tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23260305206375874032024-03-14T02:06:24.940-04:00American Friends Service Committee/AtlantaAtlanta Economic Justice ProgramAtlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.comBlogger662125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-33193511387088685942022-04-20T12:28:00.003-04:002022-04-27T12:06:42.822-04:00Landlord Breaks Promise to Sell Home to 27 Year Tenant After Community Rallied to Raise the Funds<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl1H90u8z-6k81NqBBRmoIHXg4hriKX150R5CQ-dZbCoEDjJfTUbNsXcSDiOY2vJMvX4ZaBlVvLJjfcqHVyfGA_FCFmiKGEPlSZcZg2yJeedGyu2boLca134zFn34oftrHLayEm6_uHoMA6mPLbogWgdyqetAKi6LgFKfpUKDUgWTHwxuhhtUKc0ZSA/s2560/Juliet_Brown-scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1673" data-original-width="2560" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl1H90u8z-6k81NqBBRmoIHXg4hriKX150R5CQ-dZbCoEDjJfTUbNsXcSDiOY2vJMvX4ZaBlVvLJjfcqHVyfGA_FCFmiKGEPlSZcZg2yJeedGyu2boLca134zFn34oftrHLayEm6_uHoMA6mPLbogWgdyqetAKi6LgFKfpUKDUgWTHwxuhhtUKc0ZSA/w552-h262/Juliet_Brown-scaled.jpg" width="552" /></a></div><br /><strong style="color: #202020; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;">What: </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;">Press Conference to Save Ms. Juliet's Home</span><p></p><p dir="ltr" id="x_docs-internal-guid-ab1ceee4-7fff-0fa4-1fe9-fe966c17f484" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(32, 32, 32) !important; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong>When:</strong> Thursday, April 21, at 4 p.m.<br aria-hidden="true" /><strong>Where: </strong>3529 Misty Valley Rd Decatur GA<br aria-hidden="true" /><br aria-hidden="true" />Please join us tomorrow at a press conference and neighborhood meeting at the home of Juliet Brown, a Black elder of Decatur who is facing a pending writ of possession in the fight to remain in the home she’s rented for 27 years.</p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(32, 32, 32) !important; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Ms. Juliet has rented her home for 27 years. In 2019, Dustin Maxwell purchased Ms. Juliet’s home, at the time promising Ms. Juliet that he was committed to letting her stay. In February 2021, however, Maxwell <a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="0" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhousingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Db7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4%26id%3Dea27198cff%26e%3D281c10108d&data=05%7C01%7Ctfranzen%40afsc.org%7C7cd6305d7e5942bbcce708da22d7e1c8%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637860607857041184%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yfDVpSwzX%2FQF1a6GyleqkOOY8DTtCZ9e9RfI%2BV0y%2BdE%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://housingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4&id=ea27198cff&e=281c10108d" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="SgdHGbgF3vd64kn+oxgIPfQpgSFknR2P9bm2cR3L/qqDKQuhFpkQ7BCo9f5uoRxKW8fZU0xGkFrKLBEp9P0EPc0MykiZYi6tcVyikov6IVkr+iuQUlP0bB557M3GP95Xbg5gXqRQnDyyM3jAtrrZ5nJP4JOIE6S0BheMX7PhHMc=" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(222, 91, 73) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://housingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4&id=ea27198cff&e=281c10108d. Click or tap if you trust this link.">notified Juliet that he was selling the home</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(32, 32, 32) !important; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">After lengthy negotiations, <a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhousingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Db7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4%26id%3Dc44f135fa6%26e%3D281c10108d&data=05%7C01%7Ctfranzen%40afsc.org%7C7cd6305d7e5942bbcce708da22d7e1c8%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637860607857197425%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=2VaZBphZny%2FzNUow4euIxSQJiCj6dAesRYqZt5IumtA%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://housingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4&id=c44f135fa6&e=281c10108d" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="E6Z7Mzo6af8voUnCo+wmdB16WNRrg5b0gP97Iw8j/KW1Uhpg/ZYpqhSMh1YAsDZcdZE1I+AdXZO/tn1fdgEp2UFMMnG4In4J8Fn6P446Witiv+DsjUbngU9aBXn/rgz0ZTzwTLaXndkVAC28sxsEUabORa0vm0ZY32gUw5pQWko=" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(222, 91, 73) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://housingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4&id=c44f135fa6&e=281c10108d. Click or tap if you trust this link.">Dustin agreed to allow Ms. Juliet to purchase the home</a>. Neighbors and community members helped raise money, and Maxwell was presented with a finalized purchase agreement. However, Maxwell is no longer willing to sell, and has filed to proceed with the eviction.</p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(32, 32, 32) !important; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Ms. Juliet has been fighting this eviction for nearly a year, and her case will now go to Georgia Superior Court. Ms. Juliet’s fight is just one piece of a larger struggle against gentrification and displacement in predominantly Black Atlanta-area neighborhoods.</p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(32, 32, 32) !important; font-family: "Noticia Text", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Ms. Juliet and Housing Justice League refuse to allow Dustin Maxwell to get his way in the year long struggle to save Ms. Juliet’s home. It is not right to displace a long-term, Black senior resident just to make a quick buck.<br aria-hidden="true" /><br aria-hidden="true" /><strong>Please come out and show your support. Bring Signs!</strong></p>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-84713717788590305612022-02-25T11:11:00.000-05:002022-02-25T11:11:53.249-05:00Forest Cove Victory -- We Won Rent Cancellation!<p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOIHR6ZxQ2ZYcjb2UPqVHZvL5ZlM_rwCE27IE2iMCFPjAoIqpnrWuLQ4D_avQnTfBNOED0LUQIRHI4T-0XNLlIWFeZ8WJuk01aWCtH13wZOgcrl6lAUPsOX0sB62Iq5JHZnvP63-rxAHRArHAjce0ywnPqKdBRt7QkMNCB_uGP-l9DZrtHweQ5HD5o3A=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOIHR6ZxQ2ZYcjb2UPqVHZvL5ZlM_rwCE27IE2iMCFPjAoIqpnrWuLQ4D_avQnTfBNOED0LUQIRHI4T-0XNLlIWFeZ8WJuk01aWCtH13wZOgcrl6lAUPsOX0sB62Iq5JHZnvP63-rxAHRArHAjce0ywnPqKdBRt7QkMNCB_uGP-l9DZrtHweQ5HD5o3A=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br />On Tuesday, February 22, Forest Cove residents and allies
were thrilled to learn that Millennia— the long-time manager and new owner of
the 396-unit Section 8 apartment complex—had agreed to cancel their rent payments.
AFSC has been working in partnership with Housing Justice League to help tenants
in Forest Cove organize since 2018. Residents have been waiting for years in
life-threatening conditions for Millennia to purchase and rehabilitate the
property. Millennia finally bought the property in April 2021, and during the
summer of 2021 it began the process of organizing relocation meetings and preparing
residents for their temporary move off-site.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though Millennia originally estimated that the first
residents would be off-site by the end of the summer, as the months passed this
proved to be a generous (and perhaps disingenuous) prediction. To make matters
worse, Millennia was failing to provide residents with the security and maintenance
services that they needed to remain safe in their units while they waited to be
moved.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In January 2022, the Forest Cove Tenants Association decided
that enough was enough. They delivered a demand letter to the front office
asking for rent to be canceled, the expansion of the maintenance team, better
security, and a written commitment from Millennia affirming residents’ right to
return after the renovation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Weeks passed with no response, and during that time the
tenants association learned that despite Millennia’s claims that everything was
going smoothly, a City of Atlanta Judge had ruled in December that the property
should be condemned due to the conditions. The Georgia Department of Community
Affairs chose to deny Millennia’s application for low-income housing tax
credits, which would have funded Forest Cove’s renovation and relocation.
Suddenly, the residents were stuck in limbo again. Over the past month, many of
them had begun to view new temporary units, and a few were on the verge of
moving out. But after the condemnation order was issued and the process paused,
Millennia did not notify the residents for days. Residents received nothing but
frustrating silence as they struggled to figure out why the relocation specialists
were no longer answering their calls.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEcx7UQaYx5oJAmqX7u-RFAHgaR3WD4pxvi41rVTXsx6mFiYvM7U-UdFrDDKChd7ZgnBMy9Y5eGXXvp-qnEZjFEU2Ns8fatPlHaqxxHES5DN5ZpWGYy1Mmu2vTaI-87ITeboabX_86om3xSOHlVgKIIrb-R7YsKgKAvtNtLi3f9Pl2W-RrqUEDHjGdYg=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEcx7UQaYx5oJAmqX7u-RFAHgaR3WD4pxvi41rVTXsx6mFiYvM7U-UdFrDDKChd7ZgnBMy9Y5eGXXvp-qnEZjFEU2Ns8fatPlHaqxxHES5DN5ZpWGYy1Mmu2vTaI-87ITeboabX_86om3xSOHlVgKIIrb-R7YsKgKAvtNtLi3f9Pl2W-RrqUEDHjGdYg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />As this all unfolded, Millennia continued to collect rent
from Forest Cove. Shocked and angered by the abrupt halt to the relocation
process, residents began to float the idea of not paying rent on one tenant
association call. The idea gained traction, and on the 22<sup>nd</sup> a group
of residents gathered with allies outside of Forest Cove’s front office to
deliver a letter stating that they would no longer pay rent. The front office
staff locked the door, and would not come out to receive the letter. Security
asked the group to retreat to the other side of the property’s fence. After
much of the crowd had dispersed, four Atlanta police officers arrived, called
to the complex by the front office staff. Minutes later, a letter was handed to
one resident from the front office—it was a response from Millennia to the
original demand letter from January, stating that Forest Cove residents would
not have to pay monthly rent until they are relocated.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a huge victory. Residents are now able to use this
extra money to care for themselves and their families while they wait to learn
what the future of the complex will be. Their final ask is for Millennia to
reimburse any and all balances that residents have paid since April 2021. We
are still waiting for Millennia to respond to this request.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you would like to keep up with the Forest Cove tenant
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</p><p class="MsoNormal">For more information about Forest Cove and Millennia, you
can check out these articles:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The last year at Forest Cove: Tenants abandoned and a
renovation out of reach <a href="https://www.wabe.org/forestcove/">https://www.wabe.org/forestcove/</a>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Living Hell: A failure of government oversight produced a
housing system across the U.S. that hurts people who need it the most <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Living-Hell-housing-tenants-hud-properties-problem-16000650.php">https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Living-Hell-housing-tenants-hud-properties-problem-16000650.php</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-3807278638575454752021-11-01T20:22:00.002-04:002021-11-01T20:25:37.593-04:00Peoplestown Residents Facing Eviction Fight Back<p> <span face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peoplestown residents, Bertha and Robert Darden, Tanya Washington, Ms. Mattie Jackson and her family and Dwayne Adgar, have been fighting to stay in their homes for more than 8 years. Two of the families have received eviction notices from the City’s attorneys, calling for their immediate displacement. </span></p><div><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Former City of Atlanta Mayor, Kasim Reed, initiated the action to take their homes by eminent domain 5 years ago on Oct. 31, 2016. Their names were removed from the deeds to their houses and during the litigation </span><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="0" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F0B1I8aD5Fw6wHb3BBMzJ0b3FuRWVwRHRNejJlcjZSaGlLejQw%2Fview%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2rYLtsJIeHSgkim9YNwtsE1aJKHunfmENQSEd9AlHNNRA1mcyfXMjO0to%26resourcekey%3D0-BQc8nomB_O0OBqzUUIm1VQ&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530295440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=l7uQpPB%2F9UnJ%2BjyzxwnQz%2BzKDLgpQHeF5cWCTB%2FtcWo%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1I8aD5Fw6wHb3BBMzJ0b3FuRWVwRHRNejJlcjZSaGlLejQw/view?fbclid=IwAR2rYLtsJIeHSgkim9YNwtsE1aJKHunfmENQSEd9AlHNNRA1mcyfXMjO0to&resourcekey=0-BQc8nomB_O0OBqzUUIm1VQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="JKRZ9ZwMukE2TF7DNOifsB7Lcw3rbtCWPnHQliV5QqCLNnJdBTokmCS3yqHDAw9H9hbJKDsmrUBOwmcZiCN/174UNNXmVdXtv1QWwGImqjtAIaQpRKLxDxRKDaIfqWSaVvvJLQsEAwfZM5JebYwclYDHxcCzMh5dB/chQQiyuno=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1I8aD5Fw6wHb3BBMzJ0b3FuRWVwRHRNejJlcjZSaGlLejQw/view?fbclid=IwAR2rYLtsJIeHSgkim9YNwtsE1aJKHunfmENQSEd9AlHNNRA1mcyfXMjO0to&resourcekey=0-BQc8nomB_O0OBqzUUIm1VQ. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">evidence surfaced</span></a><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that the City never had the engineering data to support the taking of the entire block of 27 homes in Peoplestown. The City engineer, Kimberly Scott (formerly Palmer) testified in court regarding the City’s unlawful takings and she was fired by the City for telling the truth. </span><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dms%2Bbertha%2Bdarden%2Bkasim%2Breed%26docid%3D13909314671282%26mid%3DA562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C%26view%3Ddetail%26FORM%3DVIRE&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530295440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=UwlbvIZWkAMSIu5XFOJe%2BtHC5S10gowID3uzaIUgUIg%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="Q142U3V39qpTfcUoDS/WsjARXjOQm721TjRgzojNb5xZJBP0rH9QdxviXSOnPi3u7sYq7Y4K1jwu53KjlCPcr8qTnuouV9V2ZkigF+YeKMJZPx2egzijg/jmre09DMZjUv9RV9gpRcUfuvWnV/zYL3awY5KWLJoTZ4PFZ5sFDpc=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dms%2Bbertha%2Bdarden%2Bkasim%2Breed%26docid%3D13909314671282%26mid%3DA562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C%26view%3Ddetail%26FORM%3DVIRE&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530295440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=UwlbvIZWkAMSIu5XFOJe%2BtHC5S10gowID3uzaIUgUIg%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="Q142U3V39qpTfcUoDS/WsjARXjOQm721TjRgzojNb5xZJBP0rH9QdxviXSOnPi3u7sYq7Y4K1jwu53KjlCPcr8qTnuouV9V2ZkigF+YeKMJZPx2egzijg/jmre09DMZjUv9RV9gpRcUfuvWnV/zYL3awY5KWLJoTZ4PFZ5sFDpc=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DDF6TOqgZuA" width="485" youtube-src-id="DDF6TOqgZuA"></iframe></span></a></span></div><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dms%2Bbertha%2Bdarden%2Bkasim%2Breed%26docid%3D13909314671282%26mid%3DA562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C%26view%3Ddetail%26FORM%3DVIRE&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530295440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=UwlbvIZWkAMSIu5XFOJe%2BtHC5S10gowID3uzaIUgUIg%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="Q142U3V39qpTfcUoDS/WsjARXjOQm721TjRgzojNb5xZJBP0rH9QdxviXSOnPi3u7sYq7Y4K1jwu53KjlCPcr8qTnuouV9V2ZkigF+YeKMJZPx2egzijg/jmre09DMZjUv9RV9gpRcUfuvWnV/zYL3awY5KWLJoTZ4PFZ5sFDpc=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ms+bertha+darden+kasim+reed&docid=13909314671282&mid=A562A8F21D3526BD650CA562A8F21D3526BD650C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mrs. Bertha Darden confronted Kasim Reed</span></a><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at a mayoral forum on Friday Oct. 24 about the City’s unlawful actions under his leadership. In response to her accusations of the predatory use of eminent domain, Kasim said he made the best decision based on the information he had at the time and that he was concerned about flooding “killing people.” Both of his statements are untrue. </span></span><p></p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Kasim initiated the taking of homes in Peoplestown and before the first of 20+ homes were taken and families displaced, engineer Kimberly Scott had provided written documentation that the City only had engineering data to justify taking 2-4 homes, not 27 homes. Furthermore, the flooding in Peoplestown in 2012 did cause property damage to the 9 residents who sued the City, but it was not life threatening. If flooding on the block was life threatening </span><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="2" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Fnews%2Flocal-govt--politics%2Freed-mattie-jackson-can-stay-peoplestown-home%2FUOE4ukGRnlyhvuYiS3otgN%2F&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530305430%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=DPIVAy9xiDuDJjccUl0e%2FwZ6gTDX11gvKTJg0PqbahU%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/reed-mattie-jackson-can-stay-peoplestown-home/UOE4ukGRnlyhvuYiS3otgN/" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="z4UzjruPLefRABNvG7WAcI2wvJNCAPDOD3dj2YfjRn/AtN5zK57DdZvACb5xp1dHHe0bCrI6ZYXCb9dKifVq5QPoPBA92k+eu3oUWkoZhw6GoSZnMmDO8+HTpuHekzV1YQuSvx82hC0wsDmnRcaLLEMQU1GTT5vqqEuaaG1Esa0=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/reed-mattie-jackson-can-stay-peoplestown-home/UOE4ukGRnlyhvuYiS3otgN/. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kasim would not have allowed Ms. Mattie Jackson</span></a><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to stay in the middle of the block. Kasim Reed’s response to Mrs. Darden highlights the same untruthfulness and fraud that undergirds the City’s efforts to use eminent domain to displace the Peoplestown residents. </span></span></p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, on the eve of the </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Mayoral</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"> election Peoplestown </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">residents</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"> held rally and press conference to discuss the actions of the current and past administrations and share their perspectives on who should be elected the City’s 61</span></span></span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: super;">st</span></span><span style="border: 0px; color: #ba0000; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mayor to handle the multiple and intersecting crises facing the City: gentrification of legacy communities, displacement of legacy residents, unlawful use of eminent domain, white collar crime/corruption, violent crime, an exploding population of unsheltered people, and a dearth of affordable housing for people earning minimum wage. This rally offers the people of Atlanta the chance to speak truth to power and make their expectations and priorities known to the next Mayor of the City of Atlanta.</span></span></p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;">Residents have created a GoFundMe page to help pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars we owe to our lawyers and engineering experts. Please share their link —<a href="http://GoFundMe.com/Peoplestownfight">GoFundMe.com/Peoplestownfight</a></span></span></p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Residents have also created an on-line petition asking Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to suspend efforts to evict them from their homes and to allow the next Mayor to address the situation. Please share their link -- </span><a data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="3" href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhousingjustice.controlshift.app%2Fpetitions%2Fatl-mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-please-stop-the-evictions-of-peoplestown-residents%3Fjust_launched%3Dtrue&data=04%7C01%7CTFranzen%40afsc.org%7Cf8fc6f4598ad483a4f7708d99d33ef06%7Cbdb9059779bc47b8adec787f4e42aa8a%7C0%7C0%7C637713669530315425%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=hDrJvnjS3P4KMEZq7B1GV%2BN6ybslCS3Yg57gXDc9tn0%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://housingjustice.controlshift.app/petitions/atl-mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-please-stop-the-evictions-of-peoplestown-residents?just_launched=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" shash="lRAeOjcdGEZQxPTh5L+SbtZ/6l8D+wBFzRzmw+g0bqZqMEjoNN6O0xBWKz8ku0tfmd/j1AYIeSVkGaqMgxBIZyN7PAdmtQVJ7sIUE69Y+ApUOmfUjysCmU7gwab3xEgIH7LIy3UkTNm7KfQ9YD96qubWUWrd19ZJuoDqP7/oXuQ=" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://housingjustice.controlshift.app/petitions/atl-mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-please-stop-the-evictions-of-peoplestown-residents?just_launched=true. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ATL Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Please Stop the Evictions of Peoplestown Residents | Housing Justice League (controlshift.app)</span></a></span></p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;"><br aria-hidden="true" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;" /></span></div><br />Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-5625490364526179932021-04-30T17:38:00.007-04:002021-04-30T17:45:56.231-04:00Biden Fails to Keep Life Saving Promise in His First 100 Days<p> <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TscCr0cdnJM/YIx3aSzU-mI/AAAAAAAAVe4/TbzNjBMEMWQv1qkfuGSCNPwN7uxD03tZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/bydon3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TscCr0cdnJM/YIx3aSzU-mI/AAAAAAAAVe4/TbzNjBMEMWQv1qkfuGSCNPwN7uxD03tZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/bydon3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Yesterday healthcare and global justice advocates gathered to protest President Biden’s drive-in rally in Atlanta celebrating his first 100 days. The demand is that he commit to providing global access to COVID-19 vaccines, as he said he would while he was a presidential candidate. This was part of a national week of action with protestors gathering at pharmaceutical company headquarters and Congressional offices in New York City; Boston; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; San Diego; Atlanta; and </span><a href="https://freethevaccine.org/2021/04/17/peoples-vaccine-weeks-of-action/" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">more</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">. This comes amid </span><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/544620-progressives-up-pressure-on-biden-to-back-covid-vaccine-patent-waiver" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">mounting political pressure</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> from more than 80 congressional Democrats, </span><a href="https://peoplesvaccinealliance.medium.com/open-letter-former-heads-of-state-and-nobel-laureates-call-on-president-biden-to-waive-e0589edd5704" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">170 former heads of state and Nobel laureates</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">, and </span><a href="https://progressive.international/wire/2021-04-15-large-majority-of-us-voters-support-patent-waiver-on-covid-19-vaccines/en" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">new polling</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> showing that 60% of U.S. voters want President Biden to support a temporary waiver on patent protections for the COVID-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></div><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-140a0100-7fff-9b60-f341-ee5136ea5378" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rkfFe2x_pr0/YIx3tylsleI/AAAAAAAAVfA/7qG4yn9bq9cNUSvy6oVzwAAvoW2P-jSDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1295/bydon.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1295" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rkfFe2x_pr0/YIx3tylsleI/AAAAAAAAVfA/7qG4yn9bq9cNUSvy6oVzwAAvoW2P-jSDQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h240/bydon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It was clear that Biden & his staff saw the banner</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Yesterday we called on President Biden to stop blocking a proposal from South Africa and India to temporarily waive patent rules at the </span><a href="https://peoplesaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WTO-TRIPS-1-Pager.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">World Trade Organization</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that are limiting global production of life-saving COVID vaccines and treatment. They will also call on big pharma companies to share vaccine technology through the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool. </span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruOULsNo1sw/YIx3-NOiYAI/AAAAAAAAVfI/ch8z4yKnVWwuDAZDSx7jWV3kAciJeifrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s300/bydon4.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="112" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruOULsNo1sw/YIx3-NOiYAI/AAAAAAAAVfI/ch8z4yKnVWwuDAZDSx7jWV3kAciJeifrQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h112/bydon4.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Biden has the power to save millions of people and stop the virus from mutating further. The question is, why is he dragging his feet as bodies burn in the streets of India?</span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Follow the hashtag #FreeTheVaccine to find out more.</span></span></p><div><span face="Muli, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-88470651083493134112021-04-15T12:55:00.000-04:002021-04-15T12:55:27.140-04:00How landlords are getting richer off of late fees and rental assistance<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">By Jay Ahmed, <a href="https://www.afsc.org/story/atlantas-home-defenders">ATLEJ Home Defender</a></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> <br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Two things have happened over
the last 6 months: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/03/17/new-report-billionaire-landlords-profit-244-billion-and-hoard-cash-millions-face">61 ultra-wealthy billionaire landlords saw their wealth increase by $24.4 billion</a>, and I worked as an Enrollment Specialist for a
non-profit organization that was one of dozens contracted by the City of Atlanta to distribute well over $20,000,000 in COVID-19 emergency
housing relief aid. I will explain how the two are related. The organization I
worked for, and most other organizations that distribute rental assistance, operated under a basic system of: </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">1. Having individuals fill
out applications for assistance.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2. Screening applicants to
ensure they have valid leases, mortgages, and financial documents proving COVID-19
hardship. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">3. Filling out income verification forms, eligibility letters, W9's, landlord rental verification forms for
applicants with leases, among other forms.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Once we verified with landlords or property managers that applicants were indeed current residents
with outstanding balances, we would then submit the complete application to the
data team/financial department for checks to be sent out and files audited. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Within its first few months,
the popularity of the program had spread and it was not long before an influx
of applicants and a lack of staffing caused my nonprofit's quality checks and standard
practices to loosen. Specifically, after 3 months of administering the program, our rule stating that applicants
needed to have an outstanding balance was not practiced. It became common to
have applicants applying for prospective rental assistance-- for example, John applies for May rental assistance in April, before May rent is due.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Because the process time from application
to check takes about a month, we began to pay property managers and
utility companies for individuals who in the beginning of the program would not
be qualified to receive assistance. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Additionally, late fees were not paid by the COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance Fund at first, but a
revision changed that. Our "training" stated that it was
our responsibility to negotiate late fees with property managers or landlords, but after speaking to a majority of my co-workers I found that
none of them negotiate late fees. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Late fees can often make up 20%-35% of the assistance we send to property managers and landlords. When
this is extrapolated, the amount of financial assistance wasted on landlords
immorally charging tenants late fees during a pandemic and economic crisis is morally disturbing. What is worse is that my nonprofit facilitated this on a
daily basis. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I would often catch
individuals applying with what I knew was an obvious fake lease and forged
separation letter. When I would bring these concerns to my manager, I would
often be told "you're not paid to be a detective" or something similar in
a dismissive fashion. To my supervisors' credit, they were just trying to
logistically get through as many applications as possible. But an important
observation I made while working in that system is that the City of Atlanta (and
most of Georgia) has virtually no regulations for what can considered reasonable
late fees. I’ve seen late fees that charge $15 for every day the rent is
late, with no cap limit. The contractual language in the leases I’ve seen are
textbook ‘predatorial’.</span> </p><p> <br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 12.0pt; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Nonetheless, this pandering
to landlords and misuse of government funds specifically meant to
help tenants is a microcosm of the bigger issue at hand: the continued wealth
extraction from poor communities of color by thieving landlords, rental assistance organizations that enable landlords, and the courts and law that make these
egregious acts legal. </span></p>
Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-46263367851740703482020-09-29T19:06:00.000-04:002020-09-29T19:06:26.844-04:00Tresletree Resident's Fight Back Against Illegal Harassment in Atlanta <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2cMBUPFna5Y/X3O5RR0g5II/AAAAAAAATmk/6B94vYkeMIQ__eWB31GgKG2Zn0aJPZdaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s679/tt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="679" height="202" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2cMBUPFna5Y/X3O5RR0g5II/AAAAAAAATmk/6B94vYkeMIQ__eWB31GgKG2Zn0aJPZdaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w470-h202/tt.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br />Uninhabitable living conditions including mold and raw sewage, constant threats of eviction over petty lease violations, ignored maintenance requests, and constant harassment from onsight management are just some of the reason's Trestletree tenants banded together to form a Tenant Association at the beginning of the Summer. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> For those that don't know tenant organizing is a legally protected activity in not only the the state Georgia, but the HUD contract the<a href="https://www.monroegroup.com/properties/"> Monroe Group</a>(owners of the property) signed makes the federal protections very clear; tenants have the right to organize. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> After <a href="https://housingjustice.controlshift.app/petitions/trestletree-village-apartments-residents-fight-back-against-property-mismanagement-and-harassment?fbclid=IwAR2ugNrVNOG9v4b5HoXwqtZ0zpwvQpTdbbYVCerkhrEUh_bUbsPRNoOJkbw">launching an online petition </a>and organizing a peaceful family friendly community rally the property management company, who represents the owners of Trestletree, have doubled down on their harassment of tenants and their right to organize for liveable conditions wading deeper into not only violating Georgia law but breaching their HUD contract. This is especially troubling considering we are living through an unprecedented pandemic.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The management is attempting to organize their own tenant association, which is a clear violation of HUD policy, they have also threatened to arrest members of outside organizations like the Housing Justice league if they are on the property, also a violation of their HUD contract. We have also learned they have intimidated several tenants who are guilty of nothing more than attempting to fix unacceptable living conditions.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Atlanta Economic Justice Program will continue to support tenants fighting for their rights and ask that<b><a href="https://housingjustice.controlshift.app/petitions/trestletree-village-apartments-residents-fight-back-against-property-mismanagement-and-harassment?fbclid=IwAR2ugNrVNOG9v4b5HoXwqtZ0zpwvQpTdbbYVCerkhrEUh_bUbsPRNoOJkbw"> you sign and share the online petition created by Tresltree tenants. </a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-75616459832647904422020-03-16T16:09:00.003-04:002020-03-16T16:16:30.703-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>March 16, 2020 </b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Dear Chief Magistrate Judge Kirk and Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Court Tina Robinson, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On Friday March 13, the Magistrate Court of Fulton County declared a Judicial Emergency in an Order and stated that the court will not hear landlord-tenant matters and that answers must be filed within 48 hours of the Order being lifted. This was shortly followed by an Order from the Supreme Court of Georgia declaring a statewide judicial emergency that will terminate on April 13, unless extended. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are asking that the Fulton County Magistrate Court take further, necessary action to prevent unnecessary escalation of the pandemic and mass displacement:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Publicly confirm that tenants will not receive default judgments for failing to answer a dispossessory warrant or failing to appear in court throughout the declared Superior Court Judicial Emergency period.</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Stop accepting eviction filings during the declared Superior Court Judicial Emergency period, to avoid extreme backlog in the courts and mass displacement.</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Suspend signing of applications for writ of possession through May 10 2020, in accordance with the guidance from the CDC which recommends the cancellation of all in-person events involving 50 or more people for the next 8 weeks.</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Meet with the non-profit, Housing Justice League, and other agencies that work on issues of housing stability and tenants’ rights to develop plans for the period following the health crisis, in recognition that weeks of unemployment and non-payment will result in renters across the city being unable to make rent and extreme backlog in the courts. Plans would need to include public rental assistance and reasonable repayment plans for those who lost wages during the pandemic and its aftermath. </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On Wednesday March 11 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, issued an Administrative Order halting the termination of water services for people who fall behind on their water bills. This was an important step to addressing the crisis but it is not enough. Low-income hourly wage workers and renters will face serious financial hardship in the coming weeks and months. Our local governments must do everything within their power to protect people from financial ruin and increased risks to health. For these reasons, the undersigned organizations endorse this letter. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Please respond to this letter by no later than Wednesday March 18 by 5:00 pm detailing how you will act on points 1 through 4.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Signed by:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Housing Justice League</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">SPARK Reproductive Justice Now!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">AMPLIFY GA</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Raksha, Inc.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BYP 100 ATL/Mecca Chapter </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Southerners on New Ground (SONG)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">American Friends Service Committee</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Muslims for Progressive Values-Atlanta </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Georgia Working Families Party </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The New Georgia Project </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Twice as Good, inc. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">IWOC ATL</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Come Up Project</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Gangstas to Growers</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Southern Center for Human Rights </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Why do we Need to Stop Evictions Now and Following the Health Crisis?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The coronavirus is spreading rapidly throughout the United States and poses a dire threat to public health and economic security, especially for working class people who do not have the option of working from home and who are paid by the hour. Our organizations work with economically precarious communities who are not paid a living wage and live paycheck to paycheck. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The potential of losing housing further increases the risk to public health as it forces people to keep working. If people are to lose their housing in the midst of a public health crisis, all efforts at containment would be further compromised. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The CDC currently recommends that all individuals who are diagnosed or expect a diagnosis of COVID-19 should self-quarantine for 14 days. Without emergency protections in place, Fulton County residents facing housing insecurity will be unable to afford self-quarantine. To protect the public, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">we must make staying at home accessible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools are closed. At this time many parents need to be with their children and shouldn’t risk losing their housing as a result.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">At present, we do not yet know how long we may need to undertake practices of social distancing. For families that may be subject to unpaid sick leave or forced work stoppages, the front-end costs of preparation (buying food and other necessities) will deplete most of their savings, with little or nothing leftover for rent.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If a renter loses their housing due to an eviction during the public health crisis, the direct service organizations that serve displaced persons and families will be even more burdened than they already are at this time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Residents experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as they often lack access to necessary preventative measures. Mass evictions will amplify an already precarious public health crisis.</span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-25223875725318333912020-01-27T22:45:00.000-05:002020-02-13T14:27:36.595-05:00Mayor Bottom's Troubling Behavior Pattern<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW73089361" style="background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mLvN4j371U/Xi9y01DZ2SI/AAAAAAAARH8/TNLfqAro0pgs6pWVRx4NJGcrdMldJj4uQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mayor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "segoe ui", "segoe ui web", arial, verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mLvN4j371U/Xi9y01DZ2SI/AAAAAAAARH8/TNLfqAro0pgs6pWVRx4NJGcrdMldJj4uQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/mayor2.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">In response to flooding resulting from over development and neglect, former Atlanta Mayor </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Kasim Reed </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">decided that 27 homes in Peoplestown, a historically black neighborhood of in Atlanta needed to be demolished to make room for a Japanese themed park and pond</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. As a result of persistent protests, rallies and resistance by community members, he decided that one resident, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">93-year-old</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/reed-mattie-jackson-can-stay-peoplestown-home/UOE4ukGRnlyhvuYiS3otgN/" target="_blank">Ms. Mattie Jackson</a></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/reed-mattie-jackson-can-stay-peoplestown-home/UOE4ukGRnlyhvuYiS3otgN/" target="_blank">, could stay</a>. The city of Atlanta filed eminent domain lawsuits against the remaining residents who refused to leave in October 2016. Resident's names were removed from their deeds, and though they continue to pay their mortgages for the past three years, they do not own their homes and can be evicted at any time. Of the 27 homes and families that originally occupied the block in the heart of Peoplestown, only four homes and four families remain.</span><span class="EOP SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">In the midst of a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">three</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> year</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> court battle, emails surfaced that were written by a former City of Atlanta engineer, who was the project manager for the proposed park and pond, stating that <b>the City didn’t have the necessary engineering to support the taking and demolition of an entire block of homes. </b> Those emails were written in 2013, BEFORE the first home was demolished. The engineer, Kimberly Scott, testified in court, under oath, that the actions of the City were neither necessary nor justified and she testified before City Council and asked them to <i>“correct [the] wrong.”</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; font-size: 24px; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1I8aD5Fw6wHb3BBMzJ0b3FuRWVwRHRNejJlcjZSaGlLejQw/preview" width="640"></iframe></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> (</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1I8aD5Fw6wHX2hGV0tpQ3duUzByV3pTRU5wTHcxX2dkYWFZ/view" target="_blank">See the emails</a></u></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">) </span><span class="EOP SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW73089361 BCX0" paraeid="{bcf79c03-a2b8-4d74-9ce6-f0d5b79c0912}{239}" paraid="231424204" style="font-size: 12px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">After years of protest, online petitions, and media coverage c</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">urrent Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">agreed to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">me</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">e</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">t with one of the families, Mr. Robert and Bertha Darden, to discuss their desire that the lawsuits be withdrawn and they be allowed to stay in the home they have lived in and raised their children and grandchildren in for over 30 years. During that April 30 2019 meeting the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Dardens</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> shared with Mayor Bottoms the evidence that clearly showed that the City should have never sued them in the first place for their homes and provided her with alternative plans for the block developed by the engineering firm they hired to assist them in the litigation. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHNZKGO4bD4/Xi-pQEmsYwI/AAAAAAAARIo/Vzsj6DGn9FwIxwwXRzTXryHTWn817_MIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/mayor21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHNZKGO4bD4/Xi-pQEmsYwI/AAAAAAAARIo/Vzsj6DGn9FwIxwwXRzTXryHTWn817_MIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mayor21.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Dardens</span></span></b><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><b> left the meeting, which a press release from the Mayor’s office described as<i> “productive”,</i> hopeful that a resolution was near.</b> Nine months passed and the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Dardens</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> heard nothing from the Mayor and the litigation continues. In December 2019 the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW73089361 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Dardens</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and Tanya Washington, with the support of the <a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" target="_blank">Housing Justice League</a>, planned a rally on the steps of city hall and a </span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/atlanta-loss-affordable-housing-subject-protest/5vFU9clJDdn6U6AabndVDP/" target="_blank">sit-in in Mayor Bottoms’ offic</a>e</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. After 11 hours, senior officials, Rashad Taylor and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Rev </span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Eric Thomas reached out on behalf of the Mayor and expressed a desire and intention to bring the matter to an end before the Christmas holidays. Residents left city hall and went home to their families with the expectation that the matter would be resolved before Christmas and certain that they would not carry the 7-year fight into the New Year. There was a sense of</span><span class="TextRun SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> relief at the thought of lifting this burden.</span><span class="EOP SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW73089361 BCX0" paraeid="{bcf79c03-a2b8-4d74-9ce6-f0d5b79c0912}{239}" paraid="231424204" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">The effected residents asked if Deborah Scott with Georgia Stand-up and myself could negotiate on their behalf. We decided to go into negotiations with Mayor Bottom's administration with the assumption of trust despite a track record of poor communications, broken promises, and unanswered calls/emails. We met the day immediately following the sit-in. Reverend Eric Thomas and Rashad Taylor represented the Mayor's office. The meeting was friendly and lasted about an hour. We spent our time laying out terms that would end the campaign and present a win-win solution for the city and the remaining residents.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bXoDq-SZnNQ/Xi-JFK44LpI/AAAAAAAARIM/3pYdl7XX17sOcMqeMjFvm9j8QmjeFjz4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/txt%2Bblock%2Bfight2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bXoDq-SZnNQ/Xi-JFK44LpI/AAAAAAAARIM/3pYdl7XX17sOcMqeMjFvm9j8QmjeFjz4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/txt%2Bblock%2Bfight2.jpg" width="299" /></a><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: inherit;"> It was clearly communicated that the family's terms were reasonable and the Mayor Bottoms was highly motivated to do right by the families</span><span style="font-style: inherit;">. We left the meeting Tuesday December 17th with an agreement that a written road map to resolution would be completed by Friday December 20th.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-style: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;">Over the course of the week we continued to negotiate through email and text message. It started to become clear that the Mayor's team was moving very slowly. </span><b>We began to hear something that many community organizations have been hearing in regards to promises from this administration,</b></span><i><b> "We're working on it."</b></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RY1yONBo61M/Xi-JFAN15DI/AAAAAAAARII/0LXwOU1thfMicnVl5QNFnccqiDMrsbcawCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/txt%2Bblock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RY1yONBo61M/Xi-JFAN15DI/AAAAAAAARII/0LXwOU1thfMicnVl5QNFnccqiDMrsbcawCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/txt%2Bblock.jpg" width="296" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highlighted txt is Tim Franzen</td></tr>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I began to fear the worst, that we had fallen into a trap.</b><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> Certainly the Mayor wouldn't promise a positive solution to this problem just to get us to pause the campaign through the holidays? Of course this Mayor wouldn't intentionally enter into bad faith negotiations? </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I began to ask if there was anything the families were asking for that the Mayor took issue with. Was the slow down in progress due to ifs or hows? It was made clear that the Mayor had no real issues with any of the families requests and they simply needed more time to work out details.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So we compromised and asked Rashad Taylor and Rev Thomas what deadline would work best and Rev Thomas let us know that Dec 31st would work, so we agreed on a second deadline even though doubts were beginning to arise. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RCXnZ1-MJwY/Xi-JJJx2y2I/AAAAAAAARIU/qnepGcUwEVsZNGTnF2ozfXvjXkoev56DACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/txt%2Bblock1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RCXnZ1-MJwY/Xi-JJJx2y2I/AAAAAAAARIU/qnepGcUwEVsZNGTnF2ozfXvjXkoev56DACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/txt%2Bblock1.jpg" width="296" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highlighted txt is Tim Franzen</td></tr>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> On January 2nd Rev Thomas said they need more time after which we never heard from either Rashad or Rev Thomas, the Mayor and her team has totally ghosted the families since. I can't tell you how difficult it was to watch the joy and hope build as families fighting for their homes began to believe that the Mayor really wanted to work out a solution that all parties could live with only to have the rug pulled out from under them yet again. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;">As one of the</span><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-weight: inherit;">negotiators entrusted by the families I felt</span><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-weight: inherit;">embarrassed to admit that I believed Mayor Bottom's team was acting in good faith, I encouraged the families and the organizations advocating for them to put the campaign on pause only to have them ignore community after the holidays passed. In my mind it begs the question,</span><b> is there any good faith in Mayor Bottom's administration?</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1HAuAsV_aCU/Xi-JJGI6abI/AAAAAAAARIQ/-YhHo4a1pu43ZOc8aydgbsfCU7BIf0n7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/txt%2Bblock4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="606" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1HAuAsV_aCU/Xi-JJGI6abI/AAAAAAAARIQ/-YhHo4a1pu43ZOc8aydgbsfCU7BIf0n7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/txt%2Bblock4.jpg" width="299" /></a><span class="EOP SCXW73089361 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #201f1e;">In the aftermath of this disappointing chapter of this 7 year fight Tanya Washington expressed her pain and confusion,<i> "I simply can't understand how a black, female Mayor who pledged to support the community who voted her into office can treat people this way. She has seen the evidence that this was never necessary and she refuses to right the wrong the City committed. My family and I are so tired of this fight. If Mayor Reed had the power to decide Ms. Mattie could stay in her home why can't you use your power to allow us to stay in ours?"</i> Mrs. Darden, a senior who has lived in home in Peoplestown for 30+ years is heartbroken. <i><b>"How long does it take to do the right thing?</b>" </i> she asked Mayor Bottoms at a recent Invest Atlanta meeting. <i>"All of this could have been avoided. Since April of 2019, you gave me and my family hope and then in December 2019 we still had hope, and now we have no hope. You have shown us that we cannot put our trust in what you say. The faith we</i></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><i> had in you is gone because you do not keep your word and because you will not do the right thing by us."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 18pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;">The truth is we don't know where things stand with the Mayor and the Peoplestown eminent domain fight because the community has been shunned by her office yet again. Maybe she's to busy stumping for Joe Biden, maybe her schedule is to jammed hanging with celebrities instead of following through with commitments she's made to community. </span><b>At this point we have learned we can't hold our breath waiting on this Mayor to do the right thing.</b></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside Ebeneezer during King Holiday Events</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So we will continue to show up wherever Mayor Bottoms is so we can tell the truth, so we can remind her of the commitments she's made to communities, and we can hold her accountable to them. As former Senator Vincent said said, <i>"<span style="color: #201f1e;"> </span><span style="color: #201f1e;">Using eminent domain as a device to displace black people from their homes is shameful. That's why I joined the Dardens and Tanya Washington on the King Holiday outside of Ebeneezer Baptist Church to protest Mayor Bottoms' ruthless gentrification policies; educate the public and encourage others to join our resistance."</span></i></span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-84678957453117531582020-01-25T16:10:00.004-05:002020-01-27T12:34:15.579-05:00People of Atlanta Join January 25 Global Day of Action Against War with Iran<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9QUNYcFfVI/XiyuV2xFmMI/AAAAAAAARCI/YPwHjCZaFIQ29mPXyamsiiZOyEI28VMxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9QUNYcFfVI/XiyuV2xFmMI/AAAAAAAARCI/YPwHjCZaFIQ29mPXyamsiiZOyEI28VMxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/iran.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In over 150 cities—from Mobile, Alabama to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from Yerevan, Armenia to Kampala, Uganda—people around the world were in the streets on today, January 25 to send a clear message to the Trump administration against going to war with Iran. </span><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">American Friends Service Committee along with local partners including</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, ANSWER Coalition, Atlanta Friends Meeting, Georgia Detention Watch, International Action Center, #OutNowCoalition, KSUnited, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America, and the Housing Justice League</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> released the following statement:</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“</span><span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Trump administration is rapidly escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Not only is each dollar invested in the military industrial complex a robbery from our under-resourced communities, this escalation could set off a domino effect that could mean annihilation for us all.</span></div>
<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18.6667px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rYck9br62BU" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We are still living in the aftermath of the war in Iraq — which not only saw the deaths of almost a million Iraqis, 4,500 US troops, and set off an endless “War on Terror” — but also represented one of the largest transfers of wealth in Human history. We simply can’t afford not to act."</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beRBJ_ioa2w/XiyuohIAHZI/AAAAAAAARCU/6rVn8Yl_Ig8Vg9rc3cg98GvGlx6haAlSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/iran2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beRBJ_ioa2w/XiyuohIAHZI/AAAAAAAARCU/6rVn8Yl_Ig8Vg9rc3cg98GvGlx6haAlSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/iran2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The march kicked off at Piedmont park and ended with a brief rally at the Georgia Tech Research Institute which has received millions of dollars in military contracts to research and improve the technologies of war such as drones. </span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-57991599152213915032019-09-30T15:10:00.001-04:002019-12-09T14:11:04.789-05:00The Forest Cove Youth Leadership Program<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX2 SCXW197270636" style="direction: ltr;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Forest
Cove is a 398-unit Section 8 apartment complex in southeast Atlanta. In
early 2018, a group of tenants reached out to Housing Justice League
for help organizing to achieve better living conditions. Since then,
AFSC and HJL have worked with Forest Cove tenants to form a tenant </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">association, and</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">
hold management accountable to its responsibility to provide safe and
comfortable housing. The tenant association was active for almost a
year, before frustration due to a lack of progress and the relocation of
one of its most vocal leaders caused its activity to cease.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llgjVQ1YKmQ/XZJK4Qgwn2I/AAAAAAAAPrw/0V8NyqNhPDwyf2Qv7xLapKTv9LUxwrg9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/GetAttachmentThumbnail-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="723" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llgjVQ1YKmQ/XZJK4Qgwn2I/AAAAAAAAPrw/0V8NyqNhPDwyf2Qv7xLapKTv9LUxwrg9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/GetAttachmentThumbnail-2.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Program interns and AFSC staff out on a tour of Old Fourth Ward</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">It
was decided in the spring of 2019 to begin a program to engage young
people who live in or are connected to Forest Cove. The Forest Cove
Youth Leadership Program would be the first step </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="AdvancedProofingIssue SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">in an effort to</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> build a source of youth pressure and power that could revive and support the tenant association. </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Its curriculum </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">was
designed to educate participants about issues related to housing, land
and community, help participants build leadership skills, and give
participants a chance to bring a piece of what they learned back to the
neighborhood.</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The program’s first cohort ran from June 25, 2019 to September 19, 2019.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Four </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">paid, part-time </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">interns
were hired to participate in the program. Seven individuals submitted
paper applications, and after one round of in-person interviews, the
final four cohort members were chosen: two young men and two young
women, ages 17, 21, 23 and 24.</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The
interns were chosen based on their passion for seeing the neighborhood
change for the better</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> – </span></span> prior experience with organizing was not required. Our goal was to seek out and train new leaders with no or minimal
background in activism. Three interns were unable to finish the program,
and the cohort ended with one intern and one volunteer</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">During
the third week of the program, the interns attended the AFSC South
Region Youth Summit in Washington, D.C. The summit was an opportunity
for the interns to meet other youth program participants from around the
South </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Region, and</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">
participate in a training about how to create change in their
communities while resisting racism, colonialism and imperialism. The
summit also included a chance for the interns to speak with their
elected representatives </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">in Congress</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> about an issue that was important to them.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":360,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0x00-VJKU/XZJOtNh2ggI/AAAAAAAAPr8/wZlC53KPxDsucLccervkW0p7jxs2sndhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/GetAttachmentThumbnail-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1280" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0x00-VJKU/XZJOtNh2ggI/AAAAAAAAPr8/wZlC53KPxDsucLccervkW0p7jxs2sndhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/GetAttachmentThumbnail-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interns presenting in the office of D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">For
their capitol visit, the Atlanta interns teamed up with a youth
participant from D.C. and came up with a joint presentation that called
attention to issues of policing and criminal justice within their
communities. The group met with </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">policy advisors</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> for Georgia Senator David Perdue, and for D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":360,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The
second half of the curriculum was dedicated to planning a culminating
project – an event that would be led by the interns, and that would
allow them to engage their neighbors around a theme or issue of their
choice.</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The
culminating project took place on Saturday, September 14, 2019. It was
named “Igniting Hope,” and it was planned as an opportunity for Forest
Cove tenants to create a shared vision for the neighborhood they want to
live in. We were hopeful that this event could build momentum in favor
of a revived tenant association</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">,
and so far, our efforts have been fruitful. A few of the adults who
attended have expressed a willingness and eagerness to continue meeting
and remain involved.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The second cohort of the Forest Cove Youth Leadership Program will be launched in the spring of 2020. </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">For</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">the next c</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">ohort and those that follow, the program curriculum will be re-worked to further connect the
interns to the housing justice campaigns that the Atlanta Economic
Justice Program is involved with</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">. </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Two youth participants who were involved </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">this summer</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> have chosen to continue working as volunteers to help continue the process of engaging and mobilizing Forest Cove tenants.</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">During the fall of 2019, we will organize events to educate </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">F</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">orest </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">C</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">ove neighbors, provide fun activities for the neighborhood children, and continue to build momentum for the tenant association.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">The following reflection was written by </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="SpellingError SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Dimoniqua</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> Smith, one of the program’s interns:</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">“What
can I do? Nothing. Before AFSC, the problems of my life, of this world,
were just problems. They didn’t have solutions. I didn’t even think
that they could have solutions. The one main thing I remember from the
Youth Summit was to resist. Don’t ever just accept things as they are,
and question everything. Don’t just accept the world as it is if it’s
not the best. Remember that if you can’t use anything else, you could
use your voice to get your community and the world to listen.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> AFSC
has taught me so many important things. It’s hard to pick and choose
which ones are the most important. I believe the second most important
one is to spread what you learned back into the world. Or at least plant
the seed people’s minds. And to remember that change doesn’t happen
overnight. It took Europeans centuries to push their beliefs onto the
world. I don’t want to ramble so I’m going to end this. Fate brought
AFSC to me and I learned so much from them. From Ms. </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">Foluke</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;">, Mrs. Nia, and the rest of ASFC’s amazing organization.”</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":240}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW197270636 BCX2" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="SpellingError SCXW197270636 BCX2" style="background-color: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-57191863387081318472019-01-15T15:13:00.000-05:002019-01-17T15:09:36.357-05:00Labor & Community Unite to Redlight the Gulch on MLK's Birthday<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2zn-XoHNbfk/XD45pCP_DsI/AAAAAAAAPMY/ByApEAZ2Ic0XvdA5LVLq-RGAo98ikKmewCLcBGAs/s1600/gulch%2Blabor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2zn-XoHNbfk/XD45pCP_DsI/AAAAAAAAPMY/ByApEAZ2Ic0XvdA5LVLq-RGAo98ikKmewCLcBGAs/s640/gulch%2Blabor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Today on the steps of Atlanta's city hall organized labor joined community groups on the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr to appeal to the Mayor and other city leaders who often invoke the name of Dr King but pursue policies and projects(Like the Gulch project) that continue to widen the gap between rich and poor in Atlanta.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today was significant because the <a href="https://redlightthegulch.com/" target="_blank">Redlight the Gulch Coalition</a>, which is made up of several community groups, was joined by a number of labor unions including </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 77, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Laborers International Union of America, Local 515, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Local 33</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, Local 136, Unite Here, and Teamsters local 728.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-voq06CECWE8/XD5Hhn-IAaI/AAAAAAAAPMk/aqgyTwu1Ac8CngEkMCYQbbrfYeaT1rW0QCLcBGAs/s1600/gulch%2Blabor%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1024" height="287" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-voq06CECWE8/XD5Hhn-IAaI/AAAAAAAAPMk/aqgyTwu1Ac8CngEkMCYQbbrfYeaT1rW0QCLcBGAs/s320/gulch%2Blabor%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Our Communities can no longer survive this approach to
development that sees our city leaders cutting billion dollar welfare checks to
the super rich to develop luxury developments with little to no affordable
housing, community benefits, and workforce agreements. The money we are spending on the Gulch isn't monopoly money, it's real, which means public funds are being diverted from other public needs in order to help billionaire Slum lords from LA(CIM group) to build a city within a city. CIM will own the sidewalks and the streets. Where is that money coming from? A very large chunk(over 500 million) will come from a Tax Allocation District(TAD) that would otherwise go to our already struggling public schools in Atlanta. The cruel irony is that
we are being forced to pay for our own gentrification through projects like the Gulch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What adds insult to injury is the fact that our current Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms made a promise to the community when she was running for mayor. She committed to support legally binding community benefits agreements between developers and the communities they seek to profit off of whenever public funds were involved. It would appear that she was either lying, or that she very quickly changed her mind after winning the election.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tomorrow at 9am at the Fulton County Superior Court in courtroom 9G</b> the Redlight the Gulch coalition goes back to court. Members of the Coalition have intervened on the bond validation process in order to get in the way of this 2 billion dollar welfare check set to help fund the luxury development. The legal fight is likely to go to appeal and the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/redlight-gulch-litigation" target="_blank">Redlight the Gulch coalition is raising money through crowdsourcing to cover the hefty legal costs.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The current City of Atlanta’s Gulch proposals DO NOT
include: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Community benefits agreements<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Community workforce agreements<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Real affordable housing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Anti-displacement policies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Certified apprenticeship program<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Community planning process <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-25613832058646988672018-11-02T12:53:00.002-04:002018-11-03T11:47:06.570-04:00Redlight The Gulch Coalition Weighs in on Norfolk Southern Ultimatum<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1tM5Gv8HkE/W9yBDXHIhvI/AAAAAAAAPJY/d9AjUngcC70EpkYNgwM_EJQBScXXG4SHQCLcBGAs/s1600/redlight%2Bthe%2Bgulch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1tM5Gv8HkE/W9yBDXHIhvI/AAAAAAAAPJY/d9AjUngcC70EpkYNgwM_EJQBScXXG4SHQCLcBGAs/s640/redlight%2Bthe%2Bgulch.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">November 2, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>STATEMENT FROM “REDLIGHT THE GULCH COALITION”</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>ON NORFOLK SOUTHERN ULTIMATUM</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Norfolk Southern’s CEO says that unless his company can make a big profit on its land in the Gulch, it will not consolidate staff from Norfolk, VA to Atlanta.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There is no justification for throwing a Gulch public subsidy — variously put at $1.9 billion and $1.44 billion — at an 850-job move.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The typical incentive from the City for that number of jobs is $850,000 to $2.5 million. That’s Million with an M, not Billion with a B. Some companies do not choose to extract any incentives when moving to the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The public cost of the Gulch scheme is on the order of one thousand times the incentive justified for the Norfolk Southern jobs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By contrast, Blackrock announced last week that they are creating 1,000 new jobs in the city. They did not require billions in subsidy. Like Atlanta residents, they were also unfazed by the Gulch. Like all the other companies moving to and expanding in Atlanta over this decade, Blackrock is coming for our talent, our universities, our airport and our standard of living.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We also remind residents that Norfolk Southern did Atlanta no favors when they sold their stretch of the future Beltline to a developer for $25m, which forced the city to $65m — vastly more than if Norfolk had waited and sold it to the city directly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We call upon Council Members to resist absurd last-minute arguments and bullying. The Gulch scheme would squander future revenues desperately needed to run our city and schools, and to support housing affordability.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://afscatlanta.blogspot.com/2018/11/urgent-action-redlight-gulch.html" target="_blank">Redlight the Gulch on November 5!</a></span>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-50475628290203677662018-11-02T12:05:00.000-04:002018-11-02T12:18:49.829-04:00URGENT ACTION: Redlight The Gulch!<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="x_mcnTextBlock" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #212121; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 15px; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="x_mcnTextBlockOuter">
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<u><strong>URGENT ACTION: This Monday City Council will vote to approve or deny the Gulch development plan and we need to show up in force to demand that they VOTE NO! </strong><strong>J</strong>oin us for a #RedlightTheGulch rally before the vote.</u><strong> </strong>Then we will pack the house at the City Council meeting and make our message clear: we must redlight the Gulch! </div>
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<strong><span style="color: red;">WEAR RED! </span></strong><br />
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The proposed Gulch development would be a MAJOR loss to our communities: Mayor Bottoms wants to sell part of downtown Atlanta to billionaire developers who are known slumlords in Los Angeles. The public would lose at least $1.9 billion in taxes only to receive $100 million at most back in benefits, at most. Plus, there would be ZERO public ownership. The City has felt our pressure and made a few changes to the deal, but it's not enough. As the vote on the deal approaches, we need to apply pressure now more than ever.<br />
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<a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://housingjusticeleague.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b7bbbd1cb0d987769f28b5bc4&id=d7e858f7a8&e=281c10108d" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #de5b49;" target="_blank">Learn more about the #RedlightTheGulch campaign here.</a> </div>
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<tr><td class="x_mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="x_mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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Suggested Script: <em>"Hello, I am an Atlanta resident and I am urging you to VOTE NO on the Gulch development plan this Monday. The plan would be a HUGE loss to residents and prioritizes billionaire developers over the people of Atlanta. Thank you."</em><br />
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The numbers to call are below:</td></tr>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-19759470506905915982018-10-24T20:02:00.004-04:002018-10-31T14:30:44.886-04:00Redlight The Gulch Coalition Responds to Mayor/CIM's Revised Gulch Deal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3wG8NvZnLfo/W9EHf5gX2hI/AAAAAAAAPIU/T-Vkey5UJfU0oGGm8jzzSXjSGebMVS_WACLcBGAs/s1600/Inkedgulch1_LI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="744" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3wG8NvZnLfo/W9EHf5gX2hI/AAAAAAAAPIU/T-Vkey5UJfU0oGGm8jzzSXjSGebMVS_WACLcBGAs/s640/Inkedgulch1_LI.jpg" width="496" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://redlightthegulch.com/independent-review-on-behalf-of-residents-of-the-city-of-atlanta/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Click here to read the full independent review of the Gulch project </span></b></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tak Action: Housing Justice League will be holding a community canvass to educate Atlanta residents this Saturday at 12:30pm. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/305592233374620/" target="_blank">Click here for details.</a></span></span>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-3118128180821784232018-09-30T23:14:00.002-04:002018-10-10T18:49:20.002-04:00TOP 10 REASONS WHY THE GULCH PROJECT IS A SHAM FOR ATLANTA<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">TOP 10 REASONS WHY ATLANTA'S GULCH DEAL IS BAD FOR THE CITY'S FUTURE</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">1.</b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Public cost is 55 times the public benefit. This is a grossly disproportionate cost/benefit in CIM’s favor. Council has done well to hold it. This deal is so terrible that Council now needs to walk away from it. You don’t negotiate when the gap is so enormous between what the billionaires are demanding from the public and what their scheme is worth to the public</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <b>2.</b> Public cost is about $2.5Bn at 2018 prices, of which $2Bn is property tax and $0.5bn in sales tax. In return, public benefits are only worth about $45mm. Details are broken out below. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>3.</b> When the public is putting in as much as 50% of the cost to develop a private, commercial project, the public should own 40% of it. Instead, we will own nothing. The only explanation for this grotesque imbalance of advantage is CIM’s Abject Greed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> 4.</b> The numbers. Property tax on a $5bn project when it’s complete - in 2032, per developer’s schedule - would be $90mm / yr. APS (the schools) would be losing out on $45mm / yr and the city and county $22.5mm / yr each. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>5. </b>Despite all the smoke from the project’s boosters, this lost property tax really IS a cost to the public. Because if offices, hotels etc. are NOT built in a tax-free Gulch, they will be built in taxable parts of town, such as Tech Square, Midtown, S Downtown, Atlantic Station, Buckhead and around the Beltline. If CIM does not get this deal, the demand for office space, etc. will be met by developers in places where new construction pays taxes. In other words, this Gulch scheme ‘cannibalizes’ a massive amount of commercial growth and deprives the city and schools of future revenues for 30 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>6. </b>The same is true of the sales tax. This scheme would short the city and the state of some $500mm at 2018 prices thru 2048. Retail sales demand is not going to be created by putting stores in the Gulch. Those sales are going to happen somewhere in town, and the only question is whether they pay tax to the state and the general fund or not. Again the Gulch scheme would ‘cannibalize’ or displace retail activity in town and rob the state and city of tax revenues needed to pay for public services. So the total revenue loss IS $2.5 Billion. That is over $5,000 per man, woman and child resident in the city. It is equivalent to a $20,000 donation or more from every family of four in Atlanta to the billionaire Ressler brothers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>7.</b> The public benefits that have been dribbled out amount to around $45mm. The different cash funds are easy to add up: $42mm (though with no guarantee they’ll be spent to create real community benefit). The 200 housing units affordable at 80% AMI are worth only about $3mm, because CIM can sell them off after 3 years as rentals. CIM could sell the 200 units at prices for which a buyer would need an income 20% higher than the area median. By definition, that’s not affordable. Forget the claim that there might be some extra units for low-income folks: that’s only if AHA pays for them, which means it costs CIM nothing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>8. </b>The hard sell for this deal pretends that it brings 37,000 jobs to town. That is nonsense. Employers bring jobs to town – over 40,000 new jobs have moved here in the past 6 years – NCR, Worldpay, Honeywell, Anthem, Kaiser and so on. They locate here for our competitive talent, universities and airport. Office towers do not bring jobs here. (If they did, we’d have had no unemployment in the great recession, because we sure had masses of empty office towers, including the biggest - Bank of America Plaza.) So the scheme does not bring one single job here. CIM is betting that the city will continue to attract employers to fill the huge office towers that they are planning to construct. But this scheme does nothing to attract those company relocations. In fact, if Council allows this crazily one-sided deal, smart company executives will question the city’s financial responsibility. They’ll wonder if a city too busy to think can be trusted to provide good</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> 9.</b> Similarly the CIM sales pitch takes credit for 1800 construction jobs. But office towers are going to be built in the city to meet employer demand. So the same construction jobs will be here, whether those offices are built in the Gulch or in S Downtown and elsewhere. Handing over a $2.5bn subsidy will not result in more offices being built than are needed - or more construction jobs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> 10.</b> The final arm-twist on Council has been a Norfolk Southern deal. NS wants us to give this enormous subsidy to CIM so that NS can sell Gulch land to CIM at a big profit. There’s nothing in that for the public. But NS might move 1,000 HQ people here in a consolidation. To justify a $2.5bn subsidy, we’d need not 1,000 jobs but about 700,000 jobs! That’s around three times the entire number of jobs in the city. It’s also 14 times the size of Amazon’s HQ2, for those who still imagine HQ2 will choose Atlanta.</span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-43672198059351865722018-09-18T15:36:00.000-04:002018-09-18T15:36:41.792-04:00Darlington Tenants Fight as They Face Displacement<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Monday, September 17, at
the Darlington Apartment Complex in Buckhead tenants and community allies held a rally to shine a light on their inhumane treatment by landlord
Trace McCreary of Varden Capital Properties who purchased the longtime
affordable complex a year ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the time of the purchase tenants
were told they would finally receive the renovations which where decades
overdue only to be told in late august that they would all be forced to vacate
the property indefinitely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since the time of the 60 day notice
tenants were given in August the AC has been shut off and there have been four
fires inside the complex. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There is no
peace for us , days without hot water to bathe , laundry machines that destroys
our clothes , & a Owner who would allow kids in this building to have to go
to sleep in puddles of sweat from no Air. This is Not Fair , This is not Right
, This is not Justice !” </i>stated Darlington tenant LeBraunte Frost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This kind of property flipping is
nothing new to Varden Capital CEO Trace McCreary who apparently left Wall
Street after the financial crash to focus on building wealth off the crisis the
left 11 million Americans without a home. So far Varden Capital has purchased
around 20k units in the South almost all of which are occupied affordable units
which he then flips mostly luxury displacing current residents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At this point residents simply want
support identifying affordable housing in the communities they live and work in
which has been a major challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Atlanta is experiencing a perfect
storm for mass displacement. With 95% of everything built since 2012 qualifying
as luxury housing and a loss of 5% of affordable housing stock every year since
2012 we may be experiencing the largest displacement of long term residents in
Atlanta history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“ For
those of us who live in the few affordable housing available in the city we
find ourselves displaced with the race for newer properties and affordable
properties renovating to keep up”,</i> stated Darlington tenant Raymond Bushby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can take action!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>CALL THESE NUMBERS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Jennifer Eid, City Council
Representive, District 6: (404) 330-6049<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Matt Westmoreland, Post 2 At Large
City Council: (404) 330-6302<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Michael Julian Bond, Post 1 At Large
City Council: (404) 330-6770<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mayor: (404)
330-6100<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Script:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>“I am calling to express my great
concern for the forced displacement of tenants from the Darlington. What will
you be doing to ensure ALL tenants are relocated to safe, decent, affordable
housing? What will be doing to ensure that this mass eviction events like this
are no longer acceptable in Atlanta?”</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Links tosome of yesterday's press coverage: </div>
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<a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/-stand-up-fight-back-tenants-on-fixed-incomes-protest-60-day-notice-to-leave/836458452" target="_blank">https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/-stand-up-fight-back-tenants-on-fixed-incomes-protest-60-day-notice-to-leave/836458452 </a></div>
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<a href="https://www.cbs46.com/buckhead-apartment-residents-say-they-re-being-forced-out-rally/video_5748e470-bb38-11e8-bae7-7760830797c9.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share">https://www.cbs46.com/buckhead-apartment-residents-say-they-re-being-forced-out-rally/video_5748e470-bb38-11e8-bae7-7760830797c9.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share</a></div>
<br />Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-4244803433178177212018-09-18T13:19:00.000-04:002018-09-18T13:19:10.982-04:00Stand with the Transit Equity Coalition, and help us demand a fair MARTA Expan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPsIBQJG_Vg/W6EzPT-QsYI/AAAAAAAAPEc/ekm7Nk4yKyQL-gjFfu7vEJn3XW5-Ti0ywCLcBGAs/s1600/marta%2Bequity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="587" height="284" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPsIBQJG_Vg/W6EzPT-QsYI/AAAAAAAAPEc/ekm7Nk4yKyQL-gjFfu7vEJn3XW5-Ti0ywCLcBGAs/s320/marta%2Bequity.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">MARTA is finally expanding. But for the most part, efforts at collecting public input through the More MARTA program have been relatively low-key – it’s safe to say that the majority of Atlantans have no idea that this initiative is underway. Which means that right now it is unlikely that the final expansion plan will reflect the true wants and needs of Atlanta’s commuters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2016, Atlanta voters approved a half-cent sales tax to fund the expansion of MARTA. The tax is expected to generate $2.5 billion over 40 years. Since the tax was passed, MARTA has been fine-tuning a list of potential bus and rail projects to improve service in various parts of the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the projects that is garnering the most attention is the Clifton Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, a streetcar that will link Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to Lindbergh Center Station in Buckhead. The issue with the emphasis on the Clifton Corridor Project is that Emory University and the CDC were annexed into the City of Atlanta in 2017 – after the sales tax was passed. It is unfair that this project, which will receive $500 million of the $2.5 billion in MARTA funds, is being prioritized over the communities in south and southwest Atlanta that have been asking for improved MARTA service for years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to the More MARTA program’s questionable survey results, two more proposed projects that are on track to become a reality soon involve building a light rail along segments of the Beltline. The Atlanta Beltline has become the city’s main driver of gentrification as it causes property values to skyrocket. Though the forces behind the Beltline initially promised that the project would lead to the development of 5,600 units of affordable housing, they are far behind where they should be. The More MARTA program’s prioritization of a Beltline streetcar over transit improvements in south Atlanta communities is a slap in the face to the neighborhoods that are bracing themselves for Beltline-generated displacement. The More MARTA program should not spend a single cent on the Beltline rail project until the Beltline fulfills its commitment to affordable housing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Transit Equity Coalition is an alliance of civil rights organizations, faith-based groups, and neighborhood associations who are working to hold MARTA accountable to the true needs of the community. Our members are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">American Friends Service Committee<br />Atlanta NAACP<br />Concerned Black Clergy<br />Dekalb NAACP<br />Housing Justice League<br />Our Truth, Our Power – The South Atlanta Listening Project<br />United Youth Adult Conference</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are asking everyone who supports MARTA equity to call their Atlanta city councilmember and demand that they put pressure on MARTA to:</span></div>
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<li class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cut the Clifton Corridor rail project</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Expand the west rail line from Hamilton E. Holmes station to Fulton Industrial, and the east rail line to Stonecrest along I-20.</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Refrain from funding a streetcar on the Beltline until the Beltline begins to live up to its affordable housing promises.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Atlanta City Council can be reached at (404) 330-6030.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More information about the More MARTA project can be found here: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://itsmarta.com/moremarta.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://itsmarta.com/moremarta.aspx</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like the Transit Equity Coalition on Facebook: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.facebook.com/MARTAequity/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/MARTAequity/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**Survey results: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://itsmarta.com/uploadedFiles/MARTA_101/Why_MARTA/More%20MARTA%20Atlanta%20Program%20Survey%20-%20Analyze_V4.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://itsmarta.com/uploadedFiles/MARTA_101/Why_MARTA/More%20MARTA%20Atlanta%20Program%20Survey%20-%20Analyze_V4.pdf</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Foluke Nunn</span></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Youth Organizer</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">American Friends Service Committee</span></div>
Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-61139327823968243292018-09-17T16:57:00.000-04:002018-09-17T16:59:35.008-04:00Peoplestown Residents Win Retrial After Presenting New Evidence<div align="center" class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 0.15pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;">Peoplestown Residents Returned to Court With Evidence of City’s Unlawful Use of Eminent Domain to Displace Longterm Residents of Peoplestown</span></b></div>
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Peoplestown residents returned to court on Wednesday Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. before Judge Schwall seeking a rehearing based on newly discovered evidence. That evidence, an email authored by a City of Atlanta engineer, establishes that the City of Atlanta knew, BEFORE it demolished 21 of 27 homes on the block, that it did not need the property for its proposed flood mitigation project. This email was produced by the City in response to a discovery request 3 days <i>after</i> Judge Schwall ruled that the City needed the property. The delayed production of this highly relevant information is consistent with the culture at City Hall that has prompted the on-going investigation by the GBI.</div>
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Despite having produced more than 200,000 documents, the City has failed to produce evidence rebutting this internal Department of Watershed communication. Tanya Washington, a Peoplestown resident, said, “Had I gone to court and been presented with credible evidence that my house was needed for the City’s plans I would take the loss and move on. I wouldn’t be happy with the situation but at least I would know that there was a real reason for taking my home. But when a City employee documents that the homes are my block aren't necessary and there is NO evidence to the contrary I’m ready to go all the way to the Supreme Court for justice, and I SHALL NOT BE MOVED!</div>
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The outcome in these cases will create precedence that will either protect residents against these types of land grabs by the City or it will give the green light to city officials, authorizing them to steal peoples’ homes without following the law. The residents are asking "Housing Mayor" Keisha Lance Bottoms to drop the lawsuits against them.</div>
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From Tanya Washington:</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"The Judge ordered the City of Atlanta to return to Court on Oct. 29 at 2:30 with the former City of Atlanta engineer who documented the lack of "technical data" and "engineering validation" to justify the taking of homes on our block. We are looking fo<span class="x_gmail-text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">rward to this hearing which will establish that THE CITY OF ATLANTA'S USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN IS ILLEGAL!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is a VICTORY that proves 3 incontrovertible truths: WHEN YOU FIGHT YOU WIN, COMMUNITY IS A VERB & COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS! Thank you for standing with us!"</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rFdugbf1d7Y/W6AT3FTT1WI/AAAAAAAAPEE/QSknGjuJpyoLywMtfn3oGkQRrWTgl5JwgCLcBGAs/s1600/41943705_338046416765290_7447635125631713280_n%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rFdugbf1d7Y/W6AT3FTT1WI/AAAAAAAAPEE/QSknGjuJpyoLywMtfn3oGkQRrWTgl5JwgCLcBGAs/s320/41943705_338046416765290_7447635125631713280_n%25281%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">Right now as more residents in Washington Park, Vine City, and English ave we are asking folks to continue to call the Mayor and ask her not to use eminent domain to </span><span style="color: #1d2129;">forceably take peoples homes for development projects.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/stand-with-93-yr-old-mattie-jackson-community-hero" target="_blank">You can also click here to sign and share the online petition!</a></div>
Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-87781608115676770822018-07-13T18:21:00.000-04:002018-07-13T18:22:16.864-04:00From Atlanta to DC<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FV2XnnOvJ_w/W0kk8VUlcrI/AAAAAAAAO7o/S7zi8EpCSocIZOmkBv01TGaDS9VDKm9mwCLcBGAs/s1600/naht4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FV2XnnOvJ_w/W0kk8VUlcrI/AAAAAAAAO7o/S7zi8EpCSocIZOmkBv01TGaDS9VDKm9mwCLcBGAs/s320/naht4.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Earlier this month we had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with tenant leaders from the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">Housing Justice League</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> for the </span><a href="http://saveourhomes.org/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">National Alliance of HUD</a></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Tenants(NAHT) national convention. This has been our fourth year attending the conference which is a gathering of HUD tenant leaders from around the country along with tenant/community organizers and representatives from ally organizations. The conference is an excellent opportunity for tenants to share and develop strategies to preserve, improve, and expand affordable housing in their complexes and communities. Here in Atlanta we've learned so much over the years from the amazing HUD tenants that helped form NAHT, several of them have organized such strong tenant associations that they have actually collectively negotiated negotiated with complex owners to purchase the building they live in.</span><br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W6FA0nty-D0/W0kk7mBUtNI/AAAAAAAAO7c/ZkqMS4xL_rUQTaE8Qh_iV2qj38AU8LukACLcBGAs/s1600/naht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W6FA0nty-D0/W0kk7mBUtNI/AAAAAAAAO7c/ZkqMS4xL_rUQTaE8Qh_iV2qj38AU8LukACLcBGAs/s320/naht.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W6FA0nty-D0/W0kk7mBUtNI/AAAAAAAAO7c/ZkqMS4xL_rUQTaE8Qh_iV2qj38AU8LukACLcBGAs/s1600/naht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This years was year was a highlight for us as both Housing Justice League and <a href="http://afsc.org/" target="_blank">American Friends Service Committee</a> received awards in recognition of our victories over the last year.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJJGpJYr7jQ/W0kk7pvQPpI/AAAAAAAAO7g/jms51ELoK-onnuECSB570n398R7xRimOQCLcBGAs/s1600/naht1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This years was also special because we had the opportunity to join the <a href="https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/" target="_blank">Poor Peoples Campaign</a> for their day of action. Many of us marched to HUD and witnessed over a dozen committed faith and community leaders block the doors of HUD's office demanding better living conditions and more peopled centered policies. It was truly inspiring to be surrounded by so many people with such deep commitment to real economic justice.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJJGpJYr7jQ/W0kk7pvQPpI/AAAAAAAAO7g/jms51ELoK-onnuECSB570n398R7xRimOQCLcBGAs/s1600/naht1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJJGpJYr7jQ/W0kk7pvQPpI/AAAAAAAAO7g/jms51ELoK-onnuECSB570n398R7xRimOQCLcBGAs/s320/naht1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The following day NAHT held a rally against Trump's proposed HUD cuts on the steps of the MLK memorial statue. If passed Trump's HUD budget would include deep cuts and much stricter work requirements. The cut's impact would put over 5k Georgia families at risk or homelessness and rent hikes that would be difficult to survive for those on fixed income. From there we went to visit congressional members and lobbied against the proposed cuts before saying our goodbyes and heading back to Atlanta.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSsKv7eDLvw/W0kk79AYPCI/AAAAAAAAO7k/nsA8zUAXe9If6pFaeee2cg6FknVvIzHTACLcBGAs/s1600/naht2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSsKv7eDLvw/W0kk79AYPCI/AAAAAAAAO7k/nsA8zUAXe9If6pFaeee2cg6FknVvIzHTACLcBGAs/s320/naht2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Conferences like NAHT are important. They give us the opportunity to compare notes, inspire and be inspired by each other, to celebrate our work, explore how to more effectively, and leave with our imaginations on fire!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Big thanks to all who contributed to Housing Justice Leagues tenant training crowd source fundraiser as it helped cover the cost of three tenant leaders attending the conference!</span>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-3571203969520557682018-06-13T13:54:00.000-04:002018-06-21T15:23:47.641-04:00Our truth, Our Power – The South Atlanta Listening Project<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The growing number of luxury high-rises and trendy restaurants may give the impression of increasing prosperity, however Atlanta continues to be one of the worst cities in the country for <u><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/city-and-metropolitan-income-inequality-data-reveal-ups-and-downs-through-2016/" target="_blank">income equality</a></u> and <u><a href="https://www.myajc.com/news/opinion/opinion-thriving-communities-embrace-economic-mobility/iK8fePEt755fAqR7lYE1KL/" target="_blank">economic mobility</a></u>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As the city enjoys a period of growth in several different industries, it is apparent that it is catering to the wants of newcomers and business interests- the voices of groups without the resources and influence to make themselves noticed are strikingly absent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Young people who were born and raised in Atlanta’s poor communities make up one of the groups that is talked over and spoken for the most. Younger generations are almost always left out of discussions about the city’s future, even though they will play a major role in shaping its future. Those of us who come from the ‘hood are often viewed as part of Atlanta’s problem, instead of potential contributors to the solution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We’re tired of being written off as “thugs” and ignored by the leadership of this city. We’re tired of being told that our problems will miraculously disappear once we “pull our pants up”. We’re tired of everyone trying to tell us what we should do, but rarely asking us what we want for ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We believe that we can make our voices heard, and work to build an Atlanta that prioritizes our interests and needs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u5BDjiYKhIg/WyFZdSCkn2I/AAAAAAAAO2w/AL1LmkXJljUmVbIG8IIf4_-h7jt67gtWwCLcBGAs/s1600/youth%2Bblog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u5BDjiYKhIg/WyFZdSCkn2I/AAAAAAAAO2w/AL1LmkXJljUmVbIG8IIf4_-h7jt67gtWwCLcBGAs/s320/youth%2Bblog1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our first step will be to conduct a <u><a href="https://listeningproject.info/" target="_blank">listening project</a></u>, so that we can give young people in Atlanta a chance to share their opinions about their city. A listening project is a series of interviews done with the goal of solving problems and helping communities realize the power they have. We will be interviewing people ages 17 to 25 who live in South and Southwest Atlanta (the east side of Zone 4, the north side of Zone 3, and the very south side of Zone 1). We want them to share as much as they can about their experiences living in their communities, so that we can paint a picture of the most major issues from many different perspectives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our ultimate goal is to bring the young people of Atlanta together, to build the confidence and skills that we need to stand up for our communities. We will use what we learn from the interviews to guide the next steps that we take to address some of the most pressing problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most importantly, we need people who live in Atlanta’s disinvested communities to be at the forefront of this effort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are several organizations that are already providing crucial services for young people in Atlanta’s low income neighborhoods. Their presence and the work that they do are much needed and valued. The specific purpose of this project is to spark a movement to create a more just and equitable Atlanta— led by young people, for young people. We want it to be a chance for us to contribute directly to meaningful social change that we define on our own terms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s easy to look at the shootings, the poverty, and the police violence and think that that’s just how life goes in the ‘hood. But we refuse to accept that things can’t be different. Every one of us has the ability to fight for a better world. First we must speak our truth, then we can claim our power.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you would like to volunteer with us, <u><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jMHDbzOLnXb-MV0uHp0df2lgIZqHVIIxlmMur3wMFUw/edit" target="_blank">please click here</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To sign up for an interview, <u><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RTZxMEOm6c_lVrWkIMgKDUyunS-0LpYrdKQrTPWTyXc/edit" target="_blank">please click here</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>By the AFSC Youth Organizing Project: Foluke Nunn, Brenquavious Johnson</b></span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-66516152660726111822018-05-03T19:54:00.002-04:002018-05-03T19:54:31.000-04:00ATL Tenants Fight Back Against Trump's Proposed HUD Cuts<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{9174aa0f-3e85-4769-99e0-535818956b27}{160}" paraid="221032719" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">On International Worker’s Day (Tuesday May 1) <a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" target="_blank">Housing Justice League</a> members and supporters </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">rallied </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> outside </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Senator David Perdue’s office at a main intersection</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in Buckhead</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to protest Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the U.S. Department of </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Housing and Urban Development (HUD)</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and demand</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the senator</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> vote against </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Trump’s 2019 budget proposal</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that includes </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">slashing of HUD programs</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> across the board</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> The rally was part of a National Day of A</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ction organized by the <a href="http://saveourhomes.org/" target="_blank">National Alliance of HUD Tenants</a> (NAHT) of which HJL is a member.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The full budget proposal represents </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">brutal attack on the poor</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that will only contribute to</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> inequality, racism, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">and the war economy</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">According to NAHT, the $6.8 billion in proposed cuts would be the deepest cuts in HUD’s history.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Deborah Arnold, a community activist with Housing Justice League and NAHT Vice President commented, “Trump wants to cut taxes for the richest of the rich, paid for by raising rents on the poorest of the poor. 80% of HUD tenant households are led by women. We, too, demand that Congress reject Trump’s vicious assault on the women, children, elderly and disabled people who live in HUD housing.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RU_JHfjysFI/WuuepXFDjBI/AAAAAAAAOwg/OgH3viseUdQObTR0kNC_Qn-xXwGs4pDCQCLcBGAs/s1600/HUD%2BACTION%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="960" height="206" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RU_JHfjysFI/WuuepXFDjBI/AAAAAAAAOwg/OgH3viseUdQObTR0kNC_Qn-xXwGs4pDCQCLcBGAs/s320/HUD%2BACTION%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{9174aa0f-3e85-4769-99e0-535818956b27}{252}" paraid="686001762" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">If approved, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">program cuts</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> would leave </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">even more</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> people in Georgia and across the US </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">at high risk of death, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">without basic necessities </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">such as</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> housing, food, and health care</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in order to give tax cuts to corporations and the extremely wealthy</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Trump’</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">s cuts would pay for a</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> $1.5 trillion tax cut for the 1% and corporations, huge hikes in the Pentagon budget, includin</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">g first strike nuclear weapons</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and the border Wall.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Nationally, the cuts would raise rents on nearly 1.8 million families and 3 million child</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ren receiving rental assistance, squeezing even more </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">rent</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> from poor communities</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> caught in discriminatory and exploitative systems including the housing market, education, and criminal justice system</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. In Georgia, th</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">e cuts</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> would affect nearly 60,000 households. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Rents would be raised by increasing </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the share of income that households must pay in rent</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> from 30 to 35 percent, eliminating income deductions for households that have high out-of-pocket expenses (such as childcare), and raising minimum rents for households with little or no income, most with incomes below half of the poverty line.</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Trump’s budget proposes to cut 200,000 people from</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Section 8 Vouchers next year – </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">10% of the to</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">tal – and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">an astounding 37% from Public Housing operating budgets,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> which are</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> already </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">severely </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">underfunded. The budget also repeals Section 8 Enhanced Vouchers, which would immediately displace more than 30,000 families and seniors across the nat</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ion.</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6OD5PE1nKQ/Wuuf6lkU2RI/AAAAAAAAOww/rldR-LfnUkQZRPC1dTjoRtW67ysQH2WNQCLcBGAs/s1600/hudaction1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6OD5PE1nKQ/Wuuf6lkU2RI/AAAAAAAAOww/rldR-LfnUkQZRPC1dTjoRtW67ysQH2WNQCLcBGAs/s320/hudaction1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{30eb21a4-14f6-4ddc-8e0b-bd425289668c}{91}" paraid="1129228964" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Additionally the</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> plan would give HUD unlimited power to impose additional rent increases, letting it drastically</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> cut rent subsidies for low-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">income Americans without seeking Congress’ approval.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">HUD says it aims to encourage work among rental assistance recipients, but key aspects of the plan would, if anything, discourage work, by raising households’ rent to 35 percent of their income, which would increase rents more drastically as earnings rise</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The plan includes a proposal to let agencies and certain subsidized housing owners condition rental assistance on work requirements, while </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the budget proposal simultaneously includes deep cuts to job training programs.</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{30eb21a4-14f6-4ddc-8e0b-bd425289668c}{119}" paraid="1010393033" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Throughout the rally, HUD tenants and supporters</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">explained</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to the crowd why they oppose any cuts to HUD.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Mary Porter, an activist and resident at Veranda at Auburn Point, a senior HUD-insured public housing </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">complex</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in Sweet Auburn commented, <i>“We live on fixed incomes. We cannot afford for our rents to be raised. We cannot continue to be mistreated by the government of the United States of America. We deserve affordable housing. This is not just about people who live in affordable housing. Those of you who don’t live in affordable housing, and who don’t have to live in affordable housing should care about those of us who do.”</i></span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><i> </i></span></span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{30eb21a4-14f6-4ddc-8e0b-bd425289668c}{149}" paraid="1648018995" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Protesters emphasized</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the budget changes will not only affect the most vulnerable people in Georgia</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> but their entire communities as well.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><i>“You can’t address poverty if you don’t address affordable housing. We are in a housing crisis in Atlanta. All we’re doing is increasing homelessness</i></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><i>,” </i>commented </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Karimah</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> Dillard, a student of social work and community advocate. </span></span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">When I think about the social cost of raising rent, it goes so far beyond whether or not I’m able to make my rent payment. We’re talking about can I eat? Can I afford my medicine? Transportation? If I can’t drive to work, I will lose my job.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{30eb21a4-14f6-4ddc-8e0b-bd425289668c}{179}" paraid="253858893" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ItouipfcgbY/WuugBdKPvlI/AAAAAAAAOw0/ENdWiteoMg8T_ftJ93vk5Oebld8wEmbWgCLcBGAs/s1600/hudaction12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="506" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ItouipfcgbY/WuugBdKPvlI/AAAAAAAAOw0/ENdWiteoMg8T_ftJ93vk5Oebld8wEmbWgCLcBGAs/s320/hudaction12.jpg" width="179" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Following the rally, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">protesters entered the Terminus 100 Building to request a meeting with Senator Perdue. Due to Perdue’s office being located</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> 26 stories up</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> on a “closed floor</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">” only a small group </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">managed </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">to get in</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">to</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the elevator leading to the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">correct</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> floor. They were able to hold a brief meeting with Perdue’s </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">State Director, Ben Fry</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, to explain their concerns and request a meeting at a later date with the Senator. </span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“The government will subsidize corporate America</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> but it won’t subsidize poor people, or low-income people, or the working class community. Everything that’s being proposed seems to be going against </span></i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><i>the working lower-class people,”</i> explained Columbus Ward, long-term </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Peoplestown</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> resident and HJL member.<i> “</i></span></span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">We want our representatives to understand the negative impact these cuts will have on the people </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">who</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> elected </span></i></span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">m.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span></i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Alison</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Johnson,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">another </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Peoplestown</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> resident and member</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> of HJL added,<i> </i></span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ll of our public housing has been taken away. Not only are we asking for no HUD cuts, we’re asking for money to be put ba</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ck into the HUD budget. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">We can’t afford to live the way we are living today. There is nowhere for us to go. We are here today to ask respectfully that David Perdue listen to the constituents that put him in office. We cannot tolerate or take another HUD cut.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></i></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW35562264" paraeid="{30eb21a4-14f6-4ddc-8e0b-bd425289668c}{253}" paraid="864163015" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">An attack like this, added to an already severe housing crisis in which over half of renters are paying more than 30% of their income in re</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">nt (the definition of affordability</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">)</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and people of color are being hit the hardest, makes an urgent situation even more dire. Housing Justice League is supporting tenant organizing through regular monthly tenant trainings and ongoing support</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in working to build political force among a large renter class that </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">is already shifting political consciousness and power across the United States and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">internationally</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Hul’yah</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span><span class="SpellingError SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Yasah</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW35562264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, a tenant organizer at the HUD-subsidized Briarcliff Apartments </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">commented</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,<i> </i></span><i><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">w</span><span class="TextRun SCXW35562264" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">e rise that we may be a voice for the voiceless. We no longer have to look to you to make it right. Our presence is what makes it right.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW35562264" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></i></span></div>
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Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-19572479144959239132018-02-13T16:40:00.002-05:002018-02-13T16:40:59.781-05:00#BeltLine4All Campaign Holds First in a Series of Popular Education Workshops<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aj1sEcNekWY/WoNaTbtw0nI/AAAAAAAAOoA/kEqMsCMfVecc0B1k9bzq88vjg6GyIIBDQCLcBGAs/s1600/beltline%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aj1sEcNekWY/WoNaTbtw0nI/AAAAAAAAOoA/kEqMsCMfVecc0B1k9bzq88vjg6GyIIBDQCLcBGAs/s320/beltline%2B4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On February 8, Housing Justice League’s BeltLine for All campaign held the first of four workshops in our BeltLine for All popular education workshop series. The workshop took place at Heritage Station Apartments in the Pittsburgh neighborhood just south of downtown.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The evening’s discussion featured <a href="http://researchaction.net/2017/10/12/beltlining/" target="_blank">Housing Justice League’s recent community-led research project </a>which focuses on the development process of the BeltLine and the effects it is having on rising costs and displacement in low-income communities, especially in the Southside. The central message emphasized throughout the workshop was made clear: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>“We have to get organized!”</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> You too can</span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/tell-policymakers-the-beltline-should-be-for-all-atlantans" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">join our campaign by reading and signing our petition to tell policymakers that it is unconscionable for a city with resources as great as Atlanta’s to incentivize the continued extraction of wealth from our communities.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While issues of disinvestment and political marginalization in Southside neighborhoods are nothing new and are well understood by longtime Southside residents, <a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" style="font-style: normal;" target="_blank">Housing Justice League </a>understands our research on the BeltLine as a way for residents to consider present-day manifestations of racism in public policy and the imminent threat gentrification is posing in Atlanta. In entering these conversations we understand that we are<i> “preaching to the choir,” </i>as one Pittsburgh resident put it. But we also know that as racism and exploitation are fought, they evolve to evade public awareness and criticism, all the while continuing the same basic function: maintaining the power of an elite minority and destroying practices of democracy that uphold political priorities of equity and justice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this reason, our workshop linked the historical patterns of racial segregation and disinvestment to present-day <i>“public-private partnerships”</i> that give power to private investors and break apart low-income communities of color. Historically, the federal and city governments channeled public money into the suburbs and deprived the Black “inner city” of needed public infrastructure and social services through practices like redlining, federally-backed housing mortgages for whites, and highway construction. In the 1990s the Atlanta city government destroyed public housing and began a shift away from public authorities control of urban development towards control by private investors. Alison Johnson, member and longtime resident leader with the Housing Justice League emphasized the loss of not only housing during this period, but also an organized political force of tenants who were able to make strong demands of local government. The destruction of public housing complexes was a direct attack upon the social networks and housing stability that helped make these forms of social and political organization possible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/tell-policymakers-the-beltline-should-be-for-all-atlantans" target="_blank"><b>Can we count on you to sign and share the #Beltline4All petition?</b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corporate elites pushed for policies that gave tax cuts to the wealthy and turned government-controlled public services over to the whims of for-profit private corporations. This was exemplified in the 1990s through the development of the Georgia Dome and the Olympics Stadium which had catastrophic effects for surrounding communities. Because cities lack funding and are controlled by for-profit interests, they rely more on <i>“privatized”</i> models of urban development that depend on attracting private investment. It is easy for investors to buy out black communities and make a profit because land is cheap from decades of disinvestment and the government does not protect the poor against rising prices and displacement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In our workshop, this information served as context for explaining the effects of the public-private partnership overseeing the BeltLine’s development, which is spurring on patterns of gentrification and displacement on a large scale. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The BeltLine</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is displacing residents at an alarming rate as rents and property taxes along its path path shoot up, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and its plan for developing affordable housing is far behind schedule</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We are losing affordable housing in Atlanta at a rate far greater than the rate at which it is being built. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The BeltLine for All campaign team’s goal is that this information can serve as an alert to the immediacy of the threat of gentrification in Southside communities and as a starting point for collective action on whatever residents identify as the most pressing issues that they want to take on. Following our presentation we opened up a discussion to talk about different concerns and what action the community might consider taking. We heard residents’ own observations about the rapid changes occurring in Pittsburgh and other issues the community faces. One of the issues that came up the most was the train consistently stopping across McDaniel Street, blocking traffic for hours or even days at a time and disrupting neighborhoods blowing its horn often as late as 2:00 a.m. One senior resident commented,<i> “I’d like to see that train not inhibit my health,”</i> explaining that the train poses a very serious danger to seniors at Heritage Station because it could cause a delay in getting to the emergency room. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other topics residents raised were related more directly to gentrification. One resident talked about how she had noticed that the recently renovated homes near her are only for sale, with none for rent. “They are all for sale and many Pittsburgh residents are older and living on a fixed income. They are not able to start buying homes,” she explained. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katrina Monroe-Pettway, a Pittsburgh resident </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and representative for the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation, which specializes in unjust housing issues, spoke about an alarming number of contractor signs that went up all down her street just before Thanksgiving. Commenting on all the changes that have been happening, one person said her question is, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>“but are they going to be good for me? Where am I going to go?” </i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/tell-policymakers-the-beltline-should-be-for-all-atlantans" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Can we count on you to take the #Beltline4All pledge by signing and sharing the petition?</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7IQHqf7aB3E/WoNaTdWz81I/AAAAAAAAOoE/RimKKoyy-mQbYxoQEwdHNBrS41MT_ltlgCLcBGAs/s1600/beltline%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7IQHqf7aB3E/WoNaTdWz81I/AAAAAAAAOoE/RimKKoyy-mQbYxoQEwdHNBrS41MT_ltlgCLcBGAs/s320/beltline%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Towards the end of the workshop, many residents expressed interest in organizing to take on some of the issues residents of Southside Atlanta and Pittsburgh face, and many people asked for suggestions on what to do. To this HJL leaders Alison Johnson and Deborah Arnold’s response was, “you have to get organized.” Alison talked about the historic importance of NPUs and tenant associations holding power in Atlanta and explained that an approach where HJL and other housing justice organizations across the country have found a lot of success is through tenant organizing. Tenant associations bring neighbors together to pool knowledge and strengthen trust and power within the community which makes organizing to address immediate issues within a complex possible, as well as broader issues within the community and the city. A number of attendees committed to attending Housing Justice League’s next mass meeting to learn more about tenant organizing and our upcoming program that will offer more consistent training and support for tenant associations. The central message of the night, <i>“you have to get organized!”</i> was also emphasized by the audience when Alison asked the attendees what they thought they should do. Their answers were<i> “ all high rises should have an organization team”</i> and <i>“we need an organization!”</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="http://researchaction.net/2017/10/12/beltlining/" target="_blank">To review the Beltline report click here</a></b></span></span></span></div>
