As Black History Month begins, stories about Black innovators and innovations abound. At NeighborWorks America, those stories stem from the work of Dorothy Mae Richardson, "founding mother."
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s, one woman, Dorothy Mae Richardson, sought to change conditions in her Central Northside neighborhood. Despite no formal community development training and few resources, Richardson organized the women in her neighborhood and together, they worked to convince financial institutions to become part of the solution to lifting her neighborhood out of decay. Together they were able to bring regulators and elected officials, bankers and affordable housing advocates to the table to try to remedy the problems of housing affordability, gentrification and redlining. The result? Citizens Against Slum Housing, which became Neighborhood Housing Services of Pittsburgh. The organization worked with more than a dozen lending institutions to help generate home ownership and home repairs.
The work Dorothy Richardson inspired didn't just change her community, it became an example of how affordable housing and community development could be achieved for communities of any size. Richardson's model of resident-led community development spread among other neighborhoods, towns and cities in Pennsylvania and the country. In 1978, the U.S. Congress established Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, known today as NeighborWorks America. Richardson had what many NeighborWorks network CEOs refer to as "on-the-ground training." Simply put, she rolled up her sleeves started doing the work.
"I believe people get their roots down when they own their own houses … take pride in them," said Richardson, who died in 1991. "That, in turn, is good for the whole city."
Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president emeritus and cofounder of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, worked with Richardson to prevent the Urban Redevelopment Authority from demolishing neighborhood historic homes. In a letter he wrote urging the city to place a historical marker recognizing Richardson's work at the corner of Jacksonia and Arch Streets, he said the protections she started had an enormous impact, and that she gave residents a voice.
Reflecting on Richardson this week, Ziegler remembers a personable woman who knew how to relate to people, individually and politically. "She also knew when to be forceful," he says. "She was always a positive worker and organizer and leader. She set her sights on the goals and worked toward them."
At the time, Ziegler says, "many in the neighborhood had never met a banker and the bankers had never met them." He and Richardson set up meetings to make that happen. "She knew how to cultivate bankers," he says.
When he first met Richardson, Ziegler was interested in preserving neighborhood architecture. "We tried to find some people to walk with and talk with," he says. His group educated residents about the value of their neighborhood architecturally. Richardson and her neighbors, meanwhile, "were giving us lessons in what they wanted to protect and why. Dorothy was a leader. We got together and worked with HUD to change demolition money to preservation money. She knew how to organize neighborhoods. It was really a learning experience for all of us." Out of it, he says, came the mission to preserve without dislocation. "We were always talking with Dorothy about what should be next."
The historical marker recognizing Richardson's work was erected in 2019. The late Morton Coleman, dean and professor emeritus at University of Pittsburgh, also wrote a letter supporting the marker. "Dorothy Mae Richardson was one of our nation's most impactful champions in the fight to create low-income housing," he said, calling her a "brilliant and impactful advocate for change in her community."
Richardson was "a fearless leader in promoting the needs of low-income people," he wrote. "She was not only able to organize around the needs of her immediate community, but she also created institutions, both in Pittsburgh and nationally, that continue to provide a voice for the powerless and disenfranchised."
Barãta Arabo Bey, vice president and community development officer for Huntington National Bank in Pittsburgh and board president for NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania, praised Richardson’s innovative approach. Dorothy Richardson "emphasized access to capital for homeownership and home repairs because she knew it could transform neighborhoods,” Bey says. And when discriminatory lending policies stood in the way? "She brought together residents, financial institutions, philanthropies, and public officials to create a lending program so residents had the opportunity to guide the improvement of their neighborhoods."
Since 1992, NeighborWorks has bestowed awards bearing Richardson's name to outstanding leaders who have made a positive impact in their communities. The award highlights the critical role that neighbors play in keeping their communities strong and connected, says Paul Singh, NeighborWorks Vice President for Community Initiatives. "The awardees identify challenges facing their communities, then pull people together to address them – often through creative and bold solutions."
Rose Espinoza, one of the first Dorothy Richardson honorees in 1992, says she often encourages people in her community to get involved and lead. "If you test the water, you'll realize it's not that impossible," she says. "But you need to go out there. You need to be willing to get involved and say, ‘What can I do?'"
Throughout the month of February NeighborWorks will be highlighting various leaders from the community who embody the spirit of community and innovation that Dorothy Mae Richardson inspired.
02/02/2021
