Video: Jay Travis and Ryan LH on allies and UofC organizing
On May 5, 2022, STOP and UofC alumni who’d allied with us held a fundraiser and panel with:
Jay Travis (6:36), 2002 UofC social-work alum and former Kenwood Oakland Community Organization director
Ryan Lugalia-Hollon (9:11), 2004 UofC anthropology alum and leader in the student group that co-founded STOP
and Savannah Brown, STOP housing organizer
Allies/alumni, you are the group most able to fund this work; give at stopchicago.org/donate. And current students, now is the time to organize another generation of allies; to join, email uc.againstdisplacement@gmail.com (and like fb.com/UChicagoAgainstDisplacement).
Jay Travis said in the panel that she came to the UofC from organizing but knew to "not see myself in any way as apart from my people. This is multigenerational work... It falls on generation after generation to build that torch... It's going to require us to really fight for that vision long-term... How we resist together over time [is by] centering people most impacted and treating each other with respect."
Ryan Lugalia-Hollon said that since being at the UofC, "I've been on this long detox journey into my heart... [We need] the resources and momentum for white students to think about their own whiteness and embody that responsibly. [And we need a] generation-over-generation bridge between students, tenants, and moreover alumni."
Plus, panel co-organizer Olivia Wollam offered: "It's so important to hold that thread and encourage student/community collaborations to help defeat the four-year time frame the administration counts on to work in their favor!"
Finally, we heard about of STOP's campaign demanding reparations-scale funding from the University of Chicago. With its Community Benefits Agreement coalition and University of Chicago allies, STOP is demanding that the University give $1 billion, or $50 million for each of the next 20 years, to build affordable housing in Woodlawn. This builds (literally!) on land STOP won from the City in its 2020 CBA ordinance. And of course, this follows decades of “urban renewal” in which the University has displaced Black residents.