$1 Million Donation to the National Public Housing Museum Will Help Illuminate Public Housing’s Formative Role in the American Experience
NPHM Executive Director Lisa Yun Lee, Ph.D., explains:
Amplifying the voices and stories of current and former public housing residents—a central focus of the Chicago-based National Public Housing Museum—will be made possible by a $1 milliondonation from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation. The funds will support a permanent exhibition showcasing diverse public housing residents' everyday objects. Paired with captions in their owners' own words the show will illuminate how seemingly ordinary items can and have had a significant and often transformative impact on their lives.
"Widespread thinking about public housing is often flawed, marred by stereotypes and full of misconceptions and factual inaccuracies. The daily lives of people living in public housing are often overlooked in our society, which tends to either sensationalize misfortune or celebrate exceptional and extraordinary achievement. This exhibit celebrates everyday people and everyday experiences, helping to ensure that never again will a single story be told as if it is the only one," NPHM Executive Director Lisa Yun Lee, Ph.D., explained.
"NPHM is committed to changing the narrative by foregrounding the stories of public housing residents in their own words through exhibits, oral histories and other modes of storytelling. At NPHM, we consistently advocate on behalf of the millions of people in the United States who still need affordable and stable housing today. The Feinberg Foundation's substantial investment helps make that work possible—and even more potent," Lee added.