Metropolitan Tenants Organization Ralph Scott Award

The Metropolitan Tenants Organization gives the Ralph Scott Advocacy Award to tenants as a tribute to the work and commitment of the late Ralph Scott, who advocated for many years on behalf of tenants for the Rogers Park Tenants Committee in Chicago and, later, in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Scotts work helped lead to the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance and he also played a key role in raising awareness about the dangers of childhood lead poisoning.

2012 Winner, The Ralph Scott Award Zakiyyah Muhammad

In February of 2006, Zakiyyah Muhammad, a longtime resident of Chicagos Bronzeville community, found a letter under her door. The letter told her that units in the three-building complex where she lived were being turned into condominiums. Suddenly and on very short notice she learned that she had to attend a meeting and decide whether she wanted to stay or go. I was fit to be tied, says Muhammad, a Section 8 tenant who had been active on community issues for many years. I knew that I was not in a position to move, and I didnt have anywhere to go. The only thing I could do was fight. So I started to do research. Her story reflects the continuing movement for tenant rights that carries on the legacy of the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. Muhammad sent letters to Senator Richard Durbin, (former) Senator Barack Obama and many others. Her tenacity not only led her to conduct research, connect with the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, and fight her case in eviction court it started her on a path that would help lead to a citywide ordinance on condo conversions. Muhammad won her own case, which was settled out of court, and her lease was extended. Meanwhile, the citywide condo conversion ordinance was passed on the last day that Mayor Richard M. Daley presided over the Chicago City Council. The ordinance addressed the notification period owners have to give to tenants prior to condo conversions and what kind of relocation assistance they should receive. We still have some fighting to do, Muhammad says, noting that developers have to be held more accountable for regulatory agreements and relocation plans. We have not finished. But we learned long ago that sometimes it pays to be a rabble-rouser.