Housing Legacy,” she writes, his July 1966 speech at the Chicago Freedom Movement launched a housing movement in the city that quickly gained results:

In August 1966, activists and city officials reached a “summit agreement,” through which the local housing authority promised to build more public housing and the Mortgage Bankers Association agreed to enact certain anti-discrimination rules. … After signing the Chicago summit agreement, Dr. King called it “the first step in a thousand-mile journey.”

Ultimately, Dr. King’s efforts would culminate in the signing of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 — the Fair Housing Act, banning discrimination in home sales and rentals. In signing the law, President Lyndon Johnson credited Dr. King’s vision and advocacy for contributing to its passage – which, sadly, happened a week after his tragic death.

You can read the full article on the Huffington Post.

Photo: cc by tychay

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