The Community Land Trust model comes out of the Civil Rights movement

Power Station

America’s housing affordability crisis is a well-documented reality not just in gentrifying cities but in virtually every corner of this nation. The persistence of the problem is particularly frustrating because we have proven policy solutions in hand, largely generated by nonprofits and community leaders. What is lacking is full-on political will at the federal level to break through barriers and make housing an accessible and affordable resource. Community Land Trusts, which have deep roots across the globe, were put on the map in the United States by civil rights icons Charles and Shirley Sherrod. Their founding of New Communities in Albany, Georgia, motivated by the violent displacement of Black farmers from their land and informed by their time on kibbutzim in Israel, galvanized a modern movement for the communal stewardship of land and housing whose affordability is permanent. In this episode of Power Station, Tony Pickett, CEO of Grounded Solutions Network, a powerdul cohort of CLT leaders, shares his own experience in the field and calls on philanthropy and government to make robust investments in a model, based in shared equity, that uplifts all communities. Hear him. His work and words are compelling and hopeful.