Margot Black: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Wordie (talk | contribs)
139 edits
Added references for Black's resigning from and rejoining PTU. Updated electoral campaign results.
Wordie (talk | contribs)
139 edits
Shortened long sentences, updated past service on Rental Services Commission, updated PTU section so items are in chronological order.
Line 21: Line 21:
| notable_works =
| notable_works =
}}
}}
'''Margot Black''' (born 1978) is an American tenant rights organizer, activist, grass-roots lobbyist and former political candidate. She co-founded,<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2016/12/07/margot-black-wants-to-take-on-the-landlords-and-portland-city-hall/ Rachel Monahan, ″Margot Black Wants to Take On the Landlords and Portland City Hall,″ ''Willamette Week'' Dec 7, 2016 - Updated March 17, 2017]</ref> resigned from,<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/01/09/portland-tenants-united-founder-margot-black-resigns-post-after-charges-of-white-supremacy/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" ''Willamette Week'' Jan 9, 2018]</ref>, rejoined the leadership of <ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/03/01/portland-housing-activist-margot-black-returns-to-tenant-leadership/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Housing activist Margot Black Returns to Tenant Leadership" ''Willamette Week'' Mar 1, 2019]</ref> and once again resigned from<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/portlandtenantsunited/posts/3127490243965982 Portland Tenants United, ''Facebook.com'' July 29, 2020]</ref> Portland Tenants United between 2015 and 2020, during which time multiple allegations were made of racism, transphobia, and abuse within the organization<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/01/09/portland-tenants-united-founder-margot-black-resigns-post-after-charges-of-white-supremacy/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" ''Willamette Week'' Jan 9, 2018]</ref><ref>[https://activismactually.wixsite.com/revolution/post/an-open-letter-to-the-city-of-portland-the-time-has-come-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable, "An Open Letter to the City of Portland: The Time has Come to Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable" ''Activism, Actually'' May 24, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@DemandAccountability/statement-on-the-open-letter-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable-169de59fddb9 Portland Jobs With Justice, "STATEMENT ON THE OPEN LETTER TO HOLD PTU AND MARGOT BLACK ACCOUNTABLE" ''Medium.com'' May 29, 2020]</ref>. PTU is a non-profit focused on tenant rights.<ref>[https://www.pdxtu.org/about About Portland Tenants United]</ref>
'''Margot Black''' (born 1978) is an American tenant rights organizer, activist, grass-roots lobbyist and former political candidate. She co-founded,<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2016/12/07/margot-black-wants-to-take-on-the-landlords-and-portland-city-hall/ Rachel Monahan, ″Margot Black Wants to Take On the Landlords and Portland City Hall,″ ''Willamette Week'' Dec 7, 2016 - Updated March 17, 2017]</ref> resigned from,<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/01/09/portland-tenants-united-founder-margot-black-resigns-post-after-charges-of-white-supremacy/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" ''Willamette Week'' Jan 9, 2018]</ref>, rejoined the leadership of, <ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/03/01/portland-housing-activist-margot-black-returns-to-tenant-leadership/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Housing activist Margot Black Returns to Tenant Leadership" ''Willamette Week'' Mar 1, 2019]</ref> and once again resigned from<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/portlandtenantsunited/posts/3127490243965982 Portland Tenants United, ''Facebook.com'' July 29, 2020]</ref> Portland Tenants United, a non-profit tenants' rights organization,<ref>[https://www.pdxtu.org/about About Portland Tenants United]</ref> between 2015 and 2020. During Black's tenure with PTU, multiple organizations and individuals alleged that Black herself, and PTU more broadly, acted in ways that had racist, transphobic, and abusive effects.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/01/09/portland-tenants-united-founder-margot-black-resigns-post-after-charges-of-white-supremacy/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" ''Willamette Week'' Jan 9, 2018]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@HoldPTUandMargotBlackAccntable/an-open-letter-to-the-city-of-portland-the-time-has-come-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable-38519394aa04 Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable, "An Open Letter to the City of Portland: The Time has Come to Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable" ''Medium.com'' May 17, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@DemandAccountability/statement-on-the-open-letter-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable-169de59fddb9 Portland Jobs With Justice, "STATEMENT ON THE OPEN LETTER TO HOLD PTU AND MARGOT BLACK ACCOUNTABLE" ''Medium.com'' May 29, 2020]</ref>.


Black helped draft Portland’s Relocation Assistance ordinance passed in 2017,<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref> has served on Portland’s Rental Services Commission since 2017,<ref>[https://beta.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/rsc/meet-our-commissioners Portland Rental Services Commission, Meet Our Commissioners]</ref> and advised on formulation of the Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) ordinance in 2019.
Black helped draft Portland’s Relocation Assistance ordinance passed in 2017,<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref> served on Portland’s Rental Services Commission,<ref>[https://beta.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/rsc/meet-our-commissioners Portland Rental Services Commission, Meet Our Commissioners]</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2021|reason="Black is no longer listed as a member"}} and advised on formulation of the Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) ordinance in 2019{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}.


Black was one of 18 candidates in the May 2020 primary election of [[Government of Portland, Oregon|Portland City Council]]. She ran for the seat held until December 2019 by the late city commissioner [[Nick Fish]] and ultimately won by [[Dan Ryan]].<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/741775 Registry of Candidates - May 19, 2020 Primary Elections]</ref>
Black was one of 18 candidates in the May 2020 primary election of [[Government of Portland, Oregon|Portland City Council]]. She ran for the seat held until December 2019 by the late city commissioner [[Nick Fish]] and ultimately won by [[Dan Ryan]].<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/741775 Registry of Candidates - May 19, 2020 Primary Elections]</ref>
Line 33: Line 33:


==Portland Tenants United and Renters Rights==
==Portland Tenants United and Renters Rights==
Having experienced a no-cause eviction as a young single mother in Portland, and again in 2012 with her husband at the time and children, Black became increasingly alarmed by the growing Portland housing crisis and skyrocketing eviction rates that displaced longtime low and moderate income Portland residents and broke up geographic centers of communities of color.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2016/12/07/margot-black-wants-to-take-on-the-landlords-and-portland-city-hall/ Rachel Monahan, “Margot Black Wants to Take on the Landlords and City Hall,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ December 7, 2016, updated March 17, 2017]</ref> Black initiated social media-based mutual aid with the Facebook group PDX Renters Unite, began working with others including [[Chloe Eudaly]] who were also using social media networks to mobilize around renters rights, and conducted research as a member of a [[Portland City Club]] study group on affordable housing.<ref>[https://www.pdxcityclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Housing-Affordability-in-Portland-CCOP.pdf]</ref> In 2015 Black co-founded Portland Tenants United (PTU), which pursued multiple methods of pressing for tenant rights. Black and PTU have supported renters in organizing tenant unions with actions including taking demands to building complex owners and managers, rent strikes, generating media coverage, and securing support from local officials.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/09/24/portland-tenant-settles-case-for-105000-after-alleging-hazards-at-apartment-complex/ Rachel Monahan, “Portland Tenant Settles Case for $105,000 After Alleging Hazards at Apartment Complex,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Sept 24, 2018]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@ptu/big-win-for-portlands-new-tenant-union-73a936207298 Portland Tenants United “Big Win for Portland’s New Tenant Union,” ‘’Medium’’ Mar 1, 2017]</ref><ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2020/01/22/the-state-agency-tasked-with-monitoring-rents-in-affordable-housing-failed-at-two-portland-buildings/ Rachel Monahan, “The State Agency Tasked With Monitoring Rents in Affordable Housing Failed at Two Portland Buildings,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Jan 22, 2020]</ref> PTU has organized protests demanding a rent freeze and an end to no-cause evictions,<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/04/07/17841276/activists-demanding-new-rent-controls-shut-down-the-multnomah-county-commission-this-morning Dirk VanderHart, “Activists Demanding New Rent Controls Shut Down a Multnomah County Commission Meeting,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Apr 7, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://katu.com/news/local/renters-protest-disrupts-gala-for-landlords-and-property-managers Lincoln Graves, “Renters protest disrupts gala for landlords and property managers,” ‘’KATU News’’ May 26, 2016]</ref> and joined resistance to sweeps against camps of houseless people.<ref>[https://www.portlandoccupier.org/2016/08/01/city-postpones-sweep-of-springwater-corridor/ Pete Shaw, “City Postpones Sweep of Springwater Corridor,” ‘’Portland Occupier’’ August 1, 2016]</ref>
Having experienced a no-cause eviction as a young single mother in Portland, and again in 2012 with her husband at the time and children, Black became increasingly alarmed by the growing Portland housing crisis and skyrocketing eviction rates that displaced longtime low and moderate income Portland residents and broke up geographic centers of communities of color.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2016/12/07/margot-black-wants-to-take-on-the-landlords-and-portland-city-hall/ Rachel Monahan, “Margot Black Wants to Take on the Landlords and City Hall,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ December 7, 2016, updated March 17, 2017]</ref> Black initiated social media-based mutual aid with the Facebook group PDX Renters Unite, began working with others including [[Chloe Eudaly]] who were also using social media networks to mobilize around renters rights, and conducted research as a member of a [[Portland City Club]] study group on affordable housing.<ref>[https://www.pdxcityclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Housing-Affordability-in-Portland-CCOP.pdf]</ref> In 2015, Black co-founded Portland Tenants United (PTU), which pursued multiple methods of pressing for tenant rights. Black and PTU have supported renters in organizing tenant unions with actions including taking demands to building complex owners and managers, rent strikes, generating media coverage, and securing support from local officials.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/09/24/portland-tenant-settles-case-for-105000-after-alleging-hazards-at-apartment-complex/ Rachel Monahan, “Portland Tenant Settles Case for $105,000 After Alleging Hazards at Apartment Complex,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Sept 24, 2018]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@ptu/big-win-for-portlands-new-tenant-union-73a936207298 Portland Tenants United “Big Win for Portland’s New Tenant Union,” ‘’Medium’’ Mar 1, 2017]</ref><ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2020/01/22/the-state-agency-tasked-with-monitoring-rents-in-affordable-housing-failed-at-two-portland-buildings/ Rachel Monahan, “The State Agency Tasked With Monitoring Rents in Affordable Housing Failed at Two Portland Buildings,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Jan 22, 2020]</ref> PTU has organized protests demanding a rent freeze and an end to no-cause evictions,<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/04/07/17841276/activists-demanding-new-rent-controls-shut-down-the-multnomah-county-commission-this-morning Dirk VanderHart, “Activists Demanding New Rent Controls Shut Down a Multnomah County Commission Meeting,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Apr 7, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://katu.com/news/local/renters-protest-disrupts-gala-for-landlords-and-property-managers Lincoln Graves, “Renters protest disrupts gala for landlords and property managers,” ‘’KATU News’’ May 26, 2016]</ref> and joined resistance to sweeps against camps of houseless people.<ref>[https://www.portlandoccupier.org/2016/08/01/city-postpones-sweep-of-springwater-corridor/ Pete Shaw, “City Postpones Sweep of Springwater Corridor,” ‘’Portland Occupier’’ August 1, 2016]</ref>

