Dear John,
Yesterday, 150 Duluthians came together on the steps of City Hall to officially launch Duluth Tenants and share our vision for the city we love.
I’m proud beyond words. We’ve been knocking doors, having tough conversations, collecting survey responses, doing research visits, taking risks, and growing our leadership for over a year to get to this moment – and we’re just getting started.
Renters and homeowners in Duluth, join the pack. Be part of our next meeting on Wednesday, November 6. If you don’t live in Duluth, sponsor a membership to support our organizing.
I want you to hear directly from Duluth Tenants members and supporters about what we’re building and why it matters that renters are organizing. Here are a few highlights from our speeches yesterday. Watch the whole launch on Instagram.
- Mikaela Williams, a Duluth Tenants member who has knocked all 90 doors in her apartment complex at least three times: “We’re told, ‘You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.’ But actually, we do NEED to throw a fit. We are angry. We are over it!”
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Will Richardson, a Duluth Tenants member so committed to his vision for Duluth that he’s faced door knocking fears to lead our canvass team: “We are organizing against a deeply rooted system that values profits more than people. It can be hard to see a better future. I have hope for a Duluth that leaves no one behind, where rent ain't so damn high, and landlords make repairs, and keep our homes safe and healthy.”
- LeAnn Littlewolf, Executive Director of AICHO and life-long community organizer: “This is the first time that I’ve seen in Duluth the real possibility of change through organized power.”
For more, check out these local stations with stories about the launch:
Let’s keep making headlines together as we push for change in the city we love. Join our next Duluth Tenants meeting on November 6 or support our organizing by sponsoring a membership.
Yesterday, I ended the launch by saying this: I am grateful for you all, I am angry at the world-as-it-is that brings us here, and I am hungry – ravenous – for the power that we are building as tenants to win the safety and stability and HOME that we all deserve.
None of us can win that on our own. We need each other.
In solidarity,
DyAnna Grondahl (she/they)
Senior Organizer
