Movement for Justice in El Barrio (Movimiento Por Justicia Del Barrio)
Juan Haro, Director
Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio/Movement for Justice in El Barrio is an immigrant-led, multi-issues organization fighting for justice in East Harlem. Founded in 2004, Movimiento began with the struggle by immigrant families against the accelerated gentrification and displacement of low-income residents taking place in the neighborhood. Using multiple strategies such as protests and direct action, litigation, and media outreach, Movimiento organized tenants to achieve hundreds of apartment repairs and successfully challenged illegal evictions by landlords threatening to summon immigration authorities or even threatening violence. Tenants living in affected buildings organized, won victories against landlords and, in the process, committed to building an organization to address the multiple injustices that confront low-income immigrants of color in the community.
Movimiento members practice collective decision-making and participatory democracy. At regularly-held leadership meetings, members participate in skills-building sessions in public speaking, media relations, community outreach and meeting facilitation and in workshops to deepen their political analysis about the movements around the world. Movimiento involves the participations of the entire community to identify key social justice issues of concern to them and to set the direction of the organization.