⚫
Electorally, PTU was a key force mobilizing support for the election of pro-tenant City Council candidate Chloe Eudaly in her upset victory against city commissioner [[Steve Novick]] in 2016.<ref>[https://www.opb.org/news/series/election-2016/portland-oregon-city-council-steve-novick-chloe-eudaly-result/ Amelia Templeton, “Novick Concedes, Eudaly Unseats Incumbent, Wins Seat on Portland City Council,” ‘’OPB News’’ Nov 9, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://www.koin.com/news/chloe-eudaly-fights-to-keep-portland-housed/870131177/ Chelsea Wicks, “Chloe Eudaly fights to ‘Keep Portland Housed’,” ‘’KOIN 6 News’’ Nov 18, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://nwlaborpress.org/2016/12/housing-state-of-emergency/ Don McIntosh, “Housing State of Emergency,” ‘’NW Labor Press,’’ Dec 1, 2016]</ref> Black and PTU also have challenged longstanding [[neoliberal]] assumptions in Oregon housing politics, including the ideas that market rate rents are natural, that rent control is never justified, and that high end apartment and condominium development will lower rents in working class housing by increasing housing supply. Black argues that renters’ right to secure, safe housing is more important than landlord property rights, and mobilizes support by encouraging tenants to see their problems in that light.{{citation needed}} Unconstrained by orthodox assumptions, Black and PTU have developed novel approaches to housing policy and law with legislative allies, such as Portland’s Relocation Assistance Ordinance, which passed with leadership from the newly elected Chloe Eudaly in 2017.<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2018/03/07/19724849/portlands-renter-relocation-policy-is-now-permanent-and-stronger-than-ever Dirk VanderHart, “Portland’s Renter Relocation Policy is Now Permanent—And Stronger Than Ever,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ March 7, 2018]</ref>

