Summary

The Prologue begins with Arleen, a black resident of Milwaukee, and her two sons Jori and Jafaris. Jori and a friend were throwing snowballs at passing cars when one driver, angry with the boys, chased them into the family’s apartment and kicked down the front door. After learning of the damage, the family’s landlord evicted them, forcing them to move to a homeless shelter and abandon their belongings. Over the next several months, the three moved repeatedly as several of the apartment were found unsuitable for habitation by city inspectors. Finally, they settled into an apartment on Thirteenth and Keefe Street and their landlord Sherrena, noting the family’s need, bought them $40 worth of groceries. The author goes on to argue that eviction, once a rare occurrence in American cities, was becoming increasingly common. The disruption that eviction causes goes...