Demolition and displacement are a part of environmental injustice and the climate crisis. With that in mind, how do we remember and center the needs of the land and the wishes of the residents when it comes to decision making for public housing? Two neighbors from New York and Miami weigh in. We hope these stories empower us towards a world that centers living beings and lived experience.

Episode transcript here. 

Narrators: Anna Williams and Renee Keitt. 

Additional featured audio excerpts from Razing Liberty Square (Katja Esson, 2023) and A Home Worth Fighting For (Natasha Florentino, 2025).

Ms. Williams’s interview is also curated in episode 25. 

Sources and additional reading/watching:

We strongly encourage those interested in these resident campaigns to support the two documentaries at the top of the list. You can purchase a viewing pass to Razing Liberty Square or sign up for Natasha Florentino’s future screenings mailing list at the links below. This support goes a long way!

• Katja Esson, Razing Liberty Square (2023), published by Women Make Movies, organizations can buy or book a screening at: https://www.wmm.com/catalog/film/razing-liberty-square/. Individuals can watch on PBS here: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/razing-liberty-square/ 
• Natasha Florentino, A Home Worth Fighting For (2025), accessed via filmmaker. More information about future screenings at: https://www.natashaflorentino.com/ahwff. 
• T.C. Documentaries, “Overtown, Miami (Short History of South Florida's Overtown Neighborhood),” accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b6_INnChIM 
• Digital Scholarship Lab at University of Richmond, “Renewing Inequality: Urban Renewal, Family Displacements, and Race 1950-1966,” published by American Panorama (20, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers), accessed at: https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/renewal/#view=0/0/1&viz=cartogram&text=defining
• Terry Gross, “A ‘Forgotten History’ of How the U.S. Government Segregated America” (2017), published by NPR, accessed at: https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america 
• United States of America 81st Congress, “Housing Act of 1949” (1949, last amended 2024), accessed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10349/pdf/COMPS-10349.pdf 
• T.R. Witcher, “How the interstate highway system connected—and in some cases segregated—America,” published by American Society of Civil Engineers (2021), accessed at: https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/article/2021/07/how-the-interstate-highway-system-connected--and-in-some-cases-segregated--america 
• Congress for the New Urbanism, “Overtown Expressway,” accessed at: https://www.cnu.org/what-we-do/build-great-places/overtown-expressway
• Adam Paul Susaneck, “Segregation by Design—Miami: Overtown,” published by TU Delft Centre for the Just City (2024), accessed at: https://www.segregationbydesign.com/miami/overtown-overview 
• New York City Housing Authority, Essence Development, Related Companies, and Housing Opportunities Unlimited, “Fulton Elliott-Chelsea Relocation Plan” (2025), accessed at: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/fec-relocation-english.pdf 
• Damon WIlliams, Daniel Kisslinger, and People for Community Recovery, Help this Garden Grow, published by Respair Media, accessed at: https://www.respairmedia.com/help-this-garden-grow 

#publichousing #housingjustice #environmentaljustice #intersectionality #livedexperience #climatechange

In episode 25, seven public housing resident narrators recount stories about sharing in community and forced changes to their family structures, shaped by undercurrents of federal policies enacted during the 1950s–1980s that strictly governed what resources were available to whom. These stories touch on how the United States’ aggressive involvement in global affairs affect its residents at home and reveal deeper insights about how systemic changes affect each individual.

We encourage you to share this episode with a friend and discuss how sharing and governmental policies have impacted your communities.

Episode transcript here.

To learn more about the history and policies discussed in this episode, check out our full sources and additional readings list: 

• Nicholas Lemann, “Four Generations in the Projects,” The New York Times (January 13, 1991, Section 6, page 17), accessed at: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/magazine/four-generations-in-the-projects.html 

• Natalie Y. Moore, with research by Beauty Turner, “The Good Ol Days,” The Chicago Reporter (September 26, 2007), accessed at: https://www.chicagoreporter.com/good-ol-days/. 

• Alison Lefkovitz, “Men in the House: Race, Welfare, and the Regulation of Men’s Sexuality in the United States, 1961–1972,” Journal of the History of Sexuality 20, no. 3 (2011): 594–614, accessed at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41305886.

