Alameda housing activist Clayton Guyton, Sr. dasquarebear: Clayton Guyton, Sr. in Baltimore Maryland. In 1989, then Alameda Housing Commissioner and Buena Vista Apartment resident Clayton Guyton, Sr. sued the city of Alameda for discriminatory housing policies. Guyton, and another tenant, Modessa Henderson, claimed Alameda’s Measure A discriminated against low-income residents and people of color. Measure A is a 1973 ordinance, passed by Alameda voters, that prohibited the construction of multiple unit dwellings/apartments in Alameda. Before the suit, the owner of the BVs raised rents after paying off a 20 year mortgage. Tenants pleaded with the landlord and city council, protested and organized activities for young people. The loss of affordable housing and inaction by the city to help tenants led to the lawsuit. A judge ruled in favor of tenants, saying policies discriminated against the poor. Before a judgment was made on whether the policies were racist, tenants and the city of Alameda settled the suit. The settlement created an exception to Measure A to replace the 325 apartments “lost” during the conversion from subsidized housing to market rate housing. To date, the units have not been replaced. And only last year did the city update its housing element. Guyton moved from Alameda in the early 1990s. He’s continued his activism in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is executive director of the Rose Street Community Center. In the 2013 photo above, Guyton is pictured near one of Rose Street’s transitional housing sites. Learn more about the lawsuit at Tenants vs. Alameda. Alameda housing activist Clayton Guyton, Sr. dasquarebear: Clayton Guyton, Sr. in Baltimore Maryland. In 1989, then Alameda Housing Commissioner and Buena Vista Apartment resident Clayton Guyton, Sr. sued the city of Alameda for discriminatory housing policies. Guyton, and another tenant, Modessa Henderson, claimed Alameda’s Measure A discriminated against low-income residents and people of color. Measure A is a 1973 ordinance, passed by Alameda voters, that prohibited the construction of multiple unit dwellings/apartments in Alameda. Before the suit, the owner of the BVs raised rents after paying off a 20 year mortgage. Tenants pleaded with the landlord and city council, protested and organized activities for young people. The loss of affordable housing and inaction by the city to help tenants led to the lawsuit. A judge ruled in favor of tenants, saying policies discriminated against the poor. Before a judgment was made on whether the policies were racist, tenants and the city of Alameda settled the suit. The settlement created an exception to Measure A to replace the 325 apartments “lost” during the conversion from subsidized housing to market rate housing. To date, the units have not been replaced. And only last year did the city update its housing element. Guyton moved from Alameda in the early 1990s. He’s continued his activism in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is executive director of the Rose Street Community Center. In the 2013 photo above, Guyton is pictured near one of Rose Street’s transitional housing sites. Learn more about the lawsuit at Tenants vs. Alameda.
Alameda housing activist Clayton Guyton, Sr.

dasquarebear:

Clayton Guyton, Sr. in Baltimore Maryland. In 1989, then Alameda Housing Commissioner and Buena Vista Apartment resident Clayton Guyton, Sr. sued the city of Alameda for discriminatory housing policies. Guyton, and another tenant, Modessa Henderson, claimed Alameda’s Measure A discriminated against low-income residents and people of color.

Measure A is a 1973 ordinance, passed by Alameda voters, that prohibited the construction of multiple unit dwellings/apartments in Alameda.

Before the suit, the owner of the BVs raised rents after paying off a 20 year mortgage. Tenants pleaded with the landlord and city council, protested and organized activities for young people. The loss of affordable housing and inaction by the city to help tenants led to the lawsuit. A judge ruled in favor of tenants, saying policies discriminated against the poor. Before a judgment was made on whether the policies were racist, tenants and the city of Alameda settled the suit.

The settlement created an exception to Measure A to replace the 325 apartments “lost” during the conversion from subsidized housing to market rate housing. To date, the units have not been replaced. And only last year did the city update its housing element.

Guyton moved from Alameda in the early 1990s. He’s continued his activism in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is executive director of the Rose Street Community Center. In the 2013 photo above, Guyton is pictured near one of Rose Street’s transitional housing sites. Learn more about the lawsuit at Tenants vs. Alameda.

An intimate moment with my camera, “Rebella.” Self-Portrait in Mirror. Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, Calif. Courtesy of Oakland Freedom School. An intimate moment with my camera, “Rebella.” Self-Portrait in Mirror. Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, Calif. Courtesy of Oakland Freedom School.

An intimate moment with my camera, “Rebella.”
Self-Portrait in Mirror. Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, Calif.

Courtesy of Oakland Freedom School.

I returned to America six months ago. This photo is of me and Mom at SFO. I returned to America six months ago. This photo is of me and Mom at SFO.

I returned to America six months ago.

This photo is of me and Mom at SFO.

Abandoned Homes + Navigator. Alameda Point, Alameda, CA. Abandoned Homes + Navigator. Alameda Point, Alameda, CA.

Abandoned Homes + Navigator. Alameda Point, Alameda, CA.

Photography and my Story

I (re)started taking pictures so I would have images for my stories. Now, my images often tell the stories.

Photographers are storytellers. Not only telling stories about the subjects we photograph: people, places, and things. What we photograph speaks volumes about ourselves. What do we photograph? Where do we shoot? And who do we capture in an “ill luminous glare”?

When it’s over. When I step away from the viewfinder. Behind me will lie a body of work. Images that connect the stories of thousands of people over decades of time. The common thread: they are a part of my story and how I saw the world.

Sather Tower. UC Berkeley. Sather Tower. UC Berkeley.

Sather Tower. UC Berkeley.

San Francisco Bay, skyline and Bay Bridge, western span, at sunset. San Francisco Bay, skyline and Bay Bridge, western span, at sunset.

San Francisco Bay, skyline and Bay Bridge, western span, at sunset.

lensblr-network: Among the millions of blogs on Tumblr, only a small number are contributors of original content: “the world’s creators” And if you’ve ever looked at Tumblr’s Explore Page you might notice that Photography is oddly absent. There’s #design, #art, #architecture and even #artists on tumblr — but no mention of anything related to the art of taking pictures with a camera. Even #film is a trap — it’s for movies, not analog photography! We don’t think this situation is acceptable. So let’s Fight it. We’d like to ask all original photographers on Tumblr to start putting the #photographers on tumblr tag on every single photo you post. Photographers deserve more recognition among the Creators on Tumblr. Hopefully, by using this tag we’ll help the entire community of Tumblr photographers get noticed — and maybe one day we will see that tag on the Tumblr Explore page too. Reblog this post and spread the word. Sincerely,Photographers on Tumblr lensblr-network: Among the millions of blogs on Tumblr, only a small number are contributors of original content: “the world’s creators” And if you’ve ever looked at Tumblr’s Explore Page you might notice that Photography is oddly absent. There’s #design, #art, #architecture and even #artists on tumblr — but no mention of anything related to the art of taking pictures with a camera. Even #film is a trap — it’s for movies, not analog photography! We don’t think this situation is acceptable. So let’s Fight it. We’d like to ask all original photographers on Tumblr to start putting the #photographers on tumblr tag on every single photo you post. Photographers deserve more recognition among the Creators on Tumblr. Hopefully, by using this tag we’ll help the entire community of Tumblr photographers get noticed — and maybe one day we will see that tag on the Tumblr Explore page too. Reblog this post and spread the word. Sincerely,Photographers on Tumblr

lensblr-network:

Among the millions of blogs on Tumblr, only a small number are contributors of original content: “the world’s creators”

And if you’ve ever looked at Tumblr’s Explore Page you might notice that Photography is oddly absent.

There’s #design, #art, #architecture and even #artists on tumblr — but no mention of anything related to the art of taking pictures with a camera. Even #film is a trap — it’s for movies, not analog photography!

We don’t think this situation is acceptable. So let’s Fight it.

We’d like to ask all original photographers on Tumblr to start putting the #photographers on tumblr tag on every single photo you post.

Photographers deserve more recognition among the Creators on Tumblr. Hopefully, by using this tag we’ll help the entire community of Tumblr photographers get noticed — and maybe one day we will see that tag on the Tumblr Explore page too.

Reblog this post and spread the word.

Sincerely,
Photographers on Tumblr

(via evanthompsonphotography)

Paint the White House Black blackhour: Keep Calm and Paint the White House Black Paint the White House Black blackhour: Keep Calm and Paint the White House Black
Paint the White House Black

blackhour:

Keep Calm and Paint the White House Black

nativethoughts: James Nachtwey. nativethoughts: James Nachtwey.

nativethoughts:

James Nachtwey.