House Buying Campaign a Success!
We have some really exciting news to share! From January 2019 through August 2020 we collected reparations payments with the goal of buying a house for STiCKii and ShaeShae Quest, two Black freedom fighters in Springfield. We did it! Many months, fruitful conversations, and commitments to reparations later, these two amazing organizers have a home in their name. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed in the name of reparations and wealth redistribution to support this house-buying cause!
Please watch the video below, or scroll down to read more about the process and experience of the house-buying campaign.
Please watch the video below, or scroll down to read more about the process and experience of the house-buying campaign.
Reparations in Action:
How One Local Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice Moved Enough Money to Buy a House
Written by core organizers of Western Mass Showing Up for Racial Justice (WMSURJ)
In June 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Western Mass Showing Up for Racial Justice (WMSURJ) purchased a home for our collaborators as a project of reparations. The purchase of this home was the culmination of a multi-year campaign for reparations, a collaborative project between organizers within WMSURJ and accountability partners. We hope that by writing about this process, other SURJ chapters and communities can work to take on similar projects, further building the collective will for reparations and stable housing for all.
The Western Mass chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice is part of a national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ aims to movewhite people to work towards racial justice in an accountable way, as part of a multi-racial movement. The Western Mass Chapter of SURJ formed in 2014, and in the early years focused on education and conversation around the impacts of systemic racism and the importance of breaking white silence. Our chapter is composed of mostly white people, largely living in the upper Connecticut River Valley area. Organizers from WMSURJ made intentional efforts to collaborate with other local organizing groups like Out Now, BLM 413, Arise for Social Justice, and the Springfield Organizers' Roundtable, and built relationships with individual organizers of color through this work. Members of WMSURJ consistently showed up to events organized by these groups and individuals, all of which helped form a foundation that would later support a successful reparations campaign. As the chapter continued our work, we also formed accountability relationships with local organizers of color. Responding to a push from these accountability partners, in the fall of 2017, our chapter embarked on a campaign focused on reparations.
The purpose of this campaign initially was to educate people about the concept of reparations and encourage our community to engage in a regular practice of paying reparations. Our chapter continued a practice of self-education, reading and discussing The Case for Reparations by Ta Nehesi Coates and the platform of the Movement for Black Lives. As we deepened our understanding of reparations, we understood that asking white people to pay individual reparations is not the only goal in and of itself; we want to see large scale reparations from institutions, corporations, and the government. Encouraging white people to create a practice of paying reparations is one step toward getting to this goal. Paying individual reparations encourages white people to reckon with wealth inequality and systemic racism in a personal way. It is a step toward building the collective will towards reparations.
In 2018, WMSURJ started collecting reparations payments at monthly general meetings. At first, the numbers were small. Despite collective talk about the importance of paying reparations, it seemed that when it came time to put this into practice, we still had a ways to go - shifting out of individualistic and hoarding mentalities, and growing into a framework of returning what is owed and beginning to repair injustices to create a better world. Working class leaders in WMSURJ were instrumental in shifting group dynamics toward a practice of centering class, though it was initially an uphill struggle. As the chapter shifted to embrace more working class leadership, our group began holding candid conversations about our class backgrounds and relationships to money. As we worked together to unlearn so many of the dominant ideas that white supremacy culture teaches about money, the amounts paid in reparations at our monthly meetings grew. The campaign also benefited greatly from the skills our working class leaders brought for raising money and building relationships with accountability partners.
By the Spring of 2018, WMSURJ was ready to launch the reparations campaign publicly. At our kickoff event, we hosted a roundtable conversation with Black and Indigenous organizers about the importance of reparations. At this event we asked white people to sign up to make recurring monthly payments, both to grow the campaign and to support white people in creating a practice of paying reparations. At this time, we distributed the money that we received as reparations to different Black and Indigenous led organizations and projects in our local area.
Next, the chapter began to discuss the possibility of a larger, more tangible campaign goal specifically linked to housing justice. In 2019, WMSURJ began dedicating all reparations payments collected towards the purchase of a house for Stickii Quest and ShaeShae Quest, two Black, queer, trans freedom fighters who had also been some of the chapter’s accountability partners. Through the relationships that individuals in the chapter had with Stickii and ShaeShae, we knew that they were struggling with housing instability, and that becoming owners of a home would radically change their potential for safety and support a more stable livelihood. When our chapter first considered this idea, it was daunting; by this point we had collected about fifteen thousand dollars in reparations payments, and some members felt nervous about the goal of raising enough money to buy a house in full. We asked people in our networks to be bold and brave in their payment of reparations, and moved forward with this ambitious goal to collect enough reparations payments to purchase a house for our collaborators.
During the campaign, our chapter worked to spread the word to the larger community. We specifically grounded this project in a framework of reparations, in contrast to frameworks of fundraising or charitable giving. However, we learned from organizers with fundraising experience about the most effective tactics for moving money. As a group and as individuals, we held events that offered both education on issues of racial justice and reparations, as well as opportunities for people to pay reparations. These events included house parties, birthday parties, concerts, and screenings. Through these events, we also connected with people who wanted to offer their skills and time, including a real estate agent who would help find a home that would work for Stickii and ShaeShae. We put feelers out into our networks to find lawyers and tax advisors who could give professional advice and assistance. We also worked to develop a suggested sliding scale guide to encourage people to consider a high standard for how much they could pay in reparations, which included factors related to income, family, wealth, and life circumstances. This sliding scale was adapted from Ride Free Fearless Money and Little Red Bird Botanicals.
Through working with Stickii and ShaeShae, we came up with a secure system of handling reparations payments with accountability. (For anyone curious about these logistics, please don’t hesitate to reach out by email.) By the end of 2019, we had reached our initial goal of raising $100,000. We continued our campaign into 2020 as Stickii and ShaeShae began searching for a house. Three core members of our chapter worked closely with Stickii and ShaeShae throughout this entire process, and these strong, trusting relationships were integral to the success of this endeavor. Stickii and ShaeShae closed on a house in June of 2020 for $140,000 and became homeowners. Members of WMSURJ continued to help Stickii and Shae Shae in their transition, paying the first year of property taxes and offering support with furniture costs and repairs.
Lessons we’ve learned:
Class Transparency
When it comes to building a framework of paying reparations boldly, many middle and owning class people must unlearn a scarcity mindset around money. By speaking openly about our early conditioning about money, we can figure out how to grow beyond this and move into a mindset of abundance - enacting one of the SURJ values that “there is enough for all”. People with class privilege or access to wealth can learn from the leadership of poor and working class people who often have more experience with relying on their communities for support. Finally, class transparency was necessary for building trust in our group so that we could work effectively together on this campaign.
Asking for money
Another upper and middle class norm is the taboo around asking for money. We learned in this campaign how to reframe the guilt that can come up when asking people to contribute money. Paying reparations gives people a chance to live out values of social justice and contribute to building a more racially just world. When asking friends, family, and community members for money, we can consider it an opportunity for them, rather than a burden.
Building Trust
When we first brought up the idea of running a reparations campaign to purchase a house to Stickii and ShaeShae, they were understandably skeptical of whether or not we’d be able to deliver. One member of our chapter was already good friends with them through organizing work, which helped initial trust-building with the chapter. A few other core organizers then became friends and liaisons with Stickii and ShaeShae, giving honest and accountable updates on what was going on and listening to and responding to their concerns. Through this, we built strong relationships and friendships that were necessary for this project to be a success.
Reparations in Action is Ongoing
Since the purchase of this house, WMSURJ has continued the campaign for reparations. We’ve brought money in for various other local Black- and Indigenous-led organizing efforts, and are continuing collective conversations and action to make reparations a reality. Learn more about our current reparations campaign for the Nipmuc Nation in Grafton, MA at wmsurj.com/reparations.
You can hear Stickii, ShaeShae and WMSURJ core organizers in their own words by watching or listening to a long-form conversation about this reparations campaign. Watch the video on YouTube at bit.ly/reparationsconversation, or listen to the podcast on Soundcloud at bit.ly/reparationsaudio.
To make a one-time or monthly ongoing reparations payment, visit wmsurj.com/reparations
The Western Mass chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice is part of a national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ aims to movewhite people to work towards racial justice in an accountable way, as part of a multi-racial movement. The Western Mass Chapter of SURJ formed in 2014, and in the early years focused on education and conversation around the impacts of systemic racism and the importance of breaking white silence. Our chapter is composed of mostly white people, largely living in the upper Connecticut River Valley area. Organizers from WMSURJ made intentional efforts to collaborate with other local organizing groups like Out Now, BLM 413, Arise for Social Justice, and the Springfield Organizers' Roundtable, and built relationships with individual organizers of color through this work. Members of WMSURJ consistently showed up to events organized by these groups and individuals, all of which helped form a foundation that would later support a successful reparations campaign. As the chapter continued our work, we also formed accountability relationships with local organizers of color. Responding to a push from these accountability partners, in the fall of 2017, our chapter embarked on a campaign focused on reparations.
The purpose of this campaign initially was to educate people about the concept of reparations and encourage our community to engage in a regular practice of paying reparations. Our chapter continued a practice of self-education, reading and discussing The Case for Reparations by Ta Nehesi Coates and the platform of the Movement for Black Lives. As we deepened our understanding of reparations, we understood that asking white people to pay individual reparations is not the only goal in and of itself; we want to see large scale reparations from institutions, corporations, and the government. Encouraging white people to create a practice of paying reparations is one step toward getting to this goal. Paying individual reparations encourages white people to reckon with wealth inequality and systemic racism in a personal way. It is a step toward building the collective will towards reparations.
In 2018, WMSURJ started collecting reparations payments at monthly general meetings. At first, the numbers were small. Despite collective talk about the importance of paying reparations, it seemed that when it came time to put this into practice, we still had a ways to go - shifting out of individualistic and hoarding mentalities, and growing into a framework of returning what is owed and beginning to repair injustices to create a better world. Working class leaders in WMSURJ were instrumental in shifting group dynamics toward a practice of centering class, though it was initially an uphill struggle. As the chapter shifted to embrace more working class leadership, our group began holding candid conversations about our class backgrounds and relationships to money. As we worked together to unlearn so many of the dominant ideas that white supremacy culture teaches about money, the amounts paid in reparations at our monthly meetings grew. The campaign also benefited greatly from the skills our working class leaders brought for raising money and building relationships with accountability partners.
By the Spring of 2018, WMSURJ was ready to launch the reparations campaign publicly. At our kickoff event, we hosted a roundtable conversation with Black and Indigenous organizers about the importance of reparations. At this event we asked white people to sign up to make recurring monthly payments, both to grow the campaign and to support white people in creating a practice of paying reparations. At this time, we distributed the money that we received as reparations to different Black and Indigenous led organizations and projects in our local area.
Next, the chapter began to discuss the possibility of a larger, more tangible campaign goal specifically linked to housing justice. In 2019, WMSURJ began dedicating all reparations payments collected towards the purchase of a house for Stickii Quest and ShaeShae Quest, two Black, queer, trans freedom fighters who had also been some of the chapter’s accountability partners. Through the relationships that individuals in the chapter had with Stickii and ShaeShae, we knew that they were struggling with housing instability, and that becoming owners of a home would radically change their potential for safety and support a more stable livelihood. When our chapter first considered this idea, it was daunting; by this point we had collected about fifteen thousand dollars in reparations payments, and some members felt nervous about the goal of raising enough money to buy a house in full. We asked people in our networks to be bold and brave in their payment of reparations, and moved forward with this ambitious goal to collect enough reparations payments to purchase a house for our collaborators.
During the campaign, our chapter worked to spread the word to the larger community. We specifically grounded this project in a framework of reparations, in contrast to frameworks of fundraising or charitable giving. However, we learned from organizers with fundraising experience about the most effective tactics for moving money. As a group and as individuals, we held events that offered both education on issues of racial justice and reparations, as well as opportunities for people to pay reparations. These events included house parties, birthday parties, concerts, and screenings. Through these events, we also connected with people who wanted to offer their skills and time, including a real estate agent who would help find a home that would work for Stickii and ShaeShae. We put feelers out into our networks to find lawyers and tax advisors who could give professional advice and assistance. We also worked to develop a suggested sliding scale guide to encourage people to consider a high standard for how much they could pay in reparations, which included factors related to income, family, wealth, and life circumstances. This sliding scale was adapted from Ride Free Fearless Money and Little Red Bird Botanicals.
Through working with Stickii and ShaeShae, we came up with a secure system of handling reparations payments with accountability. (For anyone curious about these logistics, please don’t hesitate to reach out by email.) By the end of 2019, we had reached our initial goal of raising $100,000. We continued our campaign into 2020 as Stickii and ShaeShae began searching for a house. Three core members of our chapter worked closely with Stickii and ShaeShae throughout this entire process, and these strong, trusting relationships were integral to the success of this endeavor. Stickii and ShaeShae closed on a house in June of 2020 for $140,000 and became homeowners. Members of WMSURJ continued to help Stickii and Shae Shae in their transition, paying the first year of property taxes and offering support with furniture costs and repairs.
Lessons we’ve learned:
Class Transparency
When it comes to building a framework of paying reparations boldly, many middle and owning class people must unlearn a scarcity mindset around money. By speaking openly about our early conditioning about money, we can figure out how to grow beyond this and move into a mindset of abundance - enacting one of the SURJ values that “there is enough for all”. People with class privilege or access to wealth can learn from the leadership of poor and working class people who often have more experience with relying on their communities for support. Finally, class transparency was necessary for building trust in our group so that we could work effectively together on this campaign.
Asking for money
Another upper and middle class norm is the taboo around asking for money. We learned in this campaign how to reframe the guilt that can come up when asking people to contribute money. Paying reparations gives people a chance to live out values of social justice and contribute to building a more racially just world. When asking friends, family, and community members for money, we can consider it an opportunity for them, rather than a burden.
Building Trust
When we first brought up the idea of running a reparations campaign to purchase a house to Stickii and ShaeShae, they were understandably skeptical of whether or not we’d be able to deliver. One member of our chapter was already good friends with them through organizing work, which helped initial trust-building with the chapter. A few other core organizers then became friends and liaisons with Stickii and ShaeShae, giving honest and accountable updates on what was going on and listening to and responding to their concerns. Through this, we built strong relationships and friendships that were necessary for this project to be a success.
Reparations in Action is Ongoing
Since the purchase of this house, WMSURJ has continued the campaign for reparations. We’ve brought money in for various other local Black- and Indigenous-led organizing efforts, and are continuing collective conversations and action to make reparations a reality. Learn more about our current reparations campaign for the Nipmuc Nation in Grafton, MA at wmsurj.com/reparations.
You can hear Stickii, ShaeShae and WMSURJ core organizers in their own words by watching or listening to a long-form conversation about this reparations campaign. Watch the video on YouTube at bit.ly/reparationsconversation, or listen to the podcast on Soundcloud at bit.ly/reparationsaudio.
To make a one-time or monthly ongoing reparations payment, visit wmsurj.com/reparations