Looking Back to Move Forward: The Housing Crisis

Hennepin History Museum brings the diverse history of people in Hennepin County to life. We help people understand their world through an exploration of local history with exhibits, public programs, a magazine, and a public research library.

Hennepin History Museum

Join us for a panel discussion among local public historians and housing justice practitioners, moderated by Chanda Smith Baker.

<p>In his book <em>The Color of Law</em>, Richard Rothstein reflects on the legacy of the Fair Housing Act of 1968: “You might think that fifty years would be long enough to erase the effects of government promotion of and support for segregation. But the public policies of yesterday still shape the racial landscape today.” Today, the Twin Cities are grappling with an unprecedented housing crisis, which disproportionately affects BIPOC communities. We must ask: How did we get here? How can a shared understanding of history help us find a better path forward?  </p>

<h2>Panelists</h2><h3>David Hewitt</h3><p>David has worked in the non-profit and public sector for nineteen years across the United Kingdom, Cambodia and, now, Minnesota. Before leaving his hometown of London, David designed and managed a national housing program that helped more than 8,000 people move into private rented accommodation over a three year period. In Cambodia he worked with an international award-winning non-profit that engaged, empowered and educated youth who were living and working on the streets of Phnom Penh. He is now the Director of the <a href="https://www.hennepin.us/headinghomehennepin" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Office to End Homelessness</a> for Hennepin County and responsible for the County’s efforts to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.</p><h3>Denise Pike</h3><p>Denise works at the University of Minnesota&#x27;s Institute for Advanced Study as project manager for <a href="https://ias.umn.edu/programs/public-scholarship/minnesota-transform" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Minnesota Transform</a> and is Co-Lead of <a href="https://35w.heritage.dash.umn.edu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">A Public History of 35W</a>. Denise designed and teaches the Racism and Real Estate continuing education course through RETHOS: Places Reimagined. She is a public historian dedicated to linking inequalities in our present day with evidence of historical injustice. Her research interests and past work include the intersection of data, mapping, race, power, and urban history to address today’s disparities. She received a Master’s in Heritage Studies and Public History and a Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies from the University of Minnesota.</p><h3>Kirsten Delegard</h3><p>Kirsten is the Director and one of the co-founders of the <a href="https://mappingprejudice.umn.edu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mapping Prejudice Project</a>, which is located in the Borchert Map Library at the University of Minnesota. She is a third generation Minneapolitan and public historian. To explore the complex history of her hometown, she established Mapping Prejudice as well as the <a href="http://historyapolis.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Historyapolis Project</a>. Kirsten is a graduate of the Minneapolis Public Schools and Wesleyan University. She also holds a Ph.D. in history from Duke University, where she spent her graduate school years exploring American social movements, comparative women’s history and the history of women and politics in the United States.</p><h3>Shannon Smith Jones</h3><p>Shannon is a visionary and strategic leader with a passion for valuing and dignifying the work of community members. She serves as the executive director of <a href="https://hope-community.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hope Community</a>, a cutting-edge organization that values housing as a stabilizing force in community and demonstrated the value of community engagement long before it was an established practice in the field. Shannon has more than 15 years of experience in community development, affordable housing development, community engagement, and housing justice. With her deep commitment to community voice and asset-based frameworks, she has quickly become a leader in the anti-displacement field.</p><h3>Tyra Thomas</h3><p>Tyra is a leader of <a href="https://www.alignmpls.org/svoc" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Street Voices of Change</a>, and a member of The Homes4All Task Force currently championing the Street Voices of Change Shelter Residents Bill of Rights at the Legislature. Having personal experience of homelessness, she is a passionate advocate for the rights of the sheltered and unsheltered, and for a variety of solutions to our housing crisis. A former resident of South Minneapolis, Tyra now resides in the suburbs, but remembers fondly her childhood experiences in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood.</p>

<h2><a href="https://mappingprejudice.umn.edu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a>Moderator</h2><h3>Chanda Smith Baker</h3><p>Chanda has more than 20 years of experience working in, for, and with underestimated communities.  At the <a href="https://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Minneapolis Foundation</a>, which she joined in 2017, Chanda oversees grantmaking programs, provides strategic direction to community initiatives and partnerships, and is the founder and host of the award-winning podcast <a href="https://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/podcasts/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Conversations with Chanda</a>. Previously, Chanda spent 17 years at Pillsbury United Communities, a complex community-based nonprofit where she served in a variety of leadership positions before assuming the role of president and CEO in 2011. </p>

<h2>Hosts and sponsors</h2><p>This event is hosted by Hennepin History Museum, Plymouth Congregational Church, Alliance Housing Incorporated, and Align Minneapolis. It is sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation and the Pohlad Family Foundation.</p>

<h2>Related event</h2><p>This event is part of a two-part series on the history of racism and housing in the Twin Cities.</p>

<p><strong>Join us April 21st at 7 p.m. for </strong><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-color-of-law-tickets-142289478661" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><strong>The Color of Law</strong></a><strong>, </strong>a virtual presentation by Richard Rothstein. Rothstein is a  national expert on government-sponsored racial segregation, a distinguished fellow of the Economic Policy Institute, and a senior fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.</p>

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Looking Back to Move Forward: The Housing Crisis

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Looking Back to Move Forward: The Housing Crisis

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