"When people feel comfortable telling their story, it makes a world of difference"
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Using our voices not only ensures that the things that matter to us are heard, but also inspires those around us to utilize their voices. When voices come together for a common good, it is nearly impossible to be ignored, as long as we keep speaking. Kimya Williams serves as a community organizer with POWER Interfaith, and is working with congregations to lift their voices as we fight for economic justice. Born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, Kimya has devoted her career to helping others, earlier in her career as a paralegal to now as a community organizer.
Her time as a paralegal activated her to work in the social justice space, where she assisted clients who faced home foreclosures. “Foreclosures don’t discriminate,” says Kimya. Her clients would come from different walks of life and different faiths, yet they all would face the issue of housing displacement.
This work would eventually lead her to POWER Interfaith, where she faithfully serves as a community organizer, leading an affordable housing campaign in Southwest Philly.
She has witnessed local congregations coming face to face with affordability issues and is organizing them along with community members to give a voice to issues that are important to them. “I’ve heard stories of significant increases in rent and mortgage rates due to investors buying property near congregants. I’ve also heard from fellow congregations that they’ve been misquoted and asked to pay more money than necessary when houses of worship need repair. The threat of displacement and congregations shutting down is a real thing” says Kimya.
Since hearing these stories first-hand, Kimya has lead the Southwest district to host a town hall in there in June which held almost 200 congregants and residents. Offering the platform to share stories, and encourage one another through this ongoing fight has been the key to activating the public. It’s through these stories that we recognize the pain that many Philadelphians feel.
While the Southwest team continues to mobilize, Kimya focuses specifically on raising voices. She does this by encouraging congregants to share their stories openly. Through these stories, we find we have more in common with one another, and the demand for change surrounding similar circumstance will echo to throughout the community. By directing those voices to stand in courage at city council hearings, town halls and listening campaigns, congregants are finding power that comes from community.
