Tecara Ayler
Board member, Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia
Tecara Ayler is an organizer and board member with Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (Renters United for Justice), an organization that builds power with tenants through community building and direct action.
Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Ayler moved back to Minneapolis in 2015 when she was experiencing homelessness. Her passion for organizing was lit when she volunteered for NOC (Neighborhoods Organizing for Change), a North Minneapolis organization fighting for human rights and equality. In early 2017, Ayler began organizing with Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (Renters United For Justice) against a landlord on the northside of Minneapolis and quickly became the spearhead for a campaign to bring tenants together to fight against faulty repairs and issues with heat, problems with eviction, and much more. Ayler joined the Board of Directors of Inquilinxs in the summer of 2018 and has pushed for new community projects to be created on the northside of Minneapolis. Ayler fights for self determination and equal rights for tenants on a daily basis. She does not believe that landlords should wield never-ending power over human life.
Related Sessions
Poverty, Eviction, and Exploitation: A Vicious Cycle
Matthew Desmond
Amanda Andere
Tecara Ayler
Luis Caguana
Roberto de la Riva
Susan Thomas
The majority of poor families in America who are renters spend over half of their income on housing costs, and eviction is upending their lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist Matthew Desmond’s work points to housing instability as a key cause, not just a symptom, of poverty in the U.S. Given this, all those who seek to address poverty and inequality must learn about and address this crisis. Desmond’s talk will be followed by discussion among a panel of experts will explore the question of what funders can most effectively do to work toward solutions to this problem.