Fighting gentrification is not easy - it requires a lot of dedication, organization, and creativity. However, we can take inspiration from communities fighting right now -- Harlem, Pilsen, Los Angeles, amongst hundreds of others.

Though petitions and lobbying may be the easiest ways to organize, they are the least effective when used on a city council so determined to kick us out.

Using a variety of non-violent protests, we can send a clear message to the city that we will not be moved.

1) Organize a tenants union. Under the law, you are legally allowed to organize with other people in your apartment / complex without being harassed by your landlord. A tenants union can protect you from sudden rent hikes, evictions, etc.

2) Talk with your friends and family about gentrification. This has to be a household term -- it has to be discussed, debated, examined, and argued against.

3) Organize a collective to work against gentrification. Gather a few friends or family members, print up some flyers and posters, and hit the streets! We can help you to start a collective and start you out with some materials to pass out. Federate with other collectives (we can help with this, too) to make your struggle larger.

4) Demand that the real estate agents involved in gentrification be accountable for their actions. Call them and tell them how you feel!

5) Pickets, protests, sit-ins, press conferences, meetings, rallies, and every other way you can get your message out on the street.

6) Keep the city from tearing down abandoned houses on our blocks by any means available to you! Hint: A city cannot demolish a building if there is a crowd of people inside of it...

7) Say hello to your neighbors for the first time -- develop your community!

8) Demand that property be turned into affordable housing instead of condominiums. Demand that money put into city 'improvements' be put instead into our failing schools, playgrounds, etc. One of our goals should be to take more property for our city's use until the city has no place to develop condominiums!

9) Demand more social services to keep our kids off the streets, to take care of the homeless who have nowhere to go,

Be creative! Take hints from past social movements, from the Civil Rights struggle (sitins at restaurants, Rosa Parks, MLKjr's civil disobedience) to the IWW (strikes, boycotts, unionizing). There are thousands of ways that you can organize with us and prevent your neighborhood from becoming gentrified.

We have a LOT of information on organizing, both past and present. Contact us if you would like to get involved!

directaction@sunrisecollective.org