On Tuesday, November 5, the collective power of housing justice in Texas was gathered all in one room to honor outstanding achievement in our space at the 2019 Houser Awards. The Austin Central Library hosted Texas Housers as we both accepted Laura Beshara, Greg Casar, and Lone Star Legal Aid’s Equitable Development Initiative team as new honorary members, as well as outlined our vision for our future.
Christina Rosales started the afternoon off by reminding everyone of our collective mission. “In this room, is essentially the housing brain trust of Texas,” Rosales said. “These are the people who have — over the last 3 decades — believed in our mission to examine a legacy of racist housing policy that has distorted our communities and sowed injustice in our neighborhoods, and who work every day to dismantle the status quo.”
Texas Housers co-director John Henneberger to talk about working toward Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s idea of the Beloved Community, and how our work is in service of this timeless ideal. And spoke of Housers’ plans going forth, effecting change by activating leaders in their own communities.
We were incredibly honored to hear from Laura Beshara, Kim Brown Myles from Lone Star Legal Aid, and Greg Casar speak to the issues that drive them to build a world where affordable and decent housing is a reality for all Texans.
The 2019 Houser Awards was a celebration of how far we’ve come in housing justice and a signal of what great strides for equality are on the horizon.
