As summer draws to a close, we’ve been talking about books, articles, shows, and more that have piqued our interest and thought it would be fun to share with you. We’d love to hear your recommendations as well!
(Please note that these are personal recommendations by the staff at NeighborWorks Capital and do not represent an endorsement by NeighborWorks Capital.)
In a May episode of Netflix series “Patriot Act,” Hasan Minhaj tackles the rental housing and (looming) eviction crisis in his first taping without a live audience (due to the pandemic).
Hope Enterprise Corporation, a NeighborWorks affiliate and CDFI in Jackson, Mississippi, will use a $10 million investment from Netflix to boost their investment capital in Deep South communities where wealth has been extracted for decades. Learn more in OFN’s recent blog post.
As protests and anger over institutional racism grip the nation, a clip from a 1976 Bill Moyers documentary about a hateful attack on a group of Black children, part of residents’ efforts to keep Black families out of a New York City neighborhood, still resonates. The New York Times spoke to the children interviewed in the film, now adults, about how they and their neighborhood, Rosedale in Queens, NY, have grown and thrived.
Another recent New York Times piece celebrates the power of an affordable mortgage in a neighborhood many lenders (still) avoid, made available thanks to programs that encourage home ownership. FAHE, a NeighborWorks affiliate, is leading the pilot program in Louisville, KY.
Eitan Hersh of Tufts University studies U.S. elections, civic participation, and voting rights. His book, Politics is for Power, analyzes political “hobbyism”—treating politics like a spectator sport—and is an urgent and timely call to arms for the many well-meaning, well-informed citizens who follow political news, but do not take political action.
Despite slowing demand and the continued strength of new construction, rental markets in the U.S. remain extremely tight. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University has released America’s Rental Housing 2020 report, highlighting the disparities between incomes and rents in most cities and suburbs.
