Call Number:

580

Repository:

Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

22 linear feet (22 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Tenant Action Group (Philadelphia, Pa.) Records, Acc. 580, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1975-1983 (inclusive)

Form:

Administrative records, Ephemera, Correspondence, Legal documents, Minutes (administrative records), Press releases, Publications (documents), and Reports

Abstract:

The Tenant Action Group (TAG) represents the community based activism of the 1970's, which organized groups of poor people for political action around specific grievances. TAG grew out of the Northwest Tenants Organization, which was founded in 1968 as a rent strike-oriented group. Between 1972 and 1974, TAG developed as a political action and lobbying organization. It also offered advice to tenants of private housing on legal rights and bureaucratic procedures.

In 1974 TAG persuaded Ethel Allen to introduce rent control legislation to the City Council, and for the next two years it organized campaigns in support of the bill. It also waged a campaign for better Housing Code enforcement and the creation of a Housing Court. By 1977, TAG had developed a repair and deduct law and a Women's Fair Housing Bill. In support of its cause, TAG sponsored hearings, conferences and demonstrations. It worked closely with Community Legal Services, with other activist organizations in Philadelphia on issues such as heat for tenants, and with national and state tenants' organizations, including the State Tenants Organization of Pennsylvania (STOP). In 1980 TAG helped secure the establishment of a Philadelphia Housing Court, and it began to receive VISTA funds for neighborhood centers. However, by 1982 it was severely critical of the Housing Court, and the Reagan Administration had ended its VISTA support. Thus TAG continued to struggle both for tenants rights and its own existence.

Like similar community organizations, TAG was constantly wrestling with problems of finance, structure and commitment. Much of its funding came from sympathetic foundations. TAG's governing structure usually included representatives of local tenant groups, while committees dealt with specific issues and ongoing concerns. But it proved difficult to get tenants involved in issues beyond the immediate concerns of their houses. A Repair Action Group (RAG), was formed in 1975 to deal with specific complaints to landlords and/or the city. In addition, TAG created clinics to educate tenants about their rights and how to secure assistance with problems, and by the late seventies it was receiving many hundreds of calls each year. As some activists pointed out, the organization was trying to be both a social service agency and a militant political group. But that grew out of the understanding that TAG's goals in City Council could only be accomplished if its represented a substantial number of people, such as the tenants whose main interest in TAG was in the immediate help it offered.

These records illustrate the organization's dual nature. Overall political and legislative activities are documented in a fairly complete set of minutes from 1975 to 1981, supplemented by correspondence files. Annual conference proceedings, publicity releases and other public relations files provide an overview of tactics and strategies. Specific tenant issues and campaigns around legislation in City Council are well documented, as are the activities of STOP, and the Repair Action Group. The largest single set of files--nearly half of the collection--consists of Interview Forms summarizing calls by tenants. The earliest date from 1975, but the bulk are from 1977 to 1981. The forms indicate the name and address of the complainant, the nature of the complaint and the action recommended by TAG. The organization would usually refer caller to the relevant city agency, Community Legal Services, or a politician, and/or send literature or try to get the tenant to attend a TAG clinic. The collection includes thousands of interview forms, providing a detailed and realistic picture of housing problems in Philadelphia.

See: Urban Archives Notes, No. 30, Spring 1986, p. 4-5.

The collection is arranged into 7 series as follows:

Series 1: Administration, 1974-1982
Series 2: Activities, 1972-1982
Series 3: Legal Numbered Files, undated
Series 4: Legal Subject Files, 1969-1982
Series 5: Repair Action Group, 1975-1978
Series 6: Telephone Interviews, 1976-1983
Series 7: Other Organizations, 1972-1979