Hello,
I wanted to share with you all why I have spent my career in public service, and what keeps me going. And that story starts when I was 20 years old and working as a community organizer, fighting housing discrimination in Chicago.
I worked with Black families in the Lawndale neighborhood in West Chicago, supporting their efforts to end the predatory practices of banks, brokers, and home sellers.
We’d watch banks buy houses, only to turn around and try to sell them to Black families for double the price. These banks did everything they could to get families on the hook for predatory mortgages and contracts. They made it almost impossible to miss a payment without losing the house completely, leaving families stranded with no home and no equity.
What struck me the most was that this was all legal. The laws allowed banks and speculators to discriminate against people because of the color of their skin. So together, we worked to stage demonstrations out in suburban Chicago, where the lenders lived. We organized rent payment strikes. We went toe-to-toe with Mayor Daley to end those contracts, and to save families in Chicago millions of dollars.
And at the end of the day, we successfully changed those contracts. But the fight opened my eyes to getting to the root of the problem — how the laws in place let racism flourish and become systematic. Our action made a difference, but only because of incredible courage, perseverance and risk on the part of these Black families were we able to bring about real change.
Sometimes, change feels like it will take too much, or too long, to make a tangible difference in our communities. But every little piece of work makes a difference. It makes a difference to show up and fight for what’s right. It makes a difference to listen to the communities you serve, and hear what they need.
That’s what I learned in Chicago, and that’s what I’ve brought with me to every job I’ve had since then.
My experience in Chicago led me to work in politics — to fight for what is right, to change laws and systems that are unjust, and to be a voice for those who have not always had a seat at the table. It’s how I serve my community now as Vermont’s Congressman, and how I would continue to serve as Vermont’s next Senator.
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Thanks for taking the time to read this,
Peter
