We all want safe and healthy neighborhoods and stable housing, for ourselves, our family, and our kin. What we came to realize during our May #TenantsWithoutLandlords campaign, is the breadth and depth to which our community is living that vision. Our community is building housing policies that strengthen tenants' rights, identifying and utilizing legal tools to liberate housing and land, and organizing communities who govern their own housing and neighborhoods, so that we can take care of each other. We’re building a future our community deserves and it’s so exciting!

If you want to enjoy all the wonderful teachings, take a look at our blog post #TenantsWithoutLandlords Recap and Resources Round-Up.
Thank you to everyone who participated and donated!

Update on our Solidarity Partner - Wood Street Commons

Throughout the month of May, the tight knit Wood Street Commons community of 70 people (although many would say hundreds of people) were forcibly removed from their homes. An Oakland judge ultimately ruled in the City's favor for demolishing the community, despite the legal battle and ongoing pleas of the residents. 

The Wood Street Commons community has been a role model for other unhoused communities around the country, developing a weekly meeting with a consensus process, organizing weekly trash pick ups with the Department of Public Works, and working on a creating a 501c3 to develop their vision of creating a tiny home ecovillage with infrastructure-in-place, held within a commons trust administered by the residents.

You can support Wood Street in their vision by making a donation.

Resources for Radical Home Sellers

There are many homeowners searching for guidance on how to transfer or sell their home in alignment with their values, and we recognize that there are not enough resources to support such homeowners. To that end, the Law Center has put together several resources over the years, and we've compiled them in a new Bite-Sized Legal Guide. Check it out: Resources for Radical Home Sellers.

Seeds of Land Return 2.0

The Law Center created this Seeds of Land Return toolkit in 2022, inspired by work we’ve done with BIPOC-led land stewardship organizations like Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, and others. Now our client and partner Sogorea Te’ Land Trust has taken the resource to the next level with their own beautiful design.

We also highly recommend you check out The Native Seed Pod conversation with STLT’s Corrina Gould about the seeds of rematriation being planted in the Bay Area, the history of land trusts in this region, and more. 

The Law Center at Nuns & Nones Land Justice Gathering

The Law Center's Alejandra, Erika, and Janelle traveled to Racine, Wisconsin back in May to participate in a land justice gathering hosted by Nuns & Nones. Learn more about Nuns & Nones' land justice work and check out their Land Justice Guidebooks. At the gathering, representatives of seven convents explored possibilities for returning their land to Indigenous and Black communities. The Law Center team presented on cultural easements, conducted a simulation of what it means to create an easement, and shared legal resources. 

Image Credit: Pat Robinson (photographer) and Amy Walsh (collage artist)