• Rahim Kurwa, National Low Income Housing Coalition, “Study Examines ‘Man in the House’ Rules in the Voucher Program, Housing Policy Debate (August 24, 2020) accessed at: https://nlihc.org/resource/study-examines-man-house-rules-voucher-program 

• Nestle, Marion. “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): History, Politics, and Public Health Implications.” American Journal of Public Health 109, no. 12 (2019): 1631-1635, accessed at: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305361 

• Hortense J. Spillers, “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe: an american grammar book”  (1987), Diacritics 17, no. 2 (Summer 1987): pp. 64-81, accessed at: https://www.mcgill.ca/english/files/english/spillers_mamas_baby.pdf or https://doi.org/10.2307/464747 .

• Gregory Acs, Kenneth Braswell, Elaine Sorensen, and Margery Austin Turner, “The Moynihan Report Revisited, published by Urban Institute, Open Society Foundations, and Fathers Incorporated (June 2013), accessed at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/23696/412839-The-Moynihan-Report-Revisited.PDF 

• • Daniel Geary, “The Moynihan Report: An Annotated Edition,” The Atlantic (September 2015), accessed at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/the-moynihan-report-an-annotated-edition/404632/ 
  • Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,” Office of Policy Planning and Research, United States Department of Labor (March 1965), accessed at: https://web.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Moynihan%27s%20The%20Negro%20Family.pdf.
  
  

Who are the heroes of your neighborhood? In episode 24 of Out of the Archives, “Beauty is Remembered: A Mother’s Fight for Public Housing,” we honor the legacy of Ms. Beauty Turner, a mother, journalist, historian, and community activist who lived in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes for over a decade. Listen to Larry Turner, the son of Ms. Beauty, and other former Robert Taylor residents discuss the community’s complex and rich history, and share why neighborhood heroes like Beauty are critical to public housing communities.

Click here to read the transcript.

Content Notes: This episode discusses themes of death/dying, drug use, state-sanctioned displacement, and houselessness.

Sources and additional reading:

• Sundhir Venkatesh, Dislocation (2005): https://vimeo.com/505211639 

• Flavian Prince and Daniel Rudin, Interrupt the Pipeline (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJ8om06PU4 

• Nuri Medina II, Englewood Enterprise Gallery Dec. 6, 2017 Show, Chicago Access Network Television (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ksh7OHUjY 

• Beauty Turner, “GHETTO Bus Tour” (2007, Associated Press Archive): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKoTEH3ya2Y 

• Mick Dumke, “Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn't Add Up” (2002, ProPublica); Accessed: https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan 

• When the Market Isn’t an Option Zine Vol. II & III: “Public Housing Disinvestment” and “Public Housing Deterioration” (2021–2022, National Public Housing Museum): https://nphm.org/listen/activating-the-archive/when-the-market-isnt-an-option-zine-series

• Beauty Turner’s Blog: https://beautysghettobustours.blogspot.com/ 

• Samantha Chatman and Maggie Green, “Chicago affordable housing wait can take years as city, CHA face severe shortage,” (May 2023, ABC 7 Chicago), accessed: https://abc7chicago.com/affordable-housing-chicago-cha-section-8-portal/13232375/ 

• D. B. Hunt (2001). “What went wrong with public housing in chicago? A history of the Robert Taylor Homes”. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 94(1), 96. Retrieved from: https://flagship.luc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/what-went-wrong-with-public-housing-chicago/docview/232489901/se-2 

• Kenya Barbara,”The Plan for Transformation: How a plan with lofty goals has underperformed and forever changed public housing in Chicago,” Public Interest Law Reporter vol. 24 (2018). Accessed at: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/pilr/vol24/iss1/13.  

• Chicago Housing Authority, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Fiscal Year 2023, accessed at: https://www.thecha.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/2023AnnualComprehensiveFinancialReport_12.23_BudgetandFinance.pdf 

• Dan Baum, “Legalize It All: How to win the war on drugs,” Harper’s Magazine (April 2016), accessed at: https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all

• “City of Chicago 2024 Point-in-Time Count and Survey Report of People Experiencing Homelessness,” prepared by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood & Community Improvement, University of Illinois Chicago, oversight by the Department of Family and Support Services, accessed at: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/fss/supp_info/Homeless/2024-Homeless-Point-In-Time-Count-Report/2024_PIT_Report_FINAL.pdf
  

Narrators Janetta Pegues and Allen Schwartz, in conversation with oral historian Liú Chen, share stories of living in the Jane Addams Homes, intimately known as “The Village”, during the 1940s–1980s. Janetta and Allen share insights about the neighborhood’s different periods of redevelopment and change, including the construction and development of University of Illinois Chicago in the 1960s and the ongoing gentrification of Little Italy. 