⚫
In the 2017 Oregon legislative session, long-time state senator and landlord Rod Monroe so weakened a PTU-influenced tenant rights bill that PTU felt forced to reverse course and oppose the amended version.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2017/02/14/the-state-senator-who-could-block-rent-control-owns-an-east-portland-apartment-complex/ Rachel Monahan, “The State Senator Who Could Block Rent Control Owns an East Portland Apartment Complex, ‘’Willamette Week’’ February 14, 2017]</ref> Black led a raucous demonstration at the State Capitol, followed by a campaign to publicly expose Monroe’s role that led two opponents to challenge him in the 2018 primary, and to his defeat by [[Shemia Fagan]].<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2017/11/15/tenant-advocates-are-determined-to-bulldoze-a-state-senator-who-is-also-a-landlord/ Katie Shepherd, “Tenant Advocates Are Determined to Bulldoze a State Senator Who Is Also a Landlord” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Dec 15, 2017]</ref><ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/05/15/former-rep-shemia-fagan-has-enormous-lead-on-state-sen-rod-monroe-in-early-returns/ Nigel Jaquiss, “Former Rep. Shemia Fagan Unseats State Sen. Rod Monroe]</ref>

In January, 2018, allegations began to surface of racism by Black and within PTU organizationally, including that Black had accused a racial-justice trainer of extortion, that PTU had ignored the objections of another racial-equity trainer about the song "This Land Is Our Land", that Black had asked another PTU member, "Isn’t it possible that all of these people of color are conspiring against me?"<ref>[https://medium.com/@andrewariley/cameron-thank-you-for-writing-this-piece-6a1429ac0e53]</ref> and other repeated instances of discrimination, slights, and insults toward activists of color. Black resigned from her leadership position in response, saying "I have always come to the work with positive intentions but in reality the impacts of some of my actions have had very negative impacts on valued members of our community and created harm."<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/01/09/portland-tenants-united-founder-margot-black-resigns-post-after-charges-of-white-supremacy/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" ''Willamette Week'' Jan 9, 2018]</ref>

Black then served as an advisor in the 2018 campaign that elected [[Jo Ann Hardesty]] to Portland City Council.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/03/03/portland-city-council-jo-ann-hardesty-picked-three-high-profile-housing-advocates-to-advise-her/ Rachel Monahan, “Portland City Council Candidate Jo Ann Hardesty Picked Three High-Profile Housing Advocates to Advise Her” ‘’Willamette Week’’ March 3, 2018, updated March 5, 2018]</ref>

In February, 2019, Shemia Fagan co-sponsored a tenant protection bill in the 2019 legislative session, that did more than the amended bill that PTU had opposed in 2017. Black regarded the bill as still inadequate, and accused lawmakers of "betrayal", speaking to Willamette Week as a member of PTU.<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/02/12/25856233/oregon-senate-passes-statewide-rent-control-bill Alex Zielinski “Oregon Senate Passes Statewide Rent Control Bill,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Feb 12, 2019]</ref>

By March, 2019, Black had been reelected as co-chair of PTU, and stated that she was "done apologizing for being a fierce, outspoken, and powerful woman".<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/03/01/portland-housing-activist-margot-black-returns-to-tenant-leadership/ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Housing activist Margot Black Returns to Tenant Leadership" ''Willamette Week'' Mar 1, 2019]</ref>

PTU and Black worked closely with Eudaly and her staff on the Fair Access In Renting (F.A.I.R.) Ordinance of 2019.<ref>[https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-tenant-screening-regulations-pass/ Amelia Templeton, “Portland Requires Landlords to Use First-Come-First-Served System to Choose Tenants,” ‘’OPB News’’ June 19, 2019]</ref> In March 2020, in an open letter to Oregon governor [[Kate Brown]], Black called for a statewide rent amnesty, robust protection against evictions, and other tenant protection in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>[https://medium.com/@margot323/an-open-letter-to-governor-brown-657d31fff365 Margot Black, “An Open Letter to Governor Brown,” ‘’Medium’’ March 22, 2020]</ref>