<br />Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-80216648774816521102018-01-30T17:46:00.000-05:002018-02-13T13:45:11.298-05:00Stanton Oaks Tenants Rally Outside their Complex After Safety Concerns go Unanswered for Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rIBrhWMbE3M/WnD1SgoZiBI/AAAAAAAAOnU/ZMc6Ykxq5mcgZQXVY277vNd90S7up2KawCLcBGAs/s1600/stanton%2Brally1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1mDlkSw2zpA/WnD1OrNeliI/AAAAAAAAOnQ/UJyq41ZoWBkvMUB16AnEX2WzgE0jtXuNQCLcBGAs/s1600/stanton%2Brally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1mDlkSw2zpA/WnD1OrNeliI/AAAAAAAAOnQ/UJyq41ZoWBkvMUB16AnEX2WzgE0jtXuNQCLcBGAs/s400/stanton%2Brally.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stanton Oaks Tenant Association, a member organization of </span><a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank">Housing Justice League</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, held a rally on January 24 that was successful in getting the owners of their apartment complex to promise to re-install the tenants’ security doors within two weeks, after brushing aside tenants’ concerns for months. The owners of the complex, the Woda Group Inc., removed the metal security doors from every unit’s front door before a HUD REAC inspection back in October without any warning or explanation, causing a threat to residents’ safety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the time of their removal, the Woda Group promised to replace the doors in a timely manner. But after taking the time to go through the different chains of command, writing letters, and meeting with local and corporate management, the Woda Group suddenly informed Stanton Oaks Tenant Association that they would not get their doors back. “As tenants we have a right to live in a safe space and after months of waiting for the Woda Group to take our concerns seriously we decided to organize a rally in front of the complex office in hopes to have the issue addressed. Many of us are living in fear every day,” said the tenant association’s president and long term tenant, Sherise Brown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the rally, tenants expressed deep concern about their community’s safety without their security doors and tried to bring awareness to their situation. Jacqueline Lawrence talked about how the door of apartment next to hers had been kicked in. "<i>It was just tore up and the door was just standing open,</i>" said Lawrence. "<i>It didn't take any time. They were in there in about a minute</i>." When Lawrence made a report of the incident to the apartment management, the management tried to place the blame on her asking why she hadn’t called the police, rather than recognizing the need for the doors’ re-installment.</span><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rIBrhWMbE3M/WnD1SgoZiBI/AAAAAAAAOnU/ZMc6Ykxq5mcgZQXVY277vNd90S7up2KawCLcBGAs/s1600/stanton%2Brally1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rIBrhWMbE3M/WnD1SgoZiBI/AAAAAAAAOnU/ZMc6Ykxq5mcgZQXVY277vNd90S7up2KawCLcBGAs/s400/stanton%2Brally1.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Woda was able to get away with ignoring the concerns of the Stanton Oaks tenants for several months because property owners understand that tenants’ rights often go unenforced in a society that privileges the interests of management companies and property owners with wealth over those with lesser means. Uniting with other tenants however builds power to draw attention to problems and get them resolved. There are many more tenants than landlords, and when it comes down to it, it is actually the landlords who are dependent on tenants for paying their rent. And with the rapid gentrification occurring in Atlanta and increasing profitability of luxury developments, it is more important than ever for tenants to protect their right to affordable housing. The Stanton Oaks Tenant Association’s rally was a demonstration of collective power and it got undeniable and immediate results for tenants. Housing Justice League stands with Stanton Oaks as they continue working to address the need for safer lighting around the complex and other issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.cbs46.com/story/37346395/cbs46-gets-answers-for-tenants-living-in-fear" target="_blank"><b>Watch local CBS coverage of the story.</b></a></span>Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-74625112000824638972017-10-12T19:16:00.003-04:002017-10-12T19:16:50.480-04:00Residents Fight for their Communities and Offer Solutions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qfQ_UeXepzE/Wd_ndAQmZGI/AAAAAAAAOis/VwjVdEGkTjQ6xx25l1VAdDZGAnZ350pEwCLcBGAs/s1600/beltline1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="960" height="271" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qfQ_UeXepzE/Wd_ndAQmZGI/AAAAAAAAOis/VwjVdEGkTjQ6xx25l1VAdDZGAnZ350pEwCLcBGAs/s320/beltline1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This morning Southside
residents of Atlanta and <a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" target="_blank">Housing Justice League</a> members and supporters
delivered a<a href="http://researchaction.net/2017/10/12/beltlining/" target="_blank"> new report </a>to City Hall showing gentrification and
displacement from BeltLine development in Atlanta's
historically Black Southside. <span><a href="http://researchaction.net/2017/10/12/beltlining/" target="_blank">The report,</a> by the Atlanta advocacy group Housing Justice League and
Research|Action Cooperative, shows Southside residents are already being
displaced by the Atlanta BeltLine greenway development even in
neighborhoods that it has not yet touched. The Atlanta
BeltLine, which will ultimately be a 22-mile loop of green parks,
trails, and streetcars circling inside city neighborhoods along
discontinued rail beds, is a force for gentrification and displacement
of long-time, low-income residents, many of them Black.
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2413018398923257/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A5%2C%22page_id_source%22%3A295792320497752%2C%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A295792320497752%2C%5C%22tour_id%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%7D]%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D" target="_blank">CAN WE COUNT ON YOU TO COME TO THE COMMUNITY LAUNCH FOR THE BELTLINE FOR ALL CAMPAIGN?</a> <br />
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<span>Proceeding the
actual delivery of the report to City Council and the Mayor,
participants of the research project gathered with their supporters,
City candidates
and elected officials, the press, and others on the steps in front of
City Hall to hear from Southside Residents</span>. All of the speakers
emphasized the importance of community involvement and accountability in
city planning in order to meet the critical
needs of long-time residents and avoid historical and continuing
patterns of racism, displacement, and disinvestment.<span></span></div>
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As Alison Johnson, a Peoplestown resident and<a href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" target="_blank"> Housing Justice League</a> member who helped author this report, says,
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“Communities
on the Southside deserve to be a part of the process to shape and
determine the neighborhoods where we live. We want the kind of
responsible, democratic city building that gives us
the best quality of life, not that which is done by and for the
wealthy.”</div>
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<span>Research by the
Atlanta community group Housing Justice League and Research|Action
Cooperative, largely in the three historically Black neighborhoods of
</span>Adair Park, Peoplestown, and Pittsburgh,<span> tracks the hopes
of residents for the BeltLine, how they are actually affected by it, and
the forces of gentrification that, if left unimpeded, will damage
the economic and racial diversity that long-term residents and
newcomers alike say is a strength of the area.</span>
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<span>The report – “</span>BeltLining: Gentrification, Broken Promises, and Hope on Atlanta's Southside” – builds<b>
</b><span>upon analysis of census data, a survey, and a year-long participatory action research project. The researchers found that:</span></div>
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</span></span><span>Residents overwhelmingly want to stay in their neighborhoods,
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</span></span><span>Gentrification has already raised property values
and displaced people in historically Black neighborhoods not yet touched
by BeltLine development, and
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</span></span><span>Atlanta failed to enact protections against
displacement that have been effective in other parts of the country. It
still has time to do so as the BeltLine turns its development
eye to more of the historically Black Southside.</span></div>
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<span>The report’s major
recommendation is for Atlanta BeltLine Incorporated, the public-private
partnership leading the development, and the City as a whole, is
to embrace more democratic planning processes so that the interests of
current residents are incorporated into development</span>, and the supportive networks among neighbors are protected and appreciated.</div>
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Housing Justice League
is itself helping to model what this kind of planning could look like
for the city at large. The community-directed research report is part of
Housing Justice League’s broader BeltLine For
All campaign, seeking to create spaces that center resident voices and
promote community engagement in the development process. The <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_54308902" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Monday</span></span>
following the press release Housing Justice League will officially
launch the broader campaign with a community-centered
event where people will be able to learn more about the research,
connect, and sign up to volunteer and lift up their perspectives through
the campaign.
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<span>BeltLine for All
will seek to curb Atlanta BeltLine Incorporated’s irresponsible record
on affordable housing through democratic participation, people pressure,
and public policy. Atlanta BeltLine Incorporated was launched in 2005, </span>when
the Atlanta City Council, Atlanta Public Schools, and Fulton County all
empowered a new Atlanta BeltLine Tax Allocation District to fund both
parks and more than 28,000 units
of housing – only 5,600 units of it affordable – in neighboring areas.
The hope of the BeltLine lies in its initial promises: to spur equitable
development and to include a robust affordable housing strategy to
prevent displacement.</div>
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But as Atlanta BeltLine
Incorporated itself acknowledges, almost midway through the 25-year-long
development period, fewer than 1,000 units of affordable housing have
been built in the area, far short of the original
goal, even as housing prices near the greenways are rising faster than
in the city as a whole. This means the area is losing far more existing
affordable housing than it is creating. And there are no rent
regulations or alternative property tax policies to
stop the surge. </div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2413018398923257/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A5%2C%22page_id_source%22%3A295792320497752%2C%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A295792320497752%2C%5C%22tour_id%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%7D]%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D" target="_blank">CAN WE COUNT ON YOU TO COME TO THE BELTLINE FOR ALL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH? </a></div>
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To learn more about the
policy BeltLine for All will push for to turn around the unjust
development practices displacing residents, you can read the full report
on <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://housingjusticeleague.org&source=gmail&ust=1507931808783000&usg=AFQjCNFcIdcVgPIYJWn8JpylzGR7-NVBMA" href="http://housingjusticeleague.org/" target="_blank">housingjusticeleague.org</a>.Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326030520637587403.post-90271829992980530542017-07-06T15:36:00.000-04:002017-07-12T13:02:59.178-04:0022 Cities, Including Atlanta, Deliver Clear Message Regarding HUD Cuts Today<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today tenant leaders along with members of the Housing Justice
League delivered a letter to HUD’s regional office in Atlanta in protest of
potential cuts to the HUD budget.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GE8hG6z5N6Y/WV6Qi8quuMI/AAAAAAAAOg8/Jo1LZbS98Z8yITYjutnWhoqHpDcqtXAvQCLcBGAs/s1600/hud3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GE8hG6z5N6Y/WV6Qi8quuMI/AAAAAAAAOg8/Jo1LZbS98Z8yITYjutnWhoqHpDcqtXAvQCLcBGAs/s320/hud3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Atlanta is already in the grip of a historic affordable
housing crisis and we must oppose the $7.4 billion in budget cuts to the U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) proposed by President Trump
and supported by Secretary Carson. If the cuts pass, Miami will be at-risk of
losing nearly $24 million each year for housing assistance, and thousands of
Miami residents who are currently in HUD-subsidized housing will be in jeopardy
of becoming homeless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RU__7lhfK0U/WV6QeQ-2OYI/AAAAAAAAOg0/xiQ2MQRFyA82zJfXzEf2aFRGPTXSsPFFwCLcBGAs/s1600/hud%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="1280" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RU__7lhfK0U/WV6QeQ-2OYI/AAAAAAAAOg0/xiQ2MQRFyA82zJfXzEf2aFRGPTXSsPFFwCLcBGAs/s320/hud%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Half of all renters in America are cost burdened, paying over
30 percent of their income to housing. This is over 21 million renter
households. One in four of these pay over half of their income to housing,
leaving no money left over for basic needs like food or childcare. We must
expand, not reduce, federal funding for proven HUD programs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUGAurwtaTs/WV6Qi-35VSI/AAAAAAAAOhA/5yVyMWvIw08QWztPktHW3WlCImFQRvk7wCLcBGAs/s1600/hud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1256" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUGAurwtaTs/WV6Qi-35VSI/AAAAAAAAOhA/5yVyMWvIw08QWztPktHW3WlCImFQRvk7wCLcBGAs/s320/hud.jpg" width="314" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A safe and affordable place to live is a fundamental human
right, and where we live has a direct, concrete impact on the opportunities
that are available to ourselves and our children. To change this injustice, we
will need the power of people coming together through organizing in local
places all across America. We will need to use communities’ organizing power to
hold government accountable at the local, state and national levels. Good and
just public policy can only be developed with the direct input and experiences
of those impacted the most by that policy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After we delivered the letter to HUD's regional office headed
to Representative John Lewis’ office office which is right around the corner
from HUD. Congressman Lewis is one of many who has oversight over HUD’s budget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today’s action was part of a national effort to prevent cuts
to the already underfunded HUD. You can see what actions other cities took by
checking out hashtags <span style="color: blue;">#<b>NoHUDcuts</b> </span>and <span style="color: blue;"><b>#NoCuts</b></span> on twitter, Instagram, and
facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Atlanta Economic Justice Program/AFSChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17475904357193791188noreply@blogger.com1