Don't Demolish our Homes: Keep Minneapolis Public Housing Public!

My name is Ladan and I am a mother and organizer with Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition. I've lived in Glendale public housing for over 12 years with my daughter. Now Glendale and the rest of our public housing in Minneapolis are at risk of going to private developers! This would result in the displacement of 26,000 low-income residents, if we don’t stop Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's (MPHA) privatization plans at the City and State level.

We must stop MPHA’s Board of Commissioners & Executive Director Gregory Russ from implementing “Guiding Principles for Redevelopment and Capital Investment.” The aim of these "Guiding Principles" is to sell, lease and/or demolish 730 family homes, 42 high-rises , 184 homes at Glendale Townhomes, and 6000 units so private developers can take over. MPHA not only wants to privatize Glendale but the rest of the public housing units all over the city.

The majority of the residents who live in Glendale and other public housings units are Black immigrants, refugees, and poc. Residents already facing extreme poverty, and now are at risk of loosing their public housing. Please join me in my fight to keep my neighborhood and city by defending Glendale and public housing in Minneapolis.

The new “public-private” partnership model that our city is trying to make status quo, will inevitably transfer public funding and tax dollars for housing to the pockets of landlords and corporations through various schemes like low-income tax credits and corporate welfare. Once public buildings become private, the income requirements for residents will rise, meaning that most of the current Black, immigrant, and low-income residents will no longer be able to afford to live there because the buildings are no longer publicly owned.
This is a classic example of displacement happening around the country. This is how Black people are being pushed out and displaced from cities nationally, and this is what we must fight against.

According to the Ben Carson led U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Average Median Income of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area is $85,800 for a family of four. However, the average income for people like me, who live in MPHA households is only $20,656 (not including residents on fixed incomes, who make less). The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded “affordable” housing leaves working class Minneapolis residents behind, and disproportionately excludes people of color, especially Black people. A May documentary by Frontline and report by NPR revealed that developers receiving Low Income Housing Tax Credits ( LIHTC) have very little accountability, and are rarely held accountable by the government.
The Frontline documentary reveals that many developers have made millions of dollars building LIHTC affordable housing, some using bribery, fraud, or secret bank accounts to hide stolen funds to increase their profits.

Please join me as we work to Defend Glendale and the rest of public housing and STOP the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority from displacing residents from their homes and communities. MPHA is doing this so that they can make a profit by doing business with private developers.

STOP MPHA FROM DISPLACING RESIDENTS from their homes and communities!
STOP GIVEAWAYS TO PRIVATE EQUITY LANDLORDS!
KEEP Public housing under land trust!
FULLY FUND PUBLIC HOUSING!
REPLACE the MPHA Executive Director and Board of Commissioners with an Executive Director and Commissioners who fully support preserving public housing!
DEFEND PUBLIC HOUSING!
AN ATTACK ON PUBLIC HOUSING IS AN ATTACK ON HUMAN RIGHTS!

Thank You,
Ladan Yusuf and the rest of the Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition