From Linda’s report on the trip:

“The Seven Building Project is an endeavor by tenants living in seven inner-city apartment buildings to collectively purchase the buildings and convert them into cooperative housing…

The purpose of my participation was to provide the tenants with an introduction and orientation to owning, operating, and living in a housing cooperative.

…We designed a series of educational and skill building workshops. They were held both in a convenient central location and on site and six of the seven buildings…

“The centrally located workshops were held on Sundays in my hotel room.

They were designed to develop, build, and/or strengthen tenant leaderships’ organizing and organizational skills and knowledge…

The onsite gatherings were always fully attended with tenants standing and sitting in every available space…

“The discussions led tenants from negotiation for purchase, to finding sources of financing, to renovations, to management.

Tenants were engaged in role playing of possible problems and suggested solutions… All sessions were interpreted into the tenants’ language by a tenant leader.

“I met regularly, almost nightly, with tenant leadership to discuss strategies and tactics for getting more tenants involved in the organizing process.”

-Linda Leaks, 1992