Ethel Lawrence facts for kids
Ethel Robinson Lawrence (born March 16, 1926 – died July 19, 1994) was an important civil rights activist. Many people called her the "Rosa Parks of affordable housing." She led a big legal fight in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, to make sure everyone could find a home they could afford. This fight led to new laws and groups like the New Jersey Fair Housing Act and the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). In her later years, Ethel worked with a lawyer named Peter O'Connor to create Fair Share Housing Development Inc. This group built over 200 homes for families with low or medium incomes in Mount Laurel.
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Ethel Lawrence's Early Life
Ethel Lawrence was the second of eight children born to Mary and Leslie Robinson. Her family had lived in Mount Laurel since the 1800s. Her ancestors, who were once enslaved, found safety there thanks to Quakers who helped people escape on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.
When Ethel was a child, she went to a school that was only for Black students. Her mother, Mary, was very religious and cared a lot about her community. She taught Ethel and her siblings to care too. When Ethel was sixteen, her mother encouraged her and other young Black people to demand seats in the "whites only" section of a local movie theater. This was an early step in her fight for fairness.
Becoming an Adult and a Teacher
Ethel met and married Thomas Lawrence, and they had nine children together. In 1955, they bought their own home in Mount Laurel. It was hard to keep up their home and support their big family. So, Ethel decided to go to college at the Bank Street College of Education in New York. She earned a degree in early childhood education and later became a preschool teacher.
Ethel's work for civil rights was very difficult and sometimes dangerous for her family. Her daughter, Ethel Lawrence-Halley, remembered how other kids stopped playing with them. They even had dogs set on them while walking. People would say mean things and make threats. Their phone number had to be changed many times. The scariest moment was when someone shot out her mother's bedroom window. Even with these dangers, Ethel kept fighting. She believed her family and neighbors had the same right to affordable homes as anyone else.
The Fight for Fair Housing
Ethel Lawrence was a leader at Jacob's Chapel, a church in Mount Laurel. Around 1960, officials in Mount Laurel started tearing down older, less expensive homes. But they didn't help the people living there find new places to live in Mount Laurel.
Ethel, along with Reverend Stuart Wood and other church members, formed a group called The Springville Community Action Committee. Their goal was to build homes that people with low or medium incomes could afford. In 1969, they wanted to build 36 homes, but the town's zoning board said no. The Mayor at the time, Bill Haines, even said, "If you people can't afford to live in our town, then you'll just have to leave."
Mount Laurel I: The First Big Win
The Committee was very upset and decided to sue the town. Three young lawyers from Camden Regional Legal Services—Peter O'Connor, Carl Bisgaier, and Ken Meiser—took their case. Ethel Lawrence agreed to be the main person named in the lawsuit. They argued that the town was using its zoning laws to keep poorer people out.
In 1975, the Supreme Court of New Jersey agreed with Ethel Lawrence. This important decision was called Mount Laurel I. It meant that all towns in New Jersey had a duty to provide their fair share of homes for people with low and medium incomes.
However, Mount Laurel Township tried to get around the ruling. In 1976, they changed their zoning law to allow the affordable housing project, but only on unstable, swampy land. So, Ethel and her neighbors had to go back to court.
Mount Laurel II: More Rules for Affordable Housing
In 1983, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled again in favor of Ethel Lawrence. This ruling was known as Mount Laurel II. This time, the court was more specific. It said exactly how many affordable homes Mount Laurel Township needed to build. It also told other judges to set similar goals for other towns across the state. This decision caused a lot of debate. Some wealthy residents worried that more affordable housing would bring crime, higher taxes, and lower property values to their communities.
Fair Housing Act and COAH
Because of all the arguments and pressure from towns, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Fair Housing Act in 1985. This law created the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). COAH was supposed to help towns meet their housing goals.
This new law was a compromise, and not everyone was happy with it. COAH reduced the number of affordable homes the state needed. It also allowed towns to lower their goals even more by counting homes built since 1980, or by counting renovated houses or apartments in basements. One very debated rule allowed towns to pay another town (usually a poorer, city area) to take on some of their housing responsibility.
Mount Laurel III: Upholding the Law
Even with all these changes, the affordable housing laws were still challenged in court. In February 1986, the State Supreme Court made another decision, called Mount Laurel III. This ruling said that the Fair Housing Act was constitutional and agreed with the earlier Mount Laurel I and II decisions.
In 1986, lawyer Peter O'Connor started a non-profit group called Fair Share Housing Development Inc. Ethel Lawrence became the first president of its board. The group's goal is to create diverse communities by building affordable homes with support services. They want to help families, the elderly, and people with disabilities. They also aim to give people in Camden, New Jersey the chance to live in good communities with jobs, schools, and safety.
In May 1994, Ethel's daughter, Ethel Lawrence-Halley, became the manager of the Mount Laurel project. Sadly, Ethel Lawrence passed away from cancer on July 19, 1994, at age 68. She did not live to see the town finally approve the building of 100 affordable townhouses, which would be the first part of the Ethel R. Lawrence Homes (ERLH).
It wasn't until 1997 that the Mount Laurel Planning Board finally approved the building. After the first phase, two more phases were built in 2003 (ERLH II - 40 homes) and 2018 (ERLH III - 36 homes). Another nearby development in Mount Laurel, called Robinson Estates, was named after Ethel's mother, Mary. It has 24 single-family homes, which is rare for affordable housing, and was also built in 2018.
