RALLY TO SAVE 108 YR OLD CHURCH FROM BB&T BANK

Tomorrow(1/17/12) at 9:30am we will be holding a press conference and rally to save Higher Ground Empowerment Center(HGEC). The time and date is significant because the bank is set to negotiate with HGEC, Occupy Atlanta,and Rainbow PUSH, at 11am. Last week Occupy Atlanta was able to help the Church put off immediate eviction from the building they've called home for over 108 years. Despite false claims from BB&T lawyers and executives, it seems clear that the bank does not plan and working out a deal that would give ownership back to the Vine city church. BB&T has also been openly dishonest with the public, claiming that they never intended to evict HGEC, we know this to be sadly false.

It is time that BB&T live up to their "Values based approach" to dealing with foreclosures and make a deal with HGEC with gives ownership to the church, time for BB&T to do the right thing.

Occupy Atlanta will also be delivering a petition, which was organized by Rebuild the Dream, to save the Church to BB&T tomorrow. There are over 60,000 signatures from people all over the country.

The fight to save HGEC from BB&T bank isn't just about saving a church, it's about saving a devastated community. Vine City is the most undeserved community in the downtown area.There are parts of the City that resemble post Katrina New Orleans. Tomorrow after our press conference members of the HGEC, the Vine City community, and Occupy Atlanta will begin the process of fixing up Vine City. It's clear that we can no longer wait around for the Mayor to wave a magic wand, if there is to be change, it's going to have to come from everyday people in the community, it's going to have to come from the 99%. In this spirit we will be picking up some of the overwhelming amount of trash around the neighborhood.We also plan on launching an effort to get signatures on a petition to save Bathune Elementary School, which is within eye-shot of HGEC, and is under threat of being shut down.

Joining us for the press conference tomorrow will be Dr. Joseph Lowery from the Peoples Agenda, Joe Beasly from Rainbow PUSH, Talk Radio Host Rob Redding,American Friends Service Committee and many other community leaders and stake holders, and organizations.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

108 Year Old Church Faces Eviction From BB&T Bank

Higher Ground Empowerment Center(HGEC) is a neighborhood church in the heart of Atlanta’s Vine City. For the past 108 years, Higher Ground Empowerment Center has been a pillar in the historic Vine City community, one of Atlanta’s most under-resourced communities. HGEC has offered an array of much-needed programs and services including free healthcare screenings, a food pantry, job fairs, an annual Vine City Thanksgiving dinner, Karate classes for youth, Saturday tutorials, and summer camps for students.


In 2008, the church suffered a major blow in the form of a disastrous tornado that ripped apart the property. In order to rebuild, the church was forced to take out a loan, one that became increasingly difficult to pay back and unrepresentative of the resale opportunities as donations and property values fell during the recession. The church repeatedly attempted to refinance the loan to be more representative of the property’s value, but BB&T, a company whose CEO, Kelly King, claims that their “foreclosure process is a values based approach where [they] work with our clients,” has not responded. The cruel irony is that BB&T bank spends about $5 million dollars a year on teaching positions and research on what they refer to as “the moral foundations of capitalism.” We find these morals and values suspiciously absent when the opportunity to profit off of the very people who bailed out BB&T to the tune of $3.1 billion comes about.

The day before the HGEC was to face BB&T in court over their right to stay in the meeting, Pastor Dexter Johnson reached out to Occupy Atlanta for help. After Occupy Atlanta set up tents and held a press conference,BB&T began back peddling, falsely claiming that they never intended to evict the church, and that they were willing to work out a deal. The deal BB&T wants to work out is unacceptable. BB&T now says that HGEC must lease the property from the bank.

HGEC, Occupy Atlanta, Vine city community members, and other social justice organizations including Ranbow PUSH Coaltion, and American Friends Service Committee, are committed to fight for HGEC's right to own the church they have called home for 108 years.This coalition has also been joined by Rebuild the Dream, an organization that started a national online petition that has gathered tens of thousands of signatures.


Occupy Atlanta has organized a rally to save the church this Tuesday, January 17th, at 9:30am at the Church(561 Spencer st, Atlanta).The rally is important because HGEC and Occupy Atlanta are set to meet with BB&T at 11am and the pressure needs to be on. American Friends Service Committee will be present, and we hope you will be too!

I must also say that Vine City is the most underserved community in the downtown area. While I canvassed the neighborhood I shot some footage. It's truly the shame of Atlanta, and a clear consequence of extreme wealth consolidation. Let the fight for HGEC be the beginning of the fight to improve deplorable conditions in Vine City.



Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee