Housing Picket Line (September 2020)

Acrylic on Canvas

22” x 28”

David was a member of The Citizens Committee for Housing Rights (CCHR), first formed by the Freedom School in Licking County, Ohio, in 2011.  The Committee followed complaints by renters at city council meetings and investigated them by going door-to-door in low-income neighborhoods in Newark, Ohio.  They talked to residents and made lists of the substandard housing conditions and compiled a list of the names and addresses of the landlords.

When they failed in their efforts to persuade the city officials to enforce the Property Maintenance regulations, the CCHR decided to inform the public about what they had learned.  They set up a picket line at the home of one of the worst landlords and called the media.  Because of this action, the city then enforced its regulations against that property owner and the tenant received reparations for the conditions he endured during his residence.  Moreover, the public became more aware of the identity of negligent landlords.