Presented by:
Eve Smason-Marcus
she | they
People are not housed in our society because we are scared to share resources. Scarcity mentality is a symptom capitalism. It takes dangerous unselfishness to unlearn the ways of capitalism, to rid ourselves of scarcity mentality. We have all the resources needed to house every single person in our city, county, country. There has been a beautiful bloom of mutual aid groups all over the country who embody this ideal of dangerous unselfishness, including here in Whatcom County. One of the biggest efforts has been with sustaining Camp 210. We are capable of giving what we have to each other and creating safe housing for all.
Dr. King believed in love. Love is at the key of this whole movement. Instead of fearing unhoused folks, judging those who are addicted to substances, and disregarding the need of people with a variety of cognitive issues, they deserve our love. Love means housing first. Love means providing shelter from the wind, rain, and snow. Dr. King was also a huge advocate for housing fairness. He saw that we needed then [and now] “a radical redistribution of economic and political power… this means a revolution of values and other things. We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together… you can’t really get rid of one without getting rid of the others… the whole structure of American life must be changed. America is a hypocritical nation and [we] must put [our] own house in order.” – May 1967.
Audience: Adults: Community, Educators, Adults: Human Rights / Social Justice Professionals