Thoughts On My Occupy Atlanta Arrest

I'm on trial this week, and likely to take the stand today to testify about my October 25th arrest in the park. I've been reflecting a lot about my choice to stay in the park that night, and my reasons for joining the Occupy movement last year. Below are some of my thoughts:

There’s more than on reason I chose to remain in the park after 11pm October 25^th last year.

First the obvious, I don’t believe the freedom of speech has a curfew, and our freedom to assemble applies at 12pm and 12am.

Both of these rights clearly trump a fairly recent Atlanta municipal code targeted at keeping the growing number of our cities homeless out of sight.

To be clear, the reason I joined the Occupy Movement was not too simply invoke my constitutional rights.

It is the unprecedented, historic wealth inequity that brought me and thousands into the movement.

Never has there been a stronger need to dramatize the injustice of our false economic crisis, never has there been so few who control and own so much and the symptoms are clear; from the explosion in the homeless population, lack of good jobs, plummeting wages for regular people while CEO compensation is at an all-time high, schools defunded, and more Georgians locked up than ever.

Occupy presented an opportunity to highlight, in a very visible way, our cities, our countries economic injustice which sees 1% of the population controlling an overwhelming amount of our resources.

I was called to the park because I believe we are not in a crisis of economic resource, but rather a crisis of economic priority. We are not broke, there is no fiscal cliff, it’s a moral one. There’s plenty to go around.

I was in the park because I believe we need a shift, a revolution of values. The sparks of the Occupy movement were very intentionally put out by heavy handed police tactics, infiltration of the movement on every level, targeted arrests and surveillance of individuals seen as leaders, and the eviction of our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Occupy Atlanta Trials

This week I've been in court everyday from 9am-7pm every day along with over 80 other defendants in the Occupy Atlanta trials. It looks like some of us will be in court through Friday evening.

It's been eventful. On day one, during our first lunch break, about 50 of us marched to the mayors office demanding that he answer the subpoena to appear in court, which he ended up refusing to. Mayor Reed instead sent his lawyer and had the subpoena quashed on the grounds that his role in the charges against us was irrelevant/The irony is that Reed clearly had everything to do with the charges, and that he took a very hands on  approach with occupy Atlanta.

I personally, along with Joe Beasley, was pulled into Mayor Reed's mobile command unit during the part occupation where it was made clear the Mayor Reed was not as concerned with the issues that brought on park occupations all over the country(wealth inequity, corporate greed) as he was his image. Mayor Reed wanted the visible demonstration to go away.

Whether it's evicting a movement that aims to challenge historic wealth inequity, or pushing our cities homeless into the darkest corners of the city, Mayor Reed seems bent on making the symptoms of poverty invisible instead of dealing with them.

On day one we also had a number of defendants make plea bargains for a variety of life circumstances. All the folks that plead out were basically let of with community service and almost no one got a fine.

Today around a dozen folks were dismissed for lack of evidence. It seems that the APD failed to document any of the arrests correctly, which can likely lead to every arrest being dismissed. We'll see. Looks like this trial will go on through Friday.

American Friends Service Committee was proud to provide headquarter space for Occupy Atlanta during the park occupation. We also provided a series of nonviolence workshops for the movement.

Sen. Fort Issues Statement Regarding Occupy Atlanta Protesters ATLANTA (October 12, 2012)

ATLANTA (October 12, 2012) – Sen. Vincent Fort has issued the following statement:

“After this morning’s hearing, it is apparent the city of Atlanta has not learned its lesson from the Atlanta Eagle and Katherine Johnson cases involving evidence destruction. The Atlanta Police Department had numerous cameras and recording devices present on October 25^th and 26^th, leading me to believe it would be impossible for all of the evidence to be destroyed or unavailable. A motion was filed today to dismiss this case based on APD’s destruction of evidence and refusal to comply with requests from our legal representation.

The public must ask themselves a question: Whose conduct is more egregious? The APD’s destruction of evidence or the peaceful protesters who were exercising their First Amendment right?”

A final Motion/Evidence hearing will take place on November 16, 2012. The trial is scheduled from December 17 – 21, 2012.

The People vs Wells Fargo

Despite, or perhaps because of, Wells Fargo’s cavalier and callous actions towards someone taking extraordinary measures to comply with the bank’s demands and stay in his home, Steve Boudreaux is refusing to give up his home to the bank. He has been occupying his home despite the recent commencement of eviction proceedings and taking a stand, the first of its kind in Cobb County, GA, for what is right and just. He is fighting for rescinding the foreclosure sale and a halt to the eviction proceedings.

 

While Georgia recorded the highest number of foreclosures in the country recently, Steve claims that many homeowners in his area are ashamed to admit they are going through the same thing. “I look forward to breaking the cycle of silence that keeps so many Cobb residents from standing up to the banks and defending their homes,” he said when asked about his decision to take his fight public.

Steve, who is now employed and getting back on his feet, needs your help to fight this unjust foreclosure eviction. Just ten days ago after a day of phone calls and emails to Wells Fargo big wigs Adam Lawmen, a Wells Fargo representative, committed to work on rescinding Steve’s foreclosure and moving forward with a modification.

As of yesterday Wells Fargo refused to rescind Steve's foreclosure, which means they are willing to stand by and watch him get kicked out of his home.

So we decided to head over to a Wells Fargo branch and give them a taste of some shame therapy. While several of us met with the branch manager and demanded he contact his higher ups to resolve the matter, over a dozen people participated in a direct action training right outside the bank.

The bank manager agreed to follow up with us and Steve on the matter. Ultimately we know it’s not his call, nor can any of the workers have a real say in whether a foreclosure eviction goes down. Our message was to the higher ups at Wells Fargo.

 

We will no longer allow foreclosures and evictions to go down in our communities without a fight. We simply can’t afford another boarded up house while so many need a roof over their heads. If financial institutions and our government can’t figure out a way to truly address the housing crisis then it’s up to regular everyday people to enact our own measures, it’s up to us to fight for our neighborhood.

Please sign the petition to save Steve’s home HERE

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Occupy PNP Evolves

Last October, while the occupation of Troy Davis park was still going strong, it became clear that coming up with a plan for an immediate park eviction by force was a smart move.

 One thing was certain, occupy was a grand experiment that no one participating in, passively supporting, observing, or opposing could possibly predict where things were going back in late October.

 One plan that was developed was to have everyone who needed a place to sleep if an eviction by force went down would go to Task Force for the Homeless(Peachtree and Pine as some call it) and set up an HQ space on the 4th floor.

 When the eviction went down, on October 26th only a few went to PNP, most went elsewhere to recoup and prepare for reoccupations. After over a week or so of reoccupation attempts it became clear that the Mayor was prepared to use all the force he had at his disposal to keep Occupy Atlanta down for the count. At the point many folks did begin to flood the 4th floor over at PNP.

  It was a culture shock to the longtime occupants of PNP.The volunteer staff at PNP wasn't used to dealing with dozens of activists coming and going all hours of the night, and many OA participants were not used to being surrounded by so many homeless men in extreme crisis, along with drug dealers that the city police had been corralling to the PNP area for years in their effort to shut the shelter down.

Occupy Atlanta was not prepared to run on indoor intentional community, and it showed. There were fights, there were freeloaders, folks went on power trips, there was problems with food, women often felt uncomfortable, and many times it felt like things were on the verge of falling apart. Some believed, even within OA's ranks, that the PNP occupation should just end. 

  It hasn't ended, but it has change dramatically in the last six months. There is now a very strict process required to become a part of the community. The PNP occupation now has a very strong work ethic. If you don't pitch in, you can't stay. After spending some time there over the last week it appears to me that, perhaps for the first time, the PNP occupiers are a close knit family, and they treat each other that way. As a group they seem more active and engaged in all things occupy they any other faction of the Occupy Atlanta community. 

There have been very recent additions to the PNP occupation including a library, and bathrooms with showers.

  There's untapped potential. Recently the idea of getting weekly workshops designed to increase the capacity to organize the hundreds of homeless that stay at the task force nightly has been bounced around. During the summer and winter, up to 700 homeless men sleep at the task force.

  The PNP occupation has serious needs. The PNP occupiers have managed to start and maintain an amazing rooftop garden. In order to insure it's survival, they need more water.

 They are specifically asking folks to donate a barrel for rain collection, a few barrels wouldn't hurt! 

 They have mountains of dirty cloths that need to be cleaned, and perhaps a pick-up truck to hall the clothing.

 The intention is to donate the clean cloths to other occupy projects like Occupy the Hood and the Really Really Free Market. They always need food! They need fans and air purifiers. There is no air conditioning up there....and it get hot these days!

 They need folks to facilitate trainings? Are you capable? American Friends Service Committee has volunteered to facilitate one workshop per week designed to help folks understand the basics of organizing their communities for the change they want to see.

 How do you donate? Just go on down to PNP and go to the door closest to the intersection of Peachtree and Pine, on the Pine side, and let them know you're there to speak to Occupy Atlanta folks. 

 Tim Franzen

 American Friends Service Committee

Campaign To Save The Pittman House!

This past weekend the Pittman family held a yard sale on Saturday and Sunday to help cover the costs of a down payment on a loan from Capitol City Community Bank and Trust that would cut Chase Bank out of their lives for good.

The fundraising goal was set at $5,500. Which would cover closing costs and a down payment. Between the weekend yard sales and our online campaign, we've raised around $3,700!

Amazing progress, but we're not their yet. Can you help push us through the finnish line?

Link to wepay account



More about the Pittman campaign:
Tim Franzen American Friends Service Committee

Sheriff Thomas Brown Has No Remorse Over 3am Eviction Of Senior Citizens

Earlier today several dozen members of the metro Atlanta community converged at DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown's office to deliver him a People's Citation for his actions against DeKalb County Resident Chris Frazer and her family.

On May 2nd Sheriff Brown and 40 of his armed officers stormed the Frazer home and evicted Chris along with her 3 year old grandson, 25 year old daughter, and her 85 year old mother. 18 years of their lives in that home were tossed in the yard like trash while members of the community watched helplessly. Many tried to help pick up Chris's belongings, but where threatened with arrest for doing so.

Last week, after much negative press, Sheriff Thomas Brown reached out to several organizers and asked what he could do to de-escalate the conflict between Occupy Atlanta, Chris Frazer, and his office. Sheriff Brown offered to accept a people's citation from the community, face Chris Frazer face to face and apologize for the pain he caused her, and contribute to her legal fees as she continues to fight Investors One Corporation.

With some skepticism, Chris Frazer agreed. As an organizer working with Chris, I was honestly excited to de-escalate with the Sheriff's office, as it feels like our energy really should be focused on the extremely shady Investors One Corporation.

Things did not play out the way any of us expected. Joe Beasley, Attorney Joshua Davis, Chris Frazer, and myself were allowed to meet with the Sheriff in his lobby while around 30 others watched from outside the glass walls. Sheriff Brown's face had no signs of reconciliation on it.

The first sign that he was backing down on his word was that he refused any media admittance to the meeting, which we had agreed he would allow. The Sheriff began to attempt to apologize, but it appeared that he just couldn't resist sharing his true remorseless feelings. At one point, as Chris Frazer had begun to weep, Sheriff Brown simply stated, "If I had to do it over again, with all the information I have now, I wouldn't have done anything differently".



In a sense Chris Frazer was forced to relive the bullying she experienced under the lash of Sheriff Brown a second time. Those of us in the room found ourselves in total bewilderment, as just days earlier Sheriff Brown had reached out to us in an attempt to make amends for the 3 a.m eviction.

After the meeting several folks, including myself, where accosted by an overwhelming number of Sheriff's officers who harassed us, demanding to take pictures of every activist who showed up, even forcing one person to show them all his tattoos.


Today was a shameful day for anyone that cares about justice in DeKalb County. We can't afford a Sheriff that disrespects folks in the community like Thomas Brown continues to.

Tomorrow(6/12) We plan to join Chris Frazer at the DeKalb County Commissioners meeting at 9am at 1300 commerce drive in the Maloof auditorium. Please come if you can.



Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Residents Uniting In Struggle Against The 1% In Atlanta

It's been a big week for the newly launched Occupy Our Homes ATL(OOHA) movement. This weekend AFSC participated in an all day retreat designed to begin the tough work of building a sustainable structure and organizing strategy for OOHA.


It was especially exciting to see so many folks in the room who had personal experience standing up to the big banks and resisting foreclosure and eviction of their own homes. It was the first time we had Carmen Pittman, Chris Frazer, Brigitte Walker, and Ajai Craig all in the same room.


Many of us believe it's crucial to build a resident led movement to effectively take on Atlanta's housing crisis, which many may not know is much worse today than any other time in the city's history. In order to move towards a resident led movement we recognize that the most effected residents need to take on leadership roles from the get go, and be the face, voice, and spirit of resistance.

No one can reach out to those struggling with housing better then those who have been through it themselves. Too many people in our city silently struggle, often times in shame,to maintain a living space, while financial institutions shamelessly make record profits putting more and more Atlanta residents on the streets. Our city can no longer afford the gross disregard for human rights, our local government's inadequate response to the housing crisis, or law enforcements cooperation with illegal foreclosures.

  Here's the mission and Vision that folks agreed on at this weekend's retreat:

MISSION
We are a grassroots, member-led organization that seeks to build power in metro-Atlanta neighborhoods highly impacted by the housing crisis. By mobilizing communities around foreclosure, eviction, tenant rights, and public land rights--with an emphasis on leadership development and fostering a culture of resistance through nonviolent direct action--we strive to transform our city's approach to housing. We believe that housing is a human right regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification, or immigration status.

VISION
Occupy Our Homes Atlanta plans to build a mass movement in the metro-area around the housing crisis by:

1.) organizing impacted communities around the issues they identify as affecting them the most;

  2.) developing leadership in these communities and fostering a culture of resistance, through nonviolent direct action, to public and private institutions that continue to disrespect basic human rights;

3.) inciting a cultural shift in the way we think, see, and ultimately, tolerate the hardships bred by foreclosure, eviction and homelessness;

  4.) provoking a system change in the way our city approaches housing;

5.) building communities through direct democracy, that place human need above corporate greed

  6.) and striving toward a system where people have more control over the communities they call home.

After the retreat over a dozen folks went out into the Pittsburgh(ATL) Community and canvassed the neighborhood, letting folks know about OOHA, and inviting everyone out to a community cookout.

Despite the cloudy day, which did bring some rain, the cookout was a big success. Over 60 people from the neighborhood came out in the bad weather to hang out, eat food, and give us their thoughts on how we can build movement around the housing crisis that's hit the Pittsburgh community hard.

OOHA is hosting a meeting this Thursday the 14th for folks that want more information about how to plug into the work.

AFSC is excited to have the opportunity to play a role in this important work.














Tim Franzen
 American Friends Service Committee

Carmen Pittman is Honored At Graduation Ceremony

Today, after a lot of hard work, Carmen Pittman  received her diploma from BaSix Knowledge Academy. Several activists who have been fighting alongside Carmen joined her family for the ceremony at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga.

While we were all very proud of Carmen's accomplishment none of us, including Carmen, knew that she was to be honored for advocacy in the community. Over the course of the last six months Carmen has not only become a spokesperson for her families struggle against Chase Bank, she's become a spokes person for for thousands of people facing foreclosures and evictions in the Atlanta area.

It was just six months ago that Occupy Atlanta responded to the crisis facing the Pittman family. They had not only lost their beloved Mother and Grandmother, Eloise Pittman, they found out the Chase Bank was planning on evicting the family as well. Prior to Occupy Atlanta's involvement with her families struggle, Carmen had never thought of herself as an activist or an organizer. That all changed in the weeks and months to follow.

From day one Carmen expressed a desire to learn about the connections between the systems of violence oppression that control our economic system. Carmen has embodied the concept that Occupy Atlanta's home defense work has tried to lift up; that we don't fight for folks, we fight with them.

Carmen has come a long way from sitting in on strategy meetings and attending actions. She now calls for meetings, and plays a key role in planning every aspect of the campaign to save her home. More recently Carmen has also worked with other families who are standing up to the banks.

Today Carmen was awarded the Myra Jackson Pioneer Award for her outstanding activism in the community! Congratulations Carmen Pittman!

AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program has been proud to committ resources towards the campaign to stop Chase Bank from evicting the Pittman family and we're excited to see a new much need leader in Carmen Pittman!

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Occupy Our Homes ATL Lift Off!

Thanks to all who made it out on Saturday for the Occupy Our Homes ATL official launch, a project that's very close to the heart of AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program! Special thanks to Chris Frazer, Bridgette Walker, Carmen Pittman, Pastor Dexter Johnson of Higher Ground Empowerment Center, and Pamela Flores for sharing their victories and struggles; to Senator Vincent Fort and Tony Romano of Right to the City Alliance for their inspiring messages of support; to folks who donated to and participated in our silent auction; to Altobeli's for the wonderful food; and to all who pledged to defend homes in the metro-Area!

Here's what OOHA has put out on their listserv:

"Over $7,000 was pledged at the event to help us with start-up expenses and initial program costs. Our goal was to have $10,000 pledged, so we are hoping to make up the difference by extending our initial push pledges one more week. By June 1st--the same day that we will move into our new communal home and headquarters--we hope to have $10,000 pledged.

If you were unable to pledge your solidarity and financial support at our launch, please consider donating here.

You will notice that over the course of our first year we are aiming to raise $28,000 through local, grassroots support. While this initially might strike ya'll as an overly ambitious fundraising goal, we want to assure folks that we've been very thoughtful and intentional about this goal and its use. As a budding community organization with large, transformative demands to change the way our city approaches housing, we recognize that there are many resources that we need in order to not only defend homeowners and tenants from foreclosure and eviction on a mass scale, but also to strive toward a total sea change in our city's approach to housing. While there are many resources that would certainly make our work more effective, we recognize that the resources we cannot do without are committed, accountable, full-time activists.

As we moves forward with our plans, we now--perhaps more than ever--hope to make it clear that we are working under the banner of the Occupy Movement. While we will not be accountable to the GA's, but rather accountable to each other and our communities, we do recognize the contradiction of Occupy activists receiving stipends from large foundations and from the 1%. Because of this, we are aiming to support our four full-time activists solely through grassroots fundraising. Please consider donating to support our activists today."

We look forward to updating everyone on OOHA's developments soon. Stay tuned for more information about our summer Home Defense Mobilizing Conferences.

AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program aims to continue to support this important movement with trainings, resources, and space for meetings and conferences. Our cities housing crisis is unprecedented and requires unprecedented, bold, nonviolent, creative action.

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Protest Sheriff Thomas Browns 3am Eviction of Chris Frazer’s Family at Gunpoint

Occupy Atlanta and community allies organized a rally outside of Sheriff Thomas Browns office at 4415 Memorial Drive today. Over 100 people showed up with signs and carrying some of the wreckage that Sheriff Brown and his officers left in Chris Frazer's lawn less than a week ago. The furniture was place in front the entrance to the Sheriff's department with the idea of bring the housing crisis right to the Sheriff's doorstep. The Sheriff's office locked the door and refused to respond to community concerns. Chris Frazer, Carmen Pittman, and Pastor Johnson all spoke to the crowd outside of the Sheriffs department demanding that Sheriff Brown apologize and let Chris Frazer back in her home. After the demonstration Dekalb Sheriff Officers pulled over one of the lead organizers for no reason,threatened anyone who attempted to film the scene, impounded the vehicle, and cuffed an activists that refused to stop recorded Sheriff Browns officers as they obstructed the law. Later that activist was taken to Grady hospital for injuries and released from custody. Chris’ house was foreclosed on fraudulently by Investors One Corporation in October 2011, and she a case currently in federal court disputing the foreclosure. In March, activists with Occupy Atlanta set up camp on her lawn and committed to stay to defend Chris’ home from eviction. Using what sheriff Thomas Brown himself referred to as “intelligence,” Dekalb County law enforcement waited until activists were not present at the home, and the neighbors would be asleep, to serve an unprecedented eviction after hours, putting 4 generations including her 85 year old mother, and 3 year old grandson out on the curb. They refused to allow Chris to shower or for her mother to get dressed; they told Chris to behave as if it were a fire drill. They even rounded up her dogs and took them to the pound. The police blockaded the neighborhood and wouldn’t allow anyone to help secure the family’s valuable personal belongings from the side of the road, and they stole many of Chris’s valuables. Once again, it is clear that the government and our law enforcement officials are being used to serve and protect the interest of the 1% and not of ordinary people or even the laws that they have put in place. Occupy Atlanta and community allies are more committed than ever to the fight for Chris Frazer’s home, and the thousands of other homeowners just like her who are being disrespected every day. We cannot afford to allow Sheriff Thomas Brown to disrespect are communities in this fashion. We demand that he lets the family back into the place they've called home for the past 18 yrs. We will be meeting outside of his office Monday evening, 4-6pm, carrying signs and banners asking why he would choose to leave a family homeless at 3 in the morning at gun point and allowed her valuables to be stolen.

More Background: http://www.alternet.org/story/155292/dozens_of_police_evict_georgia_family_at_gunpoint_at_3am?ak_proof=1&akid=8725.47561.tAOB5N&rd=1&t=2

Chris Frazer’s story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BvY6_hpxlE&feature=player_embedded

Sheriff Brown Interview on the matter: http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2012/05/02/too-much-truth-exclusive-sheriff-thomas-brown-gives-his-side-on-dekalb-eviction/

There are a lot of unexpected charges adding up now dealing with the eviction. Chris is scrambling to find a place for her family to stay, a storage unit for all of their belongings, and even has to pay to get the dogs out of the pound. Please donate to help in anyway you can. https://www.wepay.com/x2tg0qn/donations/193827


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Shocking illegal Eviction in Dekalb County, Georgia

The scene early this morning at 3662 Wellhaun Road in Decatur
resembled that of a major drug bust with officers sneaking around in
the middle of the night. Instead of a bust however, officers knocked
on the door of 62 year old Christine Frazer’s house at 3 AM to serve
her with an eviction notice. Chris’ house was foreclosed on
fraudulently by Investors One Corporation in October 2011, and she has
been fighting it in federal court ever since. In January, activists
with Occupy Atlanta set up camp on her lawn and committed to stay to
defend Chris’ home from eviction.


Using what the sheriff himself referred to as “intelligence” Dekalb
County law enforcement waited until activists were not present at the
home, and the neighbors would be asleep to serve an illegal eviction
after hours, putting 4 generations including her 83 year old mother,
and 3 year old grandson out on the curb. They even rounded up her dogs
and took them to the pound. To add insult to injury, the police
blocked off the street and wouldn’t allow anyone to help secure the
family’s valuable personal belongings from the side of the road.
Once again, it is clear that the government and our law enforcement
officials are being used to serve and protect the interest of the 1%
and not of ordinary people or even the laws that they have put in
place. Occupy Atlanta is more committed than ever to the fight for
Chris Frazer’s home, and the thousands of other homeowners just like
her who are being disrespected every day.

Sherriff Thomas Brown and the Dekalb County political system showed
their true colors today, and made it known where their loyalties lie.
Today at 1 pm, Occupy Atlanta, John Evans, President of Dekalb County
NAACP, and other community members will be holding a press conference
in front of Chris Frazer’s home to put these officials on blast and
let them know that we will not stand for this type of shady behavior.

Watch this powerful video to see Christine's story.

There are a lot of unexpected charges adding up now dealing with the
eviction. Chris is scrambling to find a place for her family to stay,
a storage unit for all of their belongings, and even has to pay to get
the dogs out of the pound. Please donate to help in anyway you can.

https://www.wepay.com/x2tg0qn/donations/193827

HOUSEWARMING PARTY!

Bank of America has made a habit of kicking folks out of their homes illegally. Since most people have no place else to go, today Atlanta community members decided to move in to the Bank. There was one simple demand. MAKE A DEAL TO KEEP PAMELA FLORES IN HER HOME!!

WHO IS PAMELA

Bank of America is at it again! The “Too-Crooked-To-Fail” megabank-- notorious for ripping off everyone from investors and      insurers, to homeowners and the unemployed-- is after Vine City resident, Pamela Flores’ home.

BoA is attempting to foreclose on Pamela’s home, claiming that she missed payments during the trial period of a loan modification she    received through the “Making Homes Affordable” program. The thing is, Pamela never missed a payment and has the records to prove it.   Instead of investigating her case and admitting their error, the bank is moving forward with plans to foreclose.

BUT WAIT.... THERE’S MORE!

Trying to steal Pamela’s home is hardly Bank of America’s first offense. Their crimes are vast, and their greed is immeasurable. They’ve drained seniors of their retirement and savings by selling crap mortgages disguised as highly rated investments to unions and pension funds. They’ve diverted millions of dollars that would have been spent on building schools and education by scamming local municipalities out of fees and mismanaging their money. They popularized the term “robo-signing”-a practice that involves forging court documents in order to illegally foreclose on properties they had no claim to. Bank of America is also racist. They knowingly pushed African Americans and other minorities into risky sub-prime loans, while giving white non-minorities of the exact same financial status stable prime loans. An overwhelming 40% of their loans have been shown to have income overstated by the lender, trapping people in loans they knew couldn’t be repaid. They implemented systems to charge bogus overdraft fees to their checking account customers, and even take advantage of the unemployed by charging massive fees to people trying to access their benefits. This is all after receiving billions of dollars in tax-payer funded bailouts and debt guarantees from the federal government. Bank of America paid $0 in taxes last year, and even received a $1billion refund-- money they turned around and used to pay out over $35billion in bonuses to their executives.

WHAT CAN YOU DO??

First of all, close your account with Bank of America!! Once you’ve done that, give CEO Brian Moynihan a call. Let him know how you feel about their practices, and that you want him to “make a deal to keep Pamela Flores in her home at 245 Griffin Street in Atlanta!”

Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America

(980)     386-5687

brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com

Building Community In Vine City Through Group Walks

At one of our recent Vine City community meetings a few of the residents came up with a great action idea. The idea was to get together every Friday at 6pm and walk around the neighborhood as a group. The hope was to build relationships with each other, and to build awareness in the Vine City as to who we are, and why we're here, and how folks can plug in.

This past Friday  was the kick of Vine City walk, and though it was only around ten of use, it was really an awesome experience. Every one we walked by wanted to know what we were doing, residents actually came outside to engage with the group. As residents engaged, many ended up putting out their own ideas about the Vine City they want to live in, and perhaps what would be some collective steps to get there.

We've been canvassing Vine City for the past few weeks in pairs, Friday's walk really confirmed that there's power in numbers.

The walk not only was a great outreach tool, it also gave those of use who walked new perspectives on the neighborhood. A few Vine city residents who came on the walk commented, "we never walk the streets like this". We stopped several times to have long conversations with community members, survey an abandoned building, or to stop and eat mulberries. It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of Vine City residents really love the Occupy movement and are glad we are here.

Everyone was really excited to keep building this weekly tradition, and we invite you to join us every Friday at 6pm. We meet at the home of Pamela Flores, 245 Griffin St, Atlanta.





Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee