Renters Together – A Critical Reflection of an Immersive Community Organizing Experience in Rural, Midwest America

Abstract

Manhattan, Kansas has a housing problem -- inflated housing prices threaten the livelihoods of its economically vulnerable residents. An intractable problem such as this demands creative solutions. In the summer of 2018, the Marjorie J. and Richard L.D. Morse Family and Community Public Policy Scholarship sponsored my project to do just that. Working with a team of local community members, I experimented with a grassroots community organizing strategy that was designed to create, within the community, the political will to solve the problem. Integral to this strategy was the implementation of canvassing and targeted story-telling. The project took a left turn late in its course, but from this experience, I gleaned valuable lessons that apply to future community organizing projects of this nature.