EVENT ALERT: HOUSING AS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT” Harlelm Tenants Council Annual Conference at Schomburg October 15 & 16

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

I just received this press notification and thought it would be of great interest and urgency to those who are concerned about the dwindling numbers of affordable homes in New York (specifically Harlem), and the almost nonstop assault on Black families, communities, education by the media, police, city administration, etc.

If there was ever a time to show up at the Schomburg, this is is. Time to pack the joint. Be there and be prepared to be involved. No more time for sidelining and philosophizing; now is the time for action. Take this and pass it on. Moves being made are calculated, we have to be the same -- but we have to also utilize our Black solidarity in conjunction with all the legal forces we can bring to bear to stop them dead in their tracks. We built this city, we built this country. We will remain. And we will have decency, quality of life, and all the goods, services, peace and freedom in our communities that are accorded to other non-Black areas. GDW


Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Join us at the upcoming Housing Conference of the Harlem Tenants Council Annual Housing Conference  Friday, October 15th - Saturday, October 16th 2010
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
525 Malcolm X Blvd @ 135th Street
ADMISSION is FREE

Conference Theme: “WE DEMAND HOUSING AS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT”

On Friday, October 15th and Saturday, October 16th at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture located at 525 Malcolm X Blvd at 135th Street the Harlem Tenants Council will host its Annual Housing Conference.

Our program will kick off on Friday, October 15th from 6 to 9 PM with a solution driven panel on Youth & Gun Violence: Harlem and the National Crisis moderated by Iesha Sekou, founder of Street Corner Resources with a diverse panel that includes community activists, parents who lost children to gun violence and youth members of Hip Hop Culture.

Following this panel we will screen the recently released documentary, "The Vanishing City" with an introduction by co-Director Fiore Derosa.

Glen Ford, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report will deliver the keynote of the evening, The Crisis of Capitalism & Its Impact on Working People (Jobs, Housing, Education, Health Care) moderated by Jon Jeter, author of "Flat Broke in the Free Market: How Globalization Fleeced Working People. Panelists: Dr. Anthony Monteiro (Institute for the Study of Race & Social Thought at Temple University), Margaret Kimberley, Senior Columnist for Black Agenda Report and Author/Journalist Herb Boyd on "The Other Harlem, No Boom!'

On Saturday, October 16th from 8:45 AM to 5 PM we will have a series of workshop: Here are some of the highlights:

Workshop I:  9 - 10:30 AM: Know Your Rights (Housing activist Tom Siracuse takes on the New York State Division of Housing & Community Renewal sued by rent control tenants.) Other panelists to be announced.

Workshop II: 10:30 AM to 12 Noon: Our Struggles are Interconntected moderated by Attorney Joan Gibbs (National Conference of Black Lawyers) will panelists Mark Torres, Co-Chair of Coalition to Save Public Education; Dr. Mathews Hurley on the community struggle to preserve quality health care at Harlem Hospital; Chino Hardin of the Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform on the prison industrial complex decimating Black & Latino Communities; and  Christine Gauvreau (United National Anti-war Movement), We Demand Butter Not Guns!

The afternoon session of workshops under the title of " Communities Struggle Against Gentrification & Displacement"  from 1 PM to 4 PM and the Closing Plenary 4 to 5 PM.

Workshop III: 1 - 2:30  PM:  Columbia University's "Land Grab" & Its Impact on Harlem & Beyond: A case Study of Power, Greed & Corruption moderated by Nellie Hester Bailey (Harlem Tenants Council) with panelists Attorney Norman Siegel, Challenging Columbia University's eminent domain seizure of private property in the US Supreme Court; Christina Walsh (The Institute for Justice), The Abuse of Eminent Domain in New York State; Tom DeMott (Coalition to Preserve Community) The People Struggle Against Columbia University; Attorney Ruth Eisenberg, Environmental Racism: The Dangers of Columbia University's Proposed Bio-Research Laboratories and John Fisher, founder of Tenant.net, The Hype and Realities of Community Benefits Agreements.

Workshop IV: 2:30 - 4 PM: "Tenants: Battles Won and Struggles Ahead" moderated by Dr. Rosemari Mealy (District Council 37 Education Fund) with panelists Attorney Kim Powell (Buyers & Renters United), Challenging Predatory Equity Landlord in Federal Court; Attorney Seth A. Miller (Collins, Dobkins & Miller LLP), The Legal Impact of Roberts versus Tishman Speyer Properties; Filiberto Hermandez (Movement for Justice in El Barrio), Connecting the Local to the Global: How an immigrant led multi-issue organization defeated multi-national real estate corporation Dawnay.

Closing Plenary: 4 - 5 PM:
 "Don't Mourn, Organize & Build Communities: BEST PRACTICES: Lawrence Hamm, People's Organization for Progress; Ramon Jininez, Black & Latino Unity: Forging New Political Reaities; Rev Earl KooperKamp, St Mary's Church; Lumumba Bandela, (Malcolm X Grassroots Movement). Others TBA.
 
“The Vanishing City Directed by Fiore Derosa and Jen Senko (approximate time 50 minutes): Global trends in major cities around the world have changed rapidly in the last several decades. As cities become more interconnected, and less dependent on localized economic models, domestic issues of increased class inequality and sustainability have emerged as central components to city planning debates. These trends are perhaps best exemplified in the city of New York. Told through the eyes of city planners, developers, politicians, small business owners, landlords and tenants, the recent development boom in New York City is analyzed through a mix of archival footage, interviews, and personal stories. Issues of class formation, land use, rezoning decisions and the upheaval of longstanding neighborhoods (including Harlem) combine to provide a critical look into the deeply rooted policies of one of the worlds most iconic cities.
 
(*Organizations listed for identification purpose only) All workshops will take place in the Auditorium of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

We appreciate the generous support of Director Howard  Dodson of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for making this conference possible. However, we are faced with cost for technical and staff support for both days. Your donations are appreciated to help defray cost. Please make checks payable to the Harlem Tenants Council (earmarked 2010 Housing Conference). Mail your check to Harlem Tenants Council, c/o Nellie Bailey, 507 West 111th Street, Apt. 23, New York, NY 10025. 
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SAVE THE DATES:
Post Conference Activities

October 26, 2010
7 - 9 PM
 The Maysles Cinema & Institute
545 Lenox Avenue (128th Street)
Screening: "The Rezoning of 125th Street"
Followed by a panel discussion:
"The Gentrification of Harlem: East River to  the Hudson River"

 November 6, 2010
A day in Solidarity With African people
"BEYOND OBAMA:
Seeking Real Solutions to the growing Racial Divide in the U.S"
1st Unitarian Church: Philadelphia
Visit the website:uhurusolidarity.org or call 215-387-0919

Saturday, November 20, 2010
"Let Us Not Forget Haiti"
Teach-in 2 to 5 PM
(Protest March & Rally 12 Noon to 1:30 PM)
St. Mary's Church
516 West 126th Street
(Between Amsterdam Avenue & Old Broadway)

Contact Harlem Tenants Council: harlemtenants@gmail.com/Telephone: 212-663-5248 or visit:harlemtenantscouncil.org We are a not-for-profit organization operating on a shoe-string budget with volunteer support from members of the Harlem community. We are looking for technical support to develop our website. Please contact Nellie Bailey at harlemtenants@gmail if you can offer assistance.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson