Laura Rodgers and Minister Steve Brigham welcomed us to New Jersey. After dinner we held an educational exchange between the Freedom Riders and members of New Jersey's Poor Voices United.

Several local groups held a mock trial to examine human rights violations in Lakewood. Judges included Mike McNeil (President of STEPS statewide, which sponsored this stop) and Eugene Espinoza (President of the Puerto Rico Action Board).

Jim Waters (President of the local NAACP - here with Minister Steve) was the prosecutor, while Rev. Jimmy Wilcox represented the city - in decidedly tongue-in-cheek fashion. Louise Jacobs, Francine Cox, and Catherine "Sissy" testified about the lack of opportunity, the city's lack of responsibility, and the need for an organized response.

Back in Philadelphia, some of the Freedom Riders attended a Community Meeting for Affordable Housing with 7th District Councilman Richard Mariano, hosted by the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition at the Evangelistic Temple Church of God in Christ.

Carla Roe of Kensington Welfare Rights Union, “I’m a formerly homeless person, a working mother with three children, and a member of KWRU. A couple of years ago we became homeless, and KWRU helped us find housing in a takover house. Every day I was worried that the police would come and evict us. While we were living there, another women and her three children were thrown out of their house, and moved in with us. Thousands of people are facing the same thing. People need housing to be a right. If they lose their house or home because of a fire or they are torn down, we all need to fight for everyone else to get theirs.”

Members of the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition:

Nora Lichtash of Women’s Community Revitalization Project laid out the statistics of housing in the 7th district. It is one of the two poorest districts in the city, and includes some of the poorest neighborhoods in the state. We have the highest number of disabled people of any district. 44% - or almost half- have incomes of less than $20,000. 2 out of 3 of those pay more than they can afford for housing. We have a clear severe crisis in housing.

The event was a real success, and ended when Coucilman Richard Mariano made seven specific committments towards expanding safe, affordable and accessible housing in the 7th district. Cheri Honkala, who emceed the event, "This room shows the importance of the coalition. For a long time it was one or two organizations, and it's about time that there is a large coalition fighting for this. We will have affordable housing when we as people decide we will have affordable, accessible housing in Philadelphia."