Legality is not Morality: Why Moms 4 Housing Matters
By: Erina Kim-Eubanks
Tags: Bay Area, Housing, Social Justice, Homelessness, Housing Justice

Yesterday was my first day back from maternity leave, and during my first meeting of the day, I was in a conversation with some colleagues about the Moms 4 Housing movement. While I had been very loosely hearing about this struggle via social media- “the homeless moms who took over a house in Oakland”- I hadn’t been aware of the whole picture. I was unsure of the motivations and intentions of these moms, and to be honest, wasn’t quite sure what to think of their actions at first.

Members of Moms 4 Housing- Courtesy of Moms 4 Housing, via Twitter

But as one of my colleagues shared more about this movement and the organizing efforts surrounding these moms, I felt awe and admiration growing in me- for these moms, for their kids, for the creativity and resilience they have shown, long before they even stepped foot into 2928 Magnolia Street. I felt awe and admiration for the community of organizers and activists who had surrounded and supported them, every step of the way. And I felt outrage and disgust as I learned more about the issues surrounding housing in the Bay Area, the ways that greed and love of money has destroyed thousands of lives, families, and homes.

While many have been quick to point out the action of these moms as “illegal,” I thought about the courage of many throughout history who have chosen actions contrary to the law, in order to prophetically highlight the immoral nature of such laws. In response to interviewers about the legality of their actions, one of the Moms 4 Housing founders, Dominique Walker said, “It should be illegal to have mothers and children sleeping on the street in winter — working moms that are going to work, trying to provide and coming back to the street.”

Her response made me think of the many ways that moms in this country, particularly African American mothers, have always had to make courageous choices and break laws- to uphold the dignity, life, and freedom of their beloved children. And I wondered- wouldn’t I choose to fight for the life and well-being of my family over complicity with an oppressive and harmful system? Shouldn’t we consider these moms and their children as we would our own?

As Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

And the more I learned about the context of this battle, the more I uncovered the rampantly unjust nature of our current housing systems.

Some key learnings:

·Dominique Walker, one of the founders of Moms 4 Housing is an Oakland native, has a B.A. in Sociology, and came back to Oakland in 2019 to get a Masters in Nursing, only to be impacted by the housing crisis and becoming homeless while still working full-time, while raising 2 young children.

· The owners of the house that the moms are occupying is Wedgewood Properties- a home-flipping giant that buys foreclosed properties, flips them, and sells them for profit. In 2016, Wedgewood’s CEO boasted that the company purchased over 200 foreclosed or soon-to-be foreclosed homes nationwide every month, calling the distressed housing market “hot and sexy.”[vii]

· Since 2015, there have been at least 300 lawsuits that involve the company, mostly unlawful detainers in which the company was attempting to evict a tenant or former owners living in a home it recently purchased.[viii]

· In the greater SF area, there are roughly 4 vacant units for every homeless individual (that is counted). SF Gate estimated that in 2019, there were close to 100,000 vacant units[i] while there are roughly 28,000 homeless individuals. [ii]

· In the city of Oakland, there are about 3.8 vacant units for every (counted) houseless neighbor. In Hayward, there are close to 6 vacant units for every houseless person.[iii]

· While less than 25 percent of Oakland residents are Black, they account for almost 70 percent of the homeless population.[iv] The last census count reported a 25 percent overall drop in the city’s Black population in the last 2 years.

· Nearly 90 percent of all new apartments in Oakland and other areas have been luxury or high-end apartments[v] while the homeless population has jumped almost 50% in the last 2 years alone. The number of people living in their cars has jumped 131% in that time as well.[vi]

· About 28% of the homeless population in Alameda county includes youth and children (under 25). This is the second highest homeless youth population in the country.

Some of the residents of 2928 Magnolia Street, enjoying beds for the first time. Photo courtesy of Moms 4 Housing (via Facebook)

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These numbers should disturb us. They expose the stark reality that the housing crisis in the Bay Area is not a crisis of capacity but a crisis of compassion. There are enough vacant units to house every unhoused person. Yet in many instances, the desire for maximum profit is prioritized over the basic right for housing for all. And this greed will only multiply if we stand idly by. To choose to fight for what is moral may require us to challenge what is legal and illegal in our communities.

So what can we do?

A few things I’ve done in the last 24 hours, since wanting to learn more and get involved:

1) Watch these videos to hear more about the story from the perspective of one of the kids living at the Magnolia Street house: Part 1 and Part 2. Get your tissues ready.

2) Follow “Moms 4 Housing” on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram

3) Take action by calling Wedgewood CEO, Greg Geiser, with instructions here: https://moms4housing.org/take-action. I just did it and it went straight to voicemail, but I will keep calling.

4) Send a text to 510–800–7810 to get updates on any local needs and organizing efforts.

5) If you are a person of faith, consider mobilizing your congregation and be creative about what resources you have to address the housing crisis in the Bay. Being part of the FirstPres Hayward family has been a reminder of the immense potential held in the buildings and the land that many places of worship own- whether that be through hosting a parking lot program, hosting a resource center or warming shelter, or creating transitional housing through Tiny Homes. Consider creative ways to use your property to serve our unsheltered neighbors, and speak out in your community of faith about these opportunities.

May we all have the faith and courage that these moms have shown. May we all continue to fight for the fundamental right to housing for ALL people. And may we all remember that legality is not the same as morality, and that the pursuit of justice sometimes means calling out the injustice of our current laws.

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[i] https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/An-estimated-100-000-homes-are-sitting-empty-in-13692007.php

[ii] http://www.bayareaeconomy.org/report/bay-area-homelessness/

[iii] https://sf.curbed.com/2019/12/3/20993251/san-francisco-bay-area-vacant-homes-per-homeless-count

[iv] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/12/bay-area-moms-homeless-squatters/?fbclid=IwAR1tVPx1UDGwu-bTOxhs7wPPY5Rk0ROOO0gelTaX7h2Hylk0AsayqpnNDuw

[v] https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/12/11/new-oakland-apartments-push-rents-higher-than-other-bay-area-cities/

[vi] https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-homeless-vehicle-dwellers-exploding-14539892.php

[vii] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/12/bay-area-moms-homeless-squatters/?fbclid=IwAR1tVPx1UDGwu-bTOxhs7wPPY5Rk0ROOO0gelTaX7h2Hylk0AsayqpnNDuw

[viii] https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/examining-wedgewood-a-look-at-the-home-flipping-giant-in-battle-with-homeless-mothers/2208119/