Social Justice Major Spotlight: Nicole White on Housing Equity in Golden Gate Village

Royce McLemore, long-time education and housing advocate in Marin City, is an invaluable source of knowledge and wisdom for Dominican faculty and students. Royce co-founded Women Helping all People (WHAP) in 1990, and the non-profit organization had been providing educational support for children in Marin City, as well as providing other social resources for residents at the Golden Gate Village complex.

Royce’s granddaughter Mariah Ashby graduated from Dominican in 2019 with a thesis focusing on Marin City oral histories, now her niece Nicole White ’24 is pursuing a BA in Social Justice at Dominican.

Nicole grew up in Novato and welcomed the opportunity to reconnect with the roots of her paternal family in Marin City. She applied her Social Justice education to address racial inequity and support the activism and resistance movement in Marin City. Working with Royce deepened Nicole’s sense of belonging and introduced her to the deeper causes of economic, educational, and housing inequities in Marin City and many other historically Black communities. Over the past three years at Dominican, Nicole cultivated the skills to critically analyze the situation in Marin City, and to share this critical knowledge clearly with others. With Dr. Jennifer Lucko’s guidance, Nicole’s capstone showcases important findings based on the thematic analysis of interviews she conducted with residents (and former resident) of the Golden Gate Village complex:

1. Generational ties and the network of extended families in the community in Marin City creates a strong sense of belonging — but this is being jeopardized by the worsening displacements in the community.
2. There are multiple, overlapping processes of displacement occurring in Golden Gate Village, namely: Unlawful evictions, denying section 8 vouchers to residents with the Marin City zip code, and demolition of the buildings by intentional neglect.
3. Despite all the challenges, the community has been very engaged and proactive in advocating for their housing right through community organizing and legal actions.

Nicole presented her findings at the S23 Dominican Scholarly & Creative Works Conference. Watch her recap video for more details of her findings and analysis.