Working-Class Communities Rally to Safeguard Public Housing, Nursing Homes and Schools

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority intends to demolish Glendale, the oldest remaining public housing project in the city, despite community efforts to preserve it through historical documentation. Residents fear private developers will replace the homes with market-rate condos. In Baraboo, Wisconsin, seniors gathered at a town hall organized by Small Town and Rural Seniors to press candidates for a ban on selling county-owned nursing homes, arguing that privatization lowers care standards and raises family expenses.

Across the country in North Carolina, state lawmakers have prioritized corporate tax cuts while slashing public-school funding, culminating in a 2023 expansion of a voucher program that redirects $4 billion over ten years to private schooling. Activists link these trends to a broader ideological shift that treats public goods as expendable, citing personal histories of government-provided daycare, farm loans and debt-free education. The piece underscores how grassroots documentation and advocacy aim to keep public resources alive amid growing private-sector pressure.