Along with our main website, Housing Equity Project, where you can learn more about research process, this website hosts the collections of archival resources and oral history interviews as well as thematic exhibits that emerged from our research about tenant organizing in Hartford, Connecticut between 1960's-2000's timeline.

Our oral history interviews are conducted with Pastor AJ Johnson, Lorenzo Jones, Raphael (Rafie) Podolsky, Steve Thornton and John Bonelli.

Our archival research collection consists of clippings from Southside News, Hartford Courant, The Hill Ink (Asylum Hill Inc), Hartford Times, and other sources such as neighborhood profiles and pamphlets located in Watkinson Library, Trinity College and Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library.

Within each exhibit lies a story of Hartford and its housing struggles. Different themes in this narrative are consistent throughout the archives our team combed through and each interview conducted. These common themes are made up of the following: Stories of Resistance, Housing Struggles, Organizing Strategies, Organizing Challenges, and Bills, Legislation, and Regulations.

“Stories of Resistance” displays the success and failures of either individuals or organizations to progress in housing rights and equity. 

“Housing Struggles” consist of the different socio-economic problem related struggles that Hartford tenants have gone through. 

“Organizing Strategies” displays pieces of how Hartford residents come together through strategies such as rent strikes and finding common ground across other organizations and movements. 

“Organizing Challenges” coupled with the organizing strategies tells us about the obstacles that had to be overcome to properly organize. 

Finally, “Bills, Legislations and Regulations” makes up the different government acts and ordinances, including Section 8 housing that determine housing availability and affordability.