| Abstrakt: |
This sociological essay examines the important role Alma Barlow played in the creation of the Richmond Tenants Organization (RTO). Her role in this endeavor is crucial as it highlights other issues forced into the public arenas at the same time. The first concerned housing, specifically, public housing, made more urgent during the era of housing discrimination, and the call by many for the U.S. government, and states and local communities to enact a comprehensive public housing policy. Second, the rise of Alma Barlow and the fight for equity in public housing and many other areas of Black life, as revealed in her political activism in the city of Richmond and the state of Virginia, replicated the political activism of other Black women activists on the national stage -women like Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, and Ella Baker. Third, Alma Barlow's housing activism was occurring simultaneously with two other issues of national importance being acted out in Richmond and vicinity: Brown vs Board of Education and issues of school integration and desegregation, and the legal and political issues associated with the Richmond-Chesterfield Annexation Dispute. Fourth, this article discusses the issues which precipitated the rise of the RTO, the process in the creation of RTO, the confrontations with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA), and the many issues involved in this confrontation, and the role Alma Barlow played in this process. Finally, Alma Barlow's organizational role outside of RTO is analyzed to illustrate her widening social, economic, and political role in the city, the region, and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