Read the transcript here.

For more information about the historical and contemporary issues discussed in the episode, see our sources below and additional learning materials below: 

• Sources for sound design

• Raymond “Shaq” McDonald and Deral Willis challenging Mayor Richard M. Daley, excerpted from 70 Acres in Chicago documentary by Ronit Bezalel (2014). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwW-Gw9CxyI.

• Florence Scala, excerpted from “Florence Scala for the People,” a video made by Italian Heritage Chicago (2011). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8FMZOD3r3E.

• Chicago Indigenous Communities

• List of Illinois American Indian Organizations, Native American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois: www.nacc-il.org/illinois-american-indian-organizations 

• An Exploration of Native American History in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer, WTTW (2021): interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/11/29/native-american-history-geoffrey-baer 

• Center for Native Futures: www.centerfornativefutures.org/ 

• Chicago American Indian Oral History Project Records, The Newberry Library: i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_NBY/i5mcb2/alma991762098805867 

• John N. Low, “Chicago is on the Lands of the Potawatomi: Why Land Acknowledgments for Chicago should acknowledge this historical fact,” https://johnnlow.com/2023/02/05/updates-at-long-last-chicago-is-on-the-lands-of-the-potawatomi-why-land-acknowledgments-for-chicago-should-acknowledge-this-historical-fact/ 

• Plan for Transformation and Roosevelt Square Redevelopment

• Finalization of Lease for the Chicago Fire Football Club Training Facility, Chicago Housing Authority (2023): www.thecha.org/lease-chicago-fire-football-club-training-facility 

• “This Land Was Promised for Housing. Instead It’s Going to a Pro Soccer Team Owned by a Billionaire.” ProPublica & WTTW, Mick Dumke & Nick Blumberg (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-abla-fire-soccer-cha 
• “Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn't Add Up.” ProPublica, Mick Dumke (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan

• Roosevelt Square Development Articles, DNAInfo News Aggregator: www.dnainfo.com/chicago/places/roosevelt-square/ 

• University of Illinois Chicago demolition, displacement, and development:

• “Renewal for Whom? The Origins of the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus,” Chicago History Museum, Katherine Quiroa (2023): www.chicagohistory.org/origins-of-university-of-illinois-chicago/ 

• The Boss & the Bulldozer documentary, WTTW, Stacy Robinson (2023): interactive.wttw.com/chicago-stories/boss-and-the-bulldozer/video 

• “Daley vs. Little Italy” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Monica Eng (2016): interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/littleitaly/

• “Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Robert Loerzel: interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/ 

• Florence Scala Collection, University of Illinois Chicago Special Collections and University Archives: archivesspace.uic.edu/repositories/2/resources/1078

• Flashback: Florence Scala took on City Hall and Fought for Little Italy and a ‘gutsy’ Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Ron Grossman (updated 2022): www.chicagotribune.com/2022/03/10/flashback-florence-scala-took-on-city-hall-and-fought-for-little-italy-and-a-gutsy-chicago/ 

• Florence Scala: A Disowned Community Leader, Italian Americana, Sandro Corso (2019): www.jstor.org/stable/45210818

Join us as we revisit this episode, "Play Ball: Spots and Recreation in Public Housing," featuring stories spanning from 1943 to 1993. Experience the thrill of late-night basketball games, memories from an Olympic-level boxer, and more about the power of sports.

Storytellers for this episode include Lee Roy Murphy, Olympic boxer of the Robert Taylor Homes; James Purgatorio of the Jane Addams Homes; Gil Walker, the former director of programs of the Chicago Housing Authority; Tanisha Wright, former WNBA player of Mon View Heights; Tommy Woods of the Lathrop Homes; and Byron Dickens of the Jane Addams Homes.

Read the transcript.

"Bringing the Outdoors In: Community and Recreation in Public Housing" originally aired on April 30, 2020, shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Needless to say, this period required the world to drastically reimagine how we interact while also keeping our neighbors and broader communities safe. Thinking back to those first few weeks of the pandemic, one of the most immediate and disarming changes was not being able to commune with our friends, family, classmates, and colleagues.  We shared this episode with that mentality in mind, hoping to bring listeners closer to what was familiar to them. Now, over three years later, we are still living with the ever-rippling effects of the pandemic. But through those ripples we’ve also shown how adaptable we can be, finding creative ways to convene, play, and find joy with our communities.

