A forum exploring the history of redlining and blockbusting in Dorchester and Mattapan — and the neighborhood organizing that pushed back against those practices — will be held on Wed., Sept. 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at JustBook-ish, 1463 Dorchester Ave. in Fields Corner.
The discussion, presented in partnership with Massachusetts Action for Justice and the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA), will focus on the housing crisis that gripped parts of Dorchester from roughly 1968 to 1972, when discriminatory lending practices and real estate speculation contributed to widespread foreclosures, abandonment, and neighborhood instability.
Organizers say the program will also examine campaigns by Dorchester residents to challenge banks and real estate practices locally and nationally, as well as more recent efforts to expand affordable homeownership.
Speakers will include Symone Crawford, executive director of MAHA; Tom Callahan, MAHA’s longtime former director and now director of the Partnership for Financial Equity; and veteran community organizer Lew Finfer, a founding director of MAHA and now director of Massachusetts Action for Justice.
The discussion will include MAHA’s work on the ONE Mortgage program, an affordable mortgage initiative that organizers say has helped more than 26,000 Massachusetts households purchase homes, along with the group’s STASH first-generation homebuyer program.
The event will also consider present-day obstacles and opportunities for Black and Brown families seeking to become homeowners.
Admission is free, but registration is requested through the Words as Worlds website. Parking is available on nearby streets and in the shopping center lot near Dorchester Avenue and Park Street.