By May of 2020, allegations were once again surfacing about racist actions by Black and PTU under her leadership (for example, passing over a Black PTU member who was interested in applying for a leadership position by claiming that the member did not want it, claiming that a Black tenant had received support in negotiating with a landlord when they had not, and saying that it was "dehumanizing" for someone to draw attention to the fact that Black is a white person). These were joined by allegations of transphobia (such as calling trans women "men" and implying that their gender allows them to "gaslight women"), and other allegations, for example that Black "disinvited" people from the conflict transformation process that PTU underwent in 2016-2017.<ref>[https://medium.com/@HoldPTUandMargotBlackAccntable/an-open-letter-to-the-city-of-portland-the-time-has-come-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable-38519394aa04 ] Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable, "An Open Letter to the City of Portland," ''Medium.com'' May 17, 2020</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@DemandAccountability/statement-on-the-open-letter-to-hold-ptu-and-margot-black-accountable-169de59fddb9 Jobs With Justice PDX, "STATEMENT ON THE OPEN LETTER TO HOLD PTU AND MARGOT BLACK ACCOUNTABLE," ''Medium.com'' May 29, 2020]</ref>


⚫
Electorally PTU was a key force mobilizing support for the election of pro-tenant City Council candidate Chloe Eudaly in her upset victory against city commissioner [[Steve Novick]] in 2016,<ref>[https://www.opb.org/news/series/election-2016/portland-oregon-city-council-steve-novick-chloe-eudaly-result/ Amelia Templeton, “Novick Concedes, Eudaly Unseats Incumbent, Wins Seat on Portland City Council,” ‘’OPB News’’ Nov 9, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://www.koin.com/news/chloe-eudaly-fights-to-keep-portland-housed/870131177/ Chelsea Wicks, “Chloe Eudaly fights to ‘Keep Portland Housed’,” ‘’KOIN 6 News’’ Nov 18, 2016]</ref><ref>[https://nwlaborpress.org/2016/12/housing-state-of-emergency/ Don McIntosh, “Housing State of Emergency,” ‘’NW Labor Press,’’ Dec 1, 2016]</ref> and was important in the coalition that elected [[Jo Ann Hardesty]] to Portland City Council in 2018; Black served as an adviser to Hardesty's campaign.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/03/03/portland-city-council-jo-ann-hardesty-picked-three-high-profile-housing-advocates-to-advise-her/ Rachel Monahan, “Portland City Council Candidate Jo Ann Hardesty Picked Three High-Profile Housing Advocates to Advise Her” ‘’Willamette Week’’ March 3, 2018, updated March 5, 2018]</ref> Meanwhile, in the 2017 Oregon legislative session long-time state senator and landlord Rod Monroe so weakened a PTU-influenced tenant rights bill in the 2017 Oregon legislative session that PTU felt forced to reverse course and oppose the amended version.<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2017/02/14/the-state-senator-who-could-block-rent-control-owns-an-east-portland-apartment-complex/ Rachel Monahan, “The State Senator Who Could Block Rent Control Owns an East Portland Apartment Complex, ‘’Willamette Week’’ February 14, 2017]</ref> Black led a raucous demonstration at the State Capitol, followed by a campaign to publicly expose Monroe’s role that led two opponents to challenge him in the 2018 primary, and to his defeat by [[Shemia Fagan]].<ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2017/11/15/tenant-advocates-are-determined-to-bulldoze-a-state-senator-who-is-also-a-landlord/ Katie Shepherd, “Tenant Advocates Are Determined to Bulldoze a State Senator Who Is Also a Landlord” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Dec 15, 2017]</ref><ref>[https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/05/15/former-rep-shemia-fagan-has-enormous-lead-on-state-sen-rod-monroe-in-early-returns/ Nigel Jaquiss, “Former Rep. Shemia Fagan Unseats State Sen. Rod Monroe]</ref> Fagan subsequently co-sponsored a tenant protection bill in the 2019 legislative session, that did more than the amended bill that PTU had opposed in 2017, but that Black regarded as still inadequate.<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/02/12/25856233/oregon-senate-passes-statewide-rent-control-bill Alex Zielinski “Oregon Senate Passes Statewide Rent Control Bill,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Feb 12, 2019]</ref>


⚫
Black and PTU also have challenged longstanding [[neoliberal]] assumptions in Oregon housing politics, including the ideas that market rate rents are natural, that rent control is never justified, and that high end apartment and condominium development will lower rents in working class housing by increasing housing supply. Black argues that renters’ right to secure, safe housing is more important than landlord property rights, and mobilizes support by encouraging tenants to see their problems in that light. Unconstrained by orthodox assumptions, Black and PTU have developed novel approaches to housing policy and law with legislative allies, such as Portland’s Relocation Assistance Ordinance, which passed with leadership from the newly elected Chloe Eudaly in 2017.<ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/01/08/27780227/portland-renters-rights-advocate-margot-black-is-running-for-city-council Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," ''Portland Mercury'' Jan 8, 2020]</ref><ref>[https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2018/03/07/19724849/portlands-renter-relocation-policy-is-now-permanent-and-stronger-than-ever Dirk VanderHart, “Portland’s Renter Relocation Policy is Now Permanent—And Stronger Than Ever,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ March 7, 2018]</ref> Likewise PTU and Black worked closely with Eudaly and her staff on the Fair Access In Renting (F.A.I.R.) Ordinance of 2019.<ref>[https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-tenant-screening-regulations-pass/ Amelia Templeton, “Portland Requires Landlords to Use First-Come-First-Served System to Choose Tenants,” ‘’OPB News’’ June 19, 2019]</ref> In March 2020, in an open letter to Oregon governor [[Kate Brown]], Black called for a statewide rent amnesty, robust protection against evictions, and other tenant protection in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>[https://medium.com/@margot323/an-open-letter-to-governor-brown-657d31fff365 Margot Black, “An Open Letter to Governor Brown,” ‘’Medium’’ March 22, 2020]</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 18:36, 16 March 2021

Margot Black
Black addressing a rally, April 2016
BornOctober 1978
NationalityU.S.
Alma materLewis & Clark College (BA)
University of Oregon (MS)
Occupations
  • Tenant rights advocate
  • past Director, Symbolic & Quantitative Resource Center, Lewis & Clark College
  • past college mathematics instructor
Known forCo-founder, Portland Tenants United

Margot Black (born 1978) is an American tenant rights organizer, activist, grass-roots lobbyist and former political candidate. She co-founded,[1] resigned from,[2], rejoined the leadership of, [3] and once again resigned from[4] Portland Tenants United, a non-profit tenants' rights organization,[5] between 2015 and 2020. During Black's tenure with PTU, multiple organizations and individuals alleged that Black herself, and PTU more broadly, acted in ways that had racist, transphobic, and abusive effects.[6][7][8].

Black helped draft Portland’s Relocation Assistance ordinance passed in 2017,[9] served on Portland’s Rental Services Commission,[10][failed verification] and advised on formulation of the Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) ordinance in 2019[citation needed].

Black was one of 18 candidates in the May 2020 primary election of Portland City Council. She ran for the seat held until December 2019 by the late city commissioner Nick Fish and ultimately won by Dan Ryan.[11][12]

Early Life and Academic Career

Black was born in 1978 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She experienced early years of poverty with intermittent homelessness and foster care shaped by her mother’s severe mental illness, until her grandmother gained custody of Black and her younger sister. In 1997 Black graduated from high school, moved to Portland with her then partner, and gave birth to her first child.[13]

In 1999 Black started classes at Portland State University as working single mother, and in 2001 won a scholarship[14] to attend Lewis & Clark College, where she graduated with a B.A. in 2003. Admitted to graduate school at the University of Oregon, she earned an M.S. in Mathematics in 2005 and passed her Ph.D. qualifying exams. She returned to Portland as an instructor at Portland Community College. In 2012 Lewis & Clark College hired Black to direct the Symbolic & Quantitative Resource Center, where she worked until 2018.[15][16]

Portland Tenants United and Renters Rights

Having experienced a no-cause eviction as a young single mother in Portland, and again in 2012 with her husband at the time and children, Black became increasingly alarmed by the growing Portland housing crisis and skyrocketing eviction rates that displaced longtime low and moderate income Portland residents and broke up geographic centers of communities of color.[17] Black initiated social media-based mutual aid with the Facebook group PDX Renters Unite, began working with others including Chloe Eudaly who were also using social media networks to mobilize around renters rights, and conducted research as a member of a Portland City Club study group on affordable housing.[18] In 2015, Black co-founded Portland Tenants United (PTU), which pursued multiple methods of pressing for tenant rights. Black and PTU have supported renters in organizing tenant unions with actions including taking demands to building complex owners and managers, rent strikes, generating media coverage, and securing support from local officials.[19][20][21] PTU has organized protests demanding a rent freeze and an end to no-cause evictions,[22][23] and joined resistance to sweeps against camps of houseless people.[24]

Electorally, PTU was a key force mobilizing support for the election of pro-tenant City Council candidate Chloe Eudaly in her upset victory against city commissioner Steve Novick in 2016.[25][26][27] Black and PTU also have challenged longstanding neoliberal assumptions in Oregon housing politics, including the ideas that market rate rents are natural, that rent control is never justified, and that high end apartment and condominium development will lower rents in working class housing by increasing housing supply. Black argues that renters’ right to secure, safe housing is more important than landlord property rights, and mobilizes support by encouraging tenants to see their problems in that light.[citation needed] Unconstrained by orthodox assumptions, Black and PTU have developed novel approaches to housing policy and law with legislative allies, such as Portland’s Relocation Assistance Ordinance, which passed with leadership from the newly elected Chloe Eudaly in 2017.[28][29]

In the 2017 Oregon legislative session, long-time state senator and landlord Rod Monroe so weakened a PTU-influenced tenant rights bill that PTU felt forced to reverse course and oppose the amended version.[30] Black led a raucous demonstration at the State Capitol, followed by a campaign to publicly expose Monroe’s role that led two opponents to challenge him in the 2018 primary, and to his defeat by Shemia Fagan.[31][32]

In January, 2018, allegations began to surface of racism by Black and within PTU organizationally, including that Black had accused a racial-justice trainer of extortion, that PTU had ignored the objections of another racial-equity trainer about the song "This Land Is Our Land", that Black had asked another PTU member, "Isn’t it possible that all of these people of color are conspiring against me?"[33] and other repeated instances of discrimination, slights, and insults toward activists of color. Black resigned from her leadership position in response, saying "I have always come to the work with positive intentions but in reality the impacts of some of my actions have had very negative impacts on valued members of our community and created harm."[34]

Black then served as an advisor in the 2018 campaign that elected Jo Ann Hardesty to Portland City Council.[35]

In February, 2019, Shemia Fagan co-sponsored a tenant protection bill in the 2019 legislative session, that did more than the amended bill that PTU had opposed in 2017. Black regarded the bill as still inadequate, and accused lawmakers of "betrayal", speaking to Willamette Week as a member of PTU.[36]

By March, 2019, Black had been reelected as co-chair of PTU, and stated that she was "done apologizing for being a fierce, outspoken, and powerful woman".[37]

PTU and Black worked closely with Eudaly and her staff on the Fair Access In Renting (F.A.I.R.) Ordinance of 2019.[38] In March 2020, in an open letter to Oregon governor Kate Brown, Black called for a statewide rent amnesty, robust protection against evictions, and other tenant protection in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39]

By May of 2020, allegations were once again surfacing about racist actions by Black and PTU under her leadership (for example, passing over a Black PTU member who was interested in applying for a leadership position by claiming that the member did not want it, claiming that a Black tenant had received support in negotiating with a landlord when they had not, and saying that it was "dehumanizing" for someone to draw attention to the fact that Black is a white person). These were joined by allegations of transphobia (such as calling trans women "men" and implying that their gender allows them to "gaslight women"), and other allegations, for example that Black "disinvited" people from the conflict transformation process that PTU underwent in 2016-2017.[40][41]


References

  1. ^ Rachel Monahan, ″Margot Black Wants to Take On the Landlords and Portland City Hall,″ Willamette Week Dec 7, 2016 - Updated March 17, 2017
  2. ^ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" Willamette Week Jan 9, 2018
  3. ^ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Housing activist Margot Black Returns to Tenant Leadership" Willamette Week Mar 1, 2019
  4. ^ Portland Tenants United, Facebook.com July 29, 2020
  5. ^ About Portland Tenants United
  6. ^ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" Willamette Week Jan 9, 2018
  7. ^ Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable, "An Open Letter to the City of Portland: The Time has Come to Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable" Medium.com May 17, 2020
  8. ^ Portland Jobs With Justice, "STATEMENT ON THE OPEN LETTER TO HOLD PTU AND MARGOT BLACK ACCOUNTABLE" Medium.com May 29, 2020
  9. ^ Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," Portland Mercury Jan 8, 2020
  10. ^ Portland Rental Services Commission, Meet Our Commissioners
  11. ^ Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," Portland Mercury Jan 8, 2020
  12. ^ Registry of Candidates - May 19, 2020 Primary Elections
  13. ^ Margot Black, “Groundhog Day, 1998”
  14. ^ Ford Opportunity Program for Single Parents
  15. ^ ‘’The Source’’ “Fifty Five Staff Honored for Service to Lewis & Clark,” February 06, 2017
  16. ^ ‘’The Source’’ “Comings and Goings Update…,” January 07, 2019
  17. ^ Rachel Monahan, “Margot Black Wants to Take on the Landlords and City Hall,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ December 7, 2016, updated March 17, 2017
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ Rachel Monahan, “Portland Tenant Settles Case for $105,000 After Alleging Hazards at Apartment Complex,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Sept 24, 2018
  20. ^ Portland Tenants United “Big Win for Portland’s New Tenant Union,” ‘’Medium’’ Mar 1, 2017
  21. ^ Rachel Monahan, “The State Agency Tasked With Monitoring Rents in Affordable Housing Failed at Two Portland Buildings,” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Jan 22, 2020
  22. ^ Dirk VanderHart, “Activists Demanding New Rent Controls Shut Down a Multnomah County Commission Meeting,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Apr 7, 2016
  23. ^ Lincoln Graves, “Renters protest disrupts gala for landlords and property managers,” ‘’KATU News’’ May 26, 2016
  24. ^ Pete Shaw, “City Postpones Sweep of Springwater Corridor,” ‘’Portland Occupier’’ August 1, 2016
  25. ^ Amelia Templeton, “Novick Concedes, Eudaly Unseats Incumbent, Wins Seat on Portland City Council,” ‘’OPB News’’ Nov 9, 2016
  26. ^ Chelsea Wicks, “Chloe Eudaly fights to ‘Keep Portland Housed’,” ‘’KOIN 6 News’’ Nov 18, 2016
  27. ^ Don McIntosh, “Housing State of Emergency,” ‘’NW Labor Press,’’ Dec 1, 2016
  28. ^ Alex Zielinski, ″Portland Renters Rights Advocate Margot Black is Running for City Council," Portland Mercury Jan 8, 2020
  29. ^ Dirk VanderHart, “Portland’s Renter Relocation Policy is Now Permanent—And Stronger Than Ever,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ March 7, 2018
  30. ^ Rachel Monahan, “The State Senator Who Could Block Rent Control Owns an East Portland Apartment Complex, ‘’Willamette Week’’ February 14, 2017
  31. ^ Katie Shepherd, “Tenant Advocates Are Determined to Bulldoze a State Senator Who Is Also a Landlord” ‘’Willamette Week’’ Dec 15, 2017
  32. ^ Nigel Jaquiss, “Former Rep. Shemia Fagan Unseats State Sen. Rod Monroe
  33. ^ [2]
  34. ^ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Tenants United Founder Margot Black Resigns Leadership Post After Charges of “White Supremacy”" Willamette Week Jan 9, 2018
  35. ^ Rachel Monahan, “Portland City Council Candidate Jo Ann Hardesty Picked Three High-Profile Housing Advocates to Advise Her” ‘’Willamette Week’’ March 3, 2018, updated March 5, 2018
  36. ^ Alex Zielinski “Oregon Senate Passes Statewide Rent Control Bill,” ‘’Portland Mercury’’ Feb 12, 2019
  37. ^ Rachel Monahan, "Portland Housing activist Margot Black Returns to Tenant Leadership" Willamette Week Mar 1, 2019
  38. ^ Amelia Templeton, “Portland Requires Landlords to Use First-Come-First-Served System to Choose Tenants,” ‘’OPB News’’ June 19, 2019
  39. ^ Margot Black, “An Open Letter to Governor Brown,” ‘’Medium’’ March 22, 2020
  40. ^ [3] Hold PTU and Margot Black Accountable, "An Open Letter to the City of Portland," Medium.com May 17, 2020
  41. ^ Jobs With Justice PDX, "STATEMENT ON THE OPEN LETTER TO HOLD PTU AND MARGOT BLACK ACCOUNTABLE," Medium.com May 29, 2020
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Margot_Black&oldid=1012502714"