Episode transcript here.

Narrators include Betty Howard, Tommy Woods, Phil Ayala, Janetta Pegues, and Sunny Fischer, and stories were recorded by Hannah Barg, Shakira Johnson, Alexis Judeh, and Francesco De Salvatore.

When considering what “love” is, many varieties come to mind. Romantic love and platonic love dominate our TV shows, movies, and music, but these are only two pieces of the picture. What about love of a place, love of a people, or love of a purpose and principles? This episode, “The Act of Loving,” shares stories of all sorts of love in public housing, expanding our definition of what love means.

The oral history narrators for this episode include, JL Gross, who has lived in Chicago's Lathrop Homes from 1987 to the present day, Reverend Marshall Hatch, who lived in Chicago's Jane Addams Homes from 1960 to 1974, Milton Reed who lived in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes from 1961 to 2002, Former Representative Bobby Rush who lived in Chicago's Hillard Homes from 1963 until the mid 1960s, Daphany Rose Sanchez, who has lived in New York City's Cooper Park Houses from 1984 to the present day, Larry Turner, who lived in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, and Cabrini-Green in 1977 and then 1980 to 2000 and Atlanta Dream Head Coach, Tanisha Wright, who lived in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania's Mon View Heights from 1983 to 1998.

Read the transcript.

In this episode, 'There's So Much Magic in a Place,' we uplift a range of experiences of public housing residents from across the country, featuring narrators from New York City,  Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago. These narrators share stories of how their relationships to home and place have shaped, and have been shaped by, their identities as individuals and communities.
Read the transcript here.
Sources: https://trace.tennessee.edu/rgsj/vol10/iss1/3
https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/east-lake-meadows-stereotyping/east-lake-meadows-a-public-housing-story-video/
https://books.google.com/books?id=QI17AwAAQBAJ&q=%22long+hot+summer%22+1967&pg=PA1#v=snippet&q=%22long%20hot%20summer%22%201967&f=false

This episode, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," celebrates a resident from the ABLA (a group of public housing projects consisting of the Jane Addams Homes, Robert Brooks Homes, Loomis Courts, and Grace Abbott Homes) community, the late Mr. Wilbur Farley.

If that name sounds familiar, perhaps it is because he has appeared many times in different ABLA oral histories we have gathered.  Known as “Mr. Fix-It” for his ingenuity and helping neighbors with small repairs, Mr. Farley was such a hugely influential and important member of the community that “Mr. Farley Day Back to School Celebration and Party” (as it was originally called) was created in 1984 by the ABLA community. The oral history narrators featured in this episode are Al Buford, who lived in the Jane Addams Homes from 1955 until 1990, Marquita Gandy, who lived in ABLA from 1973 to 2009, Godfrey Bey, who lived in the Jane Addams Homes from 1956 to 1983, and Byron Dickens, our next narrator lived in the Jane Addams Homes from 1966 to 2001.

Read the transcript here.

CORRECTION: The narration of this episode states that Marquita Gandy lived in the Jane Addams Homes from 1973 to 2009. The episode notes have been edited to reflect the correction, that Marquita Gandy lived in the greater ABLA Homes complexes from 1973 to 2009. All but one of the buildings of the Jane Addams Homes were demolished between 2002-2008; the last remaining building is being preserved for the National Public Housing Museum's permanent site thanks to efforts by ABLA resident activists. (Source: Society of Architectural Historians, https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IL-01-031-0037)

Cited Source: https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/old-man-of-the-projects/ 

In this episode of Out of the Archives, we're revisiting Episode 12, "Full of Life," and have added more historical context behind the stories narrators share!

This episode feature stories about finding yourself through the arts and recreation, reclaiming and growing after trauma, and more.  A special thanks to the storytellers from this episode, including Marquita Gandy of ABLA Homes, Nekia Herron of the Robert Taylor Homes, Olga Molina of the Lathrop Homes from 1969 to 1995, Sokeo Ros lives in affordable Housing in Providence, RI, and Henry Warfield, who lived in Altgeld Gardens and the Cabrini-Green Homes. We'd also like to thank the members of the Museum's Oral History Corps and other oral historians who helped to gather these stories, including Francesco De Salvatore and Shakira Johnson.  The stories span from 1969 to the present day.

Read the transcript here.