540WMain-City Roots Community Land Trust Gentrification Conference 2021 Resisting Gentrification: Then & Now

overview:

The 2021 Gentrification Conference presents a historical recap of Rochester's movements and resistance led by BIPOC community activists around issues related to gentrification, housing injustice and environmental racism. Discussions will center how these movements have continued in the modern era in Rochester and beyond.

what you'll learn:

1) An understanding of the political and economic systems that cause gentrification, and the major players within those systems that benefit from the process of gentrification.

2) Meet several organizations working to combat gentrification and holistically develop communities in the City of Rochester and how to join those organizations.

3) Comprehension of the relationship between historical and contemporary policies and practices that have directly contributed to housing inequities in Rochester.

4) Feel more connected to one another and the people/communities most affected by gentrification and displacement in our communities.

detailed schedule of events:

Friday, April 9:

5:00-7:30pm

• Clarissa Uprooted Screening with Teen Empowerment: 25-min documentary that depicts the Third Ward as a microcosm of Rochester, NY’s history from neighborhood camaraderie to redlining & urban renewal. Ticketing is currently open to current conference registrants. If any tickets remain, this event will open to the public on Friday, April 2.

Saturday, April 10:

9:15-9:55am:

• Community Meet & Greet

9:55-10:15am:

• Segregated by Design Short Film Screening

10:15-10:30am

• Opening Remarks

10:30-11:45am:

• Keynote Address and Q&A with Gus Newport: Gus Newport grew up in Rochester and was the former mayor of Berkeley, CA. He will share his commitment to activism, fighting for human rights, and public service.

11:45am-12:35pm:

• Lunch Break

12:35-12:55pm:

• Afternoon Welcome

workshop sessions:

1:00-1:55pm:

• How Community Land Trusts Facilitate Development Without Displacement with City Roots Community Land Trust: City Roots Community Land Trust will introduce the historical racist and capitalist exploitation of the housing system and how City Roots CLT can be a tool to fight for a new housing system.

• Fighting Gentrification, Environmental Injustice and Local Politics with Dorian and Dorothy Hall of the PLEX Neighborhood Association: Mother and son, Dorothy and Dorian Hall, are Rochester community activists and will share their personal experiences with the PLEX Neighborhood Association with the objective to introduce tools PLEX used to fight gentrification.

2:00-2:55pm:

• Don’t Blame the Hipsters: How Capitalists & Local Government Profit from Gentrification with Rochester's Democratic Socialists of America: Learn about an analytical framework to understand the “why” of gentrification and how it fits within the broader landscape of our capitalist society.

• The Residential Roots of School Segregation in Rochester with Justin Murphy, education reporter with the D&C: Justin Murphy presents historical documentation on how housing segregation was parlayed into school segregation in RCSD in the 1950s and 1960s.

3:00-3:30pm:

• Closing Remarks

about the annual conference:

The 540WMain-City Roots Community Land Trust Gentrification Conference is an annual conference designed to unpack and discuss the topic of gentrification in the City of Rochester. This conference offers hands-on community engaged discussions, panels, and action work around the history of gentrification in Rochester neighborhoods, while highlighting the stories of community members directly affected by gentrification and displacement. The conference was founded in 2018 by Calvin Eaton Founding Director of 540WMain & Shane Wiegand of City Roots Community Land Trust.