OUR LOCAL REDRESS MOVEMENTS
DENVER, COLORADO
Want to get in touch with our Sr. Campaign Organizer in Denver?
Kevin Patterson (they/them)
Kevin was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. Kevin received their BA in political science and ethnic studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. Promptly after graduating, Kevin interned for the AFL-CIO in Houston, Texas. Kevin joined the American Federation of Teachers following their internship. In their tenure, they supported the formation of three adjunct unions at Temple University, Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, and Cayuga Community College in New York.
Kevin worked in Baltimore, Maryland, as the lead organizer for healthcare and state employees with the Maryland Professional Employees Council. Kevin returned to Denver in 2016 and worked on political campaigns through Colorado Peoples Action. Kevin worked with the Colorado Peoples Alliance to address immigrant, climate, and economic justice issues.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
Want to get in touch with our Sr. Campaign Organizer in Charlotte?
Greg Jarrell (he/him)
Greg Jarrell is based in west Charlotte’s Enderly Park neighborhood, where he has lived and worked on equitable housing issues since 2005. He is one of the co-founders of QC Family Tree, a cultural organizing group in his neighborhood, and a founding organizer of Charlotte’s West Side Community Land Trust. He has been co-chair of Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, on the leadership team of Charlotte’s Community Benefits Coalition, and continues to agitate and organize for housing justice in Charlotte.
In addition to housing organizing, Greg is a writer who has published widely, especially around housing issues. His recent book, Our Trespasses: White Churches and the Taking of American Neighborhoods, examines the influence of white churches in planning, executing, and profiting from the federal Urban Renewal projects of the 1950s and 60s, in Charlotte and beyond. He and his spouse Helms are both ordained ministers, and are parents to two teens.
TAKE ACTION IN CHARLOTTE
We owe it to the next generation of Charlotte’s children to reverse the segregation of the past, and ensure they grow up in diverse, thriving communities.
Unfortunately, research shows that children who start out in segregated, low-income neighborhoods in Charlotte have little chance to move up and reach the middle class. Harvard researcher Raj Chetty has noted that Charlotte ranks dead last for upward mobility among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas. This should come as no surprise, given that nearly all of our existing affordable housing is segregated into low-income, majority-Black neighborhoods, and that low-income Charlotteans too often don’t have real choice about where they live. Our city’s segregation is not an accident – and it’s also not set in stone. Instead, this lack of real choice is the result of our local housing policies, which we can change.
To give our children the chance they deserve, the City must double funding for the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) through a $100M bond. Doubling the HTF bond from 2020’s $50M will help to account for inflation, the rising cost of materials, rising interest rates, and other increased costs to build. Even more importantly, new HTF money must incentivize developers to build affordable housing in middle- and higher-income areas. Sign this petition to add your name to the long list of supporters of a more affordable and integrated Charlotte where everyone has a chance to succeed. When we reach 100 signatures, we’ll send the petition to City Council members and the Mayor.
MILWAUKEE, WICONSIN
Want to get in touch with our Sr. Campaign Organizer in Milwaukee?
Dynasty Ceasar (she/her)
As an agent of change, Dynasty Ceasar is dedicated to creating pathways for Black Liberation in the city of Milwaukee. As a young person, Dynasty understood the disparities of segregation, as she grew up on Milwaukee’s Northside and was bussed to a predominately white suburb for school through a desegregation program called Chapter 220.
She started her career in Lindsay Heights as a Community Organizer at Running Rebels and focused primarily on eliminating silos, helping residents define their community, and supported efforts to challenge gentrification and displacement. Dynasty also facilitated anti-racism trainings among various organizations and businesses in Milwaukee and Racine with the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin.
In her role as the Environmental Sustainability Program Coordinator at the City of Milwaukee, Dynasty managed pocket parks on Milwaukee’s Northside, extended landscaping maintenance contracts to residents that lived nearby, and developed “Climate Change 101” to connect communities of color to the effects of climate change. She also served on the Racial Equity and Inclusion Leadership team of the City of Milwaukee as the Policy Committee Chair.
Dynasty will continue to strive for a more equitable Milwaukee as she works to desegregate housing in her role as the Senior Organizer for the Redress Movement.