Housing Justice Academy, Jersey Style!

  Today marked day one of the third Housing Justice Academy and like the first two, it seems to be a success so far. In Newark NJ over 50 resident fighters and allies came out to learn how to organizer home defense campaigns using public pressure and direct action.

Newark was hit hard by the housing crisis leaving many communities littered with bank owned vacants and thousands owing mush more then their properties are worth. Like many states big bank settlements(hardest hit funds) are not trickling down to the hardest hit in New Jersey, instead being used by the state's Governor to balance the general budget.

Just one day into the Academy and residents are already planning out their first campaigns and strategies about what it would take to organize multiple eviction free zones. In Irvington, the city next to Newark, the mayor and members of city counsel have announced their intention to pursue eminent domain as a strategy to reclaim homes from multiple banks, bringing immediate relief to struggling home owners.

Lots to be excited about in New Jersey!

Bringing the Movement to Florida Pt 2

Over the last three days I've visited residents in Lake Worth, Miami, and Florida. Each stop is part listening project, part housing justice workshop with one goal; to build the housing justice movement in Florida and the South East in general.

This trip has been extremely inspiring. With very little notice or outreach groups of homeowners facing foreclosure/eviction have come together to learn how to use public pressure and direct action to stop financial institutions from taking their homes, and taking their neighbor's homes. It's been especially exciting to see the conversations about affordable housing, challenging the commoditization of housing, and local strategies to build a sustainable movement in Florida.

At each stop the discussion eventually went to what communities believe they need to build a local housing justice movement with a focus on using nonviolent direct action and public pressure. I feel confident we will be seeing not only a handful of new housing justice campaigns launched all over Florida, but I believe that we have at least two strong new groups emerging, maybe more.

Florida has consistently been on the top of the list with foreclosure rates, and one or the most underwater. Florida has also become ground zero for Wall Street's new strategy of buying up bank owned vacants for a fraction of what they were worth just a few years ago.

One of the goals of the tour is to encourage folks to attend a South Eastern Housing Justice Academy organized by American Friends Service Committee and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta. At the academy we hope to provide trainings and direct action experience designed to help folks come up with an action plan to get work started in their communities.

Tomorrow I will be making one last stop In Orlando before heading back to Atlanta.

Chattanooga Launches Home Defense Campaign

This weekend AFSC has the pleasure of joining Occupy Our Homes and Occupy Chattanooga in a strategy session aimed at launching Occupy Chattanooga's first public home defense campaign.

Folks from Occupy Chattanooga reached out to us just one day before Filson Manley's home was set to be auctioned off on the courthouse steps, they wanted advice about how to stop investors from purchasing a home that someone lives in and is fighting to save. With in 24 hours Occupy Chattanooga mobilized their friends to show up to the courthouse steps and make sure Filson's home didn't sell to anyone.

This weekend we spent several hours going through potential steps Occupy Chattanooga could take to build a strong campaign, and made action plans around each step. After our planning session we enjoyed a bonfire party at Filson's home.

The Occupy Chattanooga crew has now launched an online petition to stop One West Bank from putting Filson Manley out of his home of 19 years.

AFSC is excited to see more and more groups and individuals take on banks, investors, and slumlords in the South. We hope to continue work with Occupy Our Homes and other groups to build a housing justice movement in the South.

Please take the time to sigh and share Filson's online petition.

Help Steve Save His Home

We've gained enough support to push my dispossessory hearing to August 31st. While I'm encouraged that I will not be evicted this week, I know we are still far from a solution that will keep me in my home permanently. Wells Fargo is still refusing to rescind the foreclosure, so there is no time to lose. This is an important week in my campaign. Can you help me win a victory for the 99%? 

Here's how you can help today:

1. Call Mike Heid: Please call Mike Heid, President of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, at (515) 213-6117 and demand that he make a deal to keep me in my home. Here's what you can say:"Rescind the foreclosure and work out a deal to keep Edmond Steve Boudreaux (Loan #00006391834) in his home. Accept his payments instead of leaving another empty house in our communities." Report your results here.

2. Share the petition: I delivered the petition this past Friday, but I'm still hoping to pass 2,000 signatures this week, can you help?

http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/wells-fargo-keep-steve-boudreaux-in-his-home

3. Plan a solidarity action: For the past month we've been organizing small flash demonstrations outside of Wells Fargo Branchs. We hope that you will add to our numbers by either joining us or by visiting branches in your hometowns. You can go by yourself or get a small contingent together to deliver this letter to tellers and branch managers. If you can take it a step further, organize a rally at a local branch. 

I look forward to reporting back on our progress!

Thank you so very, very much,
Steve Boudreaux

Brunch For Housing A Success!

AFSC Atlanta has been proud to be a part of the Occupy Our Homes National movement, and especially excited about the outcomes of Occupy Our Homes ATL's (OOHA)work locally. We've seen homeowners, renters, even Churches stand up to slumlords and big banks and win. These victories are important, and we know they have a real impact on others decision to stand up and fight.

With Georgia's housing crisis reaching historic proportions, we all realize how vital this work is, so it was a no brainier when OOHA asked for some help with their Sunday brunch. AFSC provided food and a cook for the waffle brunch, which took place today and had a few simple goals; to provide space to create dialogue about the housing crisis, give updates on current resident led campaigns, and raise a little funds to sustain OOHA's work.

Everyone who showed up was also asked to sign our online petition to save Steve Boudreaux's home( sign by clicking here), and a delicious time was had by all.

We're all excited about several of OOHA's upcoming resident led campaigns that seek to take home defense work in Atlanta to the next level.




Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Cobb County Home Owner Stands Up To Wells Fargo

After battling unemployment and struggling to make payments on his mortgage, Cobb County resident Steve Boudreaux did what any diligent homeowner would do--he applied for an emergency home loan modification to stay in his home at a rate he could afford. Everything was all set to move forward until the IRS delayed in getting tax transcripts to his bank, Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo, rather than wait for the transcripts to come in, pushed forward with a foreclosure sale, even though the modification application was incomplete due to no fault of Steve's own. To add insult to injury, the transcripts were delivered the day after the foreclosure sale.

Today Steve was joined by Occupy Our Homes ATL and Cobb United for Change at the Wells Fargo branch that Steve originally applied and received his home lone with one simple message,  "You have all the information you need! Make a deal to keep Steve in his home!"

Cobb United for Change and Occupy Our Homes are ready to stand up with Steve to keep him in his home. Will you?

You can help Steve and call Luis Fortin of the Wells Fargo "Home Preservation" Team and demand he work to keep Steve in his home.

To reach Mr. Fortin call 877-458-8418. Once connected dial 0 until you are asked for an extension. Luis is ext. 31560.

Make sure to tell him that "Wells Fargo needs to work with Steve Boudreaux at 1525 Rubes Landing in Marietta. Set aside the foreclosure and make a deal to keep Steve in his home!"




After putting Wells Fargo on blast folks headed over to the Marietta Daily Journal to let them know that they needed to start covering the worst housing crisis in Georgia History.

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

Homeowners Stop Foreclosure Sales on Cobb Co. and Fulton Co. Courthouse Steps

Just 24 hours before the monthly home auctions that occur at every County Courthouse in the state, Occupy Our Homes ATL  had several frantic homeowners reach out. Why are they frantic? ...Because their homes were set to be auctioned off today on the court house steps.

The story of Pearl Scott, a Fulton County resident looking to defend her home from foreclosure, sounds like that of many others in the state of Georgia and across the country. She has lived in her Vine City home for seventeen years and kept up with her mortgage payments for all that time until just a few months ago. Pearl Scott is a 69 year old retiree who is now getting by on her Social Security checks and is struggling to make ends meet, but she is determined to stay in her home. Even after falling behind on her mortgage at the beginning of the year, she continued to diligently send in every penny she could afford. All of Ms. Scott's efforts seemed to have been in vain when she was informed that her home was set to be auctioned off. Rather than giving in, Ms. Scott reached out to Occupy Our Homes Atlanta to help her come up with a plan to save her home from being auctioned off to investors.

The Scott Family's last minute efforts to save their home inspired fellow homeowner Steve Boudreaux to take action to save his own home on the Cobb County Courthouse steps (on the Roswell Street side). Occupy Our Homes Atlanta joined both the Scotts and Steve this morning in Fulton and Cobb respectively to discourage anyone from bidding on their homes.

After a long day of vigilantly listening for their addresses to be cried out and their homes bid on, Pearl Scott and Steve Boudreaux can rest a little easier now. Homeowners and dozens of allies turned out with enlarged family photos and signs that read "Buy this home and you get an occupation for free!" to discourage investors from bidding on their homes. And it worked! No one bid on Pearl's home at the Fulton County auction, nor on Steve's in Cobb County. In fact, investors and homeowners all gathered round to see if anyone dared bid on the properties.

While the homes were not purchased, we know Pearl and Steve's fights to stay in their homes are far from over. Occupy Our Homes Atlanta is committed to pressuring Everhome Mortgage and Wells Fargo respectively to make deals that will keep a secure roof over their heads.

In Cobb county, a coalition of everyday people--inspired by Steve's struggle--formed on those very courthouse steps. They are excited to meet next week to start building a campaign to demand that Wells Fargo keep Steve in his home.

AFSC is excited about the new doors of nonviolent resistance that Occupy Our Homes has opened all over the country, and we plan to continue to support the movement.

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

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

Moving Forward in Vine City

Over the past week we've been hitting the streets, knocking on doors, attending NPU and civic association meetings, and organizing events and actions designed to bring Vine City residents together.

Today we hosted our second Vine City community meeting and created space for residents to identify the challenges facing their neighborhood, from unemployment, boarded up houses, a growing homeless population, corrupt police, apathetic youth, school closings, trash everywhere, and evictions/ foreclosures the list of challenges is pretty epic.

Vine City has been, and is under attack. Although many outside of the community have said that the fight to save what's left of Vine City is futile, every resident we've spoken with over the last three months has said the fight is worth it.

It's clear that folks need to get more organized. The banks, developers, and government officials that want the poor folks out are super organized and have access to money.

There's another kind of power brewing amongst Vine City residents, people power. This week there are a number of activities initiated by Vine City residents at our Community meeting. Here they are:

Friday April 20th 4pm: Meet at West End Marta station, march to Bank of America and threaten to move in if they don't give Pamela Flore's home back.

Monday 5-7pm: Community Canvassing. Meet at 245 Griffin st.

Monday April 23rd 7:30pm: Screen and the Green! Film screening of "Food Inc" at 245 Griffin street. Snacks provided!

Tuesday 5-7pm: Community Canvassing. Meet at 245 Griffin st.

Wednesday 6pm: Community walk! Meet your friends and neighbors for a walk around the community. Let's experience Vine City block by block and talk with folks we meet, tell them what we are trying to do to stop the institutional forces that would see Vine city turn into Atlantic Station II.

Thursday 7pm: Community Meeting. This is where residents organize the change they want to see in Vine City. Food, childcare, and transportation provided.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

MOVE-IN DAY: Demand that BoA Makes Pamela's Mortgage WORK

WHO: Occupy Atlanta, Occupy Our Homes, Atlanta JwJ, Rainbow PUSH, and others
WHAT: Protest to Demand that BoA Makes Pamela Flores's Mortgage WORK
WHEN: Friday, April 20th, from 4-6pm
WHERE: Meet at West End Marta Station @ 4pm; March to BoA branch across the street (711 Lee St) at 4:30pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/360473337332897/

Bank of America is at it again! This "too crooked to fail" megabank--notorious for racial profiling, sub-prime lending, robo-signing, and ripping off everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed--is after Vine City resident Pamela Flores's home.

BoA is attempting to foreclose on Pamela, claiming that she missed payments during the trial period of a loan modification she received through the "Making Home Affordable" program. The thing is, Pamela Flores never missed a payment, in fact she was never even late, and has all the records to prove it. Instead of investigating her case and admitting their error, the bank is moving forward with plans to auction off her home on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse next month. But Pamela has no plans to just pack up and leave. She is fighting back, and Occupy Atlanta along with Occupy Our Homes plan to stand with her every step of the way.

On Friday, April 20th, we'll pay the bank a visit in another neighborhood that has been dramatically affected by the housing Crisis --Atlanta's West End. We will demand that Bank of America keep Pamela Flores. and the thousands of others just like her, in their homes. If BoA can't make Pamela's mortgage work, they should expect that we'll be moving in!


Please meet at the West End Marta Station @ 4PM, Friday, with a few home goods in tow (house plant, vase, moving box, etc). We'll march over to the West End BoA branch (just across the street) to rally and demonstrate that if BoA goes through with the foreclosure, Occupy Atlanta won't hesitate to "keep house" in any and every branch in the city.




{more on the crimes committed by BoA nationally}

Community Building In Historic Vine City!

Driving down any street in Vine City makes it impossible to ignore that this historic park of Atlanta has sustained a tornado of economic violence for decades. There are more empty homes then occupied homes due to extreme predatory lending . The lack of capital has forced residents out of their homes and into the streets, many have been virtually forced to engage in illegal activity that's further hurt residents. The tactic of divide and conquer has been administered here to disastrous results.

Vine City and English avenue really are ground zero for the housing crisis that Atlanta is under the lash of. The work here is vital, and in the three months we've been engaged here there have been sparks of hope. We've saved a church and we're now fighting save a home that's being illegally foreclosed on by Bank of America, we're facilitating weekly clean ups, we're teaching elementary school aged kids to plant urban gardens, we've just started a weekly political education program, we're hosting a weekly community meeting where residents can brainstorm ways to organize their community for change, and we're beginning to engage with folks trying to halt the closing of Kennedy Middle School.

It's a start, and there's no doubt that what Vine City needs is a Vine City movement led by Vine City residents. It's an uphill battle against unprecedented wealth disparity, but these days the impossible feels more possible than any time in recent history.

There's power being built in Vine City, and you're invited to participate!

Come by our new headquarters at 245 Griffin Street. It's a 24/7 operation.

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

We Will Not Be Moved!!

The last 24 hours at Occupy Atlanta’s South Dekalb home Occupation (Chris Frazer’s home) have been prolific. Yesterday at 6pm Chris Frazer’s home played host to launch of the 99% Spring Offensive trainings in the Atlanta area. Union members, Church Members, folks from local grassroots organizations, and occupiers came together to talk about the economic crisis, tell their stories, engage in direct action training, and make plans for a Spring offensive that targets the institutions of the richest 1% who have been disrespecting our human rights for decades.
There are around ten of these trainings scheduled in the Atlanta area, at churches, union halls, community centers, and homes across the metro area.

Today that direct action training came in handy. Occupiers, who have been camping in the yard of Chris Frazer, where awoken at 8am this morning by the sound of two Dekalb County Marshall's who drove their patrol cars onto the property and requested to meet with the owner of the home. The Marshall's decided to back off, possibly due to the fact that a small tent city has amassed on the Frazer’s home in an effort to resist another eviction in the down trotted community.

Twenty minutes later eight patrol cars showed up, claiming to be on a routine patrol on the usually quite street. One of the occupiers decided to block the road at the entrance to 3662 Wellhaun drive, police then arrested him. Other occupiers focused their energy on mobilizing the community and other Occupy Atlanta folks. Within an hour there were around 20 folks in the yard, and a barricade had been built around the entrance of the Frazer home.

The message today was load and clear, no more foreclosures, no more evictions, we are not leaving, no one may take this home from the Frazers. Over and over again we have heard from community members all over the city that neighborhoods need people, not more empty homes, and not more boards on windows. It’s time we stand up to the institutions that caused the crisis. If they attempt to shut down hard working, everyday people, then perhaps it’s time we shut them down.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee