Mayor Bottom's Troubling Behavior Pattern

In response to flooding resulting from over development and neglect, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed 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.  As a result of persistent protests, rallies and resistance by community members, he decided that one resident, 93-year-old Ms. Mattie Jackson, could stay.  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. 

In the midst of a three year 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 the City didn’t have the necessary engineering to support the taking and demolition of an entire block of homes.  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 “correct [the] wrong.”

 (​See the emails )    

After years of protest, online petitions, and media coverage current Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms agreed to meet 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 Robert and Bertha Darden, to discuss their desire that the lawsuits be withdrawn and they be allowed to stay in the home they have lived in and raised their children and grandchildren in for over 30 years.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 Dardens 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.  

The Dardens left the meeting, which a press release from the Mayor’s office described as “productive”, hopeful that a resolution was near.  Nine months passed and the Dardens heard nothing from the Mayor and the litigation continues.  In December 2019 the Dardens and Tanya Washington, with the support of the Housing Justice League, planned a rally on the steps of city hall and a sit-in in Mayor Bottoms’ office.  After 11 hours, senior officials, Rashad Taylor and Rev 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 relief at the thought of lifting this burden. 

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.

 It was clearly communicated that the family's terms were reasonable and the Mayor Bottoms was highly motivated to do right by the families. We left the meeting Tuesday December 17th with an agreement that a written road map to resolution would be completed by Friday December 20th.

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. We began to hear something that many community organizations have been hearing in regards to promises from this administration, "We're working on it."

Highlighted txt is Tim Franzen

I began to fear the worst, that we had fallen into a trap. 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? 

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.

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. 

Highlighted txt is Tim Franzen

 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. 

As one of the negotiators entrusted  by the families I felt 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, is there any good faith in Mayor Bottom's administration?

In the aftermath of this disappointing chapter of this 7 year fight Tanya Washington expressed her pain and confusion, "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?"      Mrs. Darden, a senior who has lived in home in Peoplestown for 30+ years is heartbroken. "How long does it take to do the right thing?"  she asked Mayor Bottoms at a recent Invest Atlanta meeting. "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 had in you is gone because you do not keep your word and because you will not do the right thing by us."

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. At this point we have learned we can't hold our breath waiting on this Mayor to do the right thing.

Outside Ebeneezer during King Holiday Events

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, " 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."

Tim Franzen

Atlanta Economic Justice Program Director

American Friends Service Committee

Santa Claus Delivers Lumps Of Coal to Mayor Kasim Reed!

 Today Santa Claus Joined Peoplestown Residents Fighting to Stay in Their Homes.

Residents in Peoplestown who have been fighting to stay in their homes, despite the cities continued threat to us eminent domain to remove them, plan to brought Christmas cheer to Atlanta's City Hall. Residents were be joined by Santa Claus as they sang rewritten Christmas songs around the giant Christmas tree on the first floor of city hall.

Residents and supporters then joined Santa as he delivers a lump of coal to Mayor Kasim Reed's office. Unfortunately Mayor Reed made Santa's naughty list for refusing to work with residents that are desperately fighting to stay in their homes and their neighbors who want more transparency in development projects in the Turner Field neighborhoods.

As of now eminent domain proceedings have not begun, and there is speculation that the Mayor is reluctant to do this because the part may include some sort of non flooding related development, which is what many in the community have feared from the beginning.

Senator Vincent Fort also joined the group of residents in prayer, song, and action.
Check out the campaign video here.

To check out video clips from today and more check out Occupy Our Homes Atlanta's Facebook page by clicking here!

Almost 6k people have signed the online petition online petition.

When We Fight, We Win!

Several weeks ago we asked you to sign the petition to stop WRI from evicting Vaniyah and her eight beautiful children and you signed! We asked your to call the private equity group and demand they give the family time to relocate on their terms and you did!

When Vaniyah reached out she was so upset with WRI that she had no interest in working out a deal that kept her family in the house, she just needed a fair amount of time to find acquit safe housing for her and the family.

We quickly organized a press conference, launched an online petition, organized a call in day, and delivered the petition directly to WRI's Atlanta office.

Because of your calls and your signatures, which we hand delivered to WRI's Atlanta office, Vaniyah has been given 60 days to find a new home and the housing authority has agreed to make finding a home a priority. This simply would not have been possible without EVERY one of ya'll!

  Thank you all for your signatures, for sharing, for calling! Together we stopped an amazing family from being put on the street! Please consider making this important work possible by investing what you can into it. We operate on a shoe string so every dollar counts!

When we fight, we win!!

Georgia Law Enforcement Reform Package Introduced

Yesterday American Friends Service Committee joined Senator Vincent Fort, The Moral Monday Georgia Movement, the Davis/Bozeman Law Firm, Georgia WAND, Georgia NAACP, and the Coalition for the Peoples Agenda to introduce the Georgia Law EnforcementReform Package.

 

We believe that all deserve to be treated equally in the eyes of the law. We are troubled that black and brown Georgians continue to experience police brutality, mass incarceration, racial profiling, and excessive police tactics at an alarmingly higher rate than white Georgians.

Just this past year in Habersham, Georgia law enforcement used a “No Knock” warrant to storm an innocent family’s dwelling and in the process tossed a concussion grenade into Baby Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh crib. This ended up almost claiming the baby’s life, blowing his face off.

In 2006 police used a “No Knock” warrant to break down the door of 92-yearold Atlanta resident Kathryn Jonhston and fired 39 shots at her, killing her. Later they planted drugs on her to justify the horrendous act.

Our communities don’t need urban tanks and other military equipment that are used to seeing in a war zone. We believe the mere presence and training that come with this unnecessary equipment makes our communities less safe and increases potential for human and civil rights violations. When we use military gear and vehicles in certain communities it makes those communities feel like they are under occupation, when we treat community members like war combatants we move farther away from the Beloved community Dr King spoke of and closer to the nightmare her preached about in 1967 when we articulated what he called the giant triplets of evil; Militarism, Racism, and Poverty.

 

This legislative session a broad Law Enforcement Reform Package is being introduced by a diverse group of Georgia law makers. We call on members of the Georgia House and Senate to pass all the bills. We believe this package will make Georgians safer, reduce the number of lawsuits for taxpayers, and reduce the amount of unnecessary equipment (like urban tanks) and the cost to taxpayers associated with them. Institutional racism and the troubling trend toward a militarized police state runs deep and will not be solved overnight; we believe these bills are a step in the right direction.

Below are the bills that make up the Georgia Law Enforcement Reform Package:

 

SB 45 (Fort, 39th) – “Bou Bou’s Law ”

This legislation would restrict no-knock warrants to situations where the affidavit or testimony supporting the warrant establishes by probable cause that if an officer were to knock and announce identity and purpose before entry, such act of knocking and announcing would likely pose a significant and imminent danger to human life or imminent danger of evidence being destroyed.

 

SB 46 (Fort, 39th) – Police Body Cameras

This legislation would require all police departments’ officers with wearable cameras by 2017.  It would also instruct the Department of Public Safety to create procedures for grants to small or underfunded police departments, subject to funding. 

 

SB 47 (Fort, 39th) – Hate Crimes

This legislation would increase criminal penalties for crimes committed against an individual intentionally selected because of such individual's race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or national origin.  Increased penalties would mimic the increased penalties for crimes against senior citizens. 

 

SB 48 (Fort, 39th) – No Guns for Violent Felons

Prohibit restoration of gun rights to convicted felons who had been convicted of violent crimes, sexual offenses, or crimes involving firearms

 

SB 49 (Fort, 39th) – Stand Your Ground Repeal

Repeal Georgia’s Stand Your Ground law

 

SB 50 (Fort, 39th) – Special Prosecutor for Police Cases

This legislation would require the appointment of a special prosecutor for cases when a police officer is the suspect

 

Pending Bills

*Police demilitarization

*Require police to report civilian deaths to GBI

 

 

The Moral Monday Georgia Movement will be mobilizing people from around the state to come together at the Capitol to support the Package, click here for details.

 

Please sign and share the online petition by clicking here.

Courage in the Face of Eviction Nightmare

Today long time Ellenwood resident, Michele Swan, with the support of her neighbors and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, publically reclaimed her home today. Evicted over the holidays by WRI Group, a subsidiary of American Residential Leasing Co., Michele has been locked in a battle with WRI Group to claim the house that has rightfully belonged to her since 2003. Michele won her home in a divorce settlement years ago and WRI has refused to recognize her as the owner since her name isn’t on the original loan. As a result WRI has refused to communicate with her or accept any payment for the house.

Michele, and her support network, has reclaimed her home and will remain there until WRI, and American Residential Leasing Co., is willing to come to the table and negotiate a reasonable solution to this situation. Michele is ready, willing, and able to hold a mortgage and make payments on her home. Her only request is that she, and her children, be able to remain in the home they have been investing in for years. Senator Vincent Fort (D) joined Michele to voice his concern over the situation, and the manner in which Michele and her family was being treated. Speaking "We are calling on WRI to do the right thing; sit down at the table and reason together....We want to send a message to WRI, this is a new year and new day. We are not going to let this family be put out, we are going to stand with [them] for as long as it takes."

Michele and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta have continued efforts to enter into dialogue with WRI and ARL to no avail and have no choice but to bring our fight to WRI. American Friends Service Committee will join Michele and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta tomorrow at WRI’s office to send a clear message that Michele will no longer be ignored, and the community is standing beside her.  Tomorrow at 1pm Michele, Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, and her support network will rally in front of WRI, demanding they make this situation right. Michele will no longer be ignored or bullied, and she is ready to take action to get her home back!

Please sign and share Michele's online petition.

Jailed For Justice Tour: Day 2, Riverdale

As I listened to the honorable Rev. Fred Taylor speaking at last night’s Clayton County stop for the Moral Monday Tour I was inspired. It was a perfect match; an iconic leader who has embraced the ideal of being jailed for justice 28 times, addressing a location that is struggling with so many of the injustices Moral Monday has rallied against. When we stepped into Clayton County for the 2^nd in a 16 day tour around the state it was not about just sharing out stories. It was not just about hearing of our actions of the past, it was about what we need right now. It was about the problems facing Clayton County and the offering of hope. Hope that when we come together over the issues that are facing our communities we will win because that is what Moral Monday is. It is the hope for a better Georgia and the reality that we can make it happen together.

As we discussed the Moral Monday platform it was clear that it was resonating with the crowd, our platform was built from the struggles that are facing everyday Georgians because that is what we are. We are everyday Georgians who have decided to raise their voices and speak out against the many injustices that are facing our neighborhoods and state. Our stop in Clayton County was just the beginning of a conversation. How can we work together to bring change? Moral Monday could be the answer.

As we move into the rest of the tour I eagerly anticipate the continued stories, struggles, and excitement that has already been shared on the Jailed for Justice Tour. This tour is not just about us telling our stories. It is about building hope, building community, and committing ourselves to making the changes we know the people of Georgia deserve. It is about building a powerful movement and to do that we need to have our voices heard. The Jailed for Justice Tour has given us the opportunity to speak out and have our voices heard, and now it’s your turn. Join us on August 23rdat 10am when people from all over the state converge on the capital to tell our elected officials it is time to put people over politics. Don’t miss this opportunity to raise our voices in unison!

Click here to RSVP! 

Jailed For Justice Tour: Day 1

On Monday we officially kicked  of the Moral Monday Jailed for Justice Tour to a jam packed house at Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. The whole event was totally electric. Rev Raphael kicked off the event with a truly rousing talk on the need for a moral movement in the south. Senator Vincent Fort, Minister Karen Reagle, Peggy Casey, Emilia Kaiser, and Keota Jones all shared truly powerful stories about why they made the decision to put their bodies and freedom on the line to shine a light on injustice.

Francys Johnson closed out the night with a call to action for folks to support the tour and come together on August 23rd for a massive Moral March on Georgia. The Moral March on Georgia is part of a southern wide strategy to build power against the extreme, economically insane policies that have seen our wages decreased, taken our jobs, seen our homes foreclosed and rent skyrocketed, our children’s education defunded, young black males criminalized and targeted, and our communities less safe.

 Over the course of the next 16 days we will be bringing Georgians together in 16 cities forge relationships and build the Moral movement Georgia needs.

Another Georgia is possible, a Georgia that prioritizes people of politics and profit. Moral Monday Georgia has a different set of priorities.

Our Priorities

Secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that ensure economic sustainability

Provide a well-funded, quality public education for all

Promote healthcare access and environmental sustainability

Address continued inequalities in the criminal justice system

Protect and expand voting rights for all

Plug into the tour across the state, see where and when we will be over the next few weeks!

SunTrust Bank Evicting Small Business

Brunetta Nelson and her family have worked to make D’BABS Construction a staple in Atlanta’s construction industry for the past 26 years. When their point of contact at SunTrust left abruptly Brunetta and her family struggled to find a new place to make payments. When her realtor called to tell her about the foreclosure Brunetta was completely caught off guard.

SunTrust stole their tenants and now they’re trying to steal the land right out from under the sisters of D’BABS. This small, black women-owned Construction Company is facing immediate eviction at the hands SunTrust Bank.

“It is so painful for my sisters and I to walk into our office and see that everyone has been run away and how much we have suffered over this mishandling of a small family business that was built brick-by-brick for 25 long years. I can’t count the toll of the sleepless nights of crying, the loss of my hair, and the choices made as a result of this disaster”, stated Brunetta.

On Wednesday Brunetta and other D’BABS workers joined OccupyOur Homes Atlanta and American Friends Service Committee to deliver a petitionsigned by over 2k community members to SunTrust Bank's national headquarters in Atlanta. After SunTrust PR executives accepted the petition Brunetta and supporters held a press conference outside SunTrust Bank. Senator Vincent Fort, who represents the East Point community where D’BABS presides stated, “The community will not allow SunTrust Bank to destroy this vital family owned business; they will have to go through us first.”

SunTrust representatives claimed they would look into the matter but today in court it was made clear that they intend to evict in the next seven days. A community coalition plans to return to SunTrust with greater number next week if the bank doesn’t make right on their commitment to work with D’BABS.

Sign the petition to save D’BABS here.

Hundreds Pack the Court House to Repeal Stand Your Ground

This Past Wednesday over 300 Georgians Packed two Senate Hearings on gun related legislation in Georgia. The overwhelming majority of attendees were there to oppose radical, unsafe gun laws including that make it legal to shoot first and ask questions later, make it legal to carry a gun in church, a bar, or a school campus.

Sadly, despite the standing room only turnout to both hearings, law makers decided to move forward with a with a very radical pro-gun agenda that disregarded multiple research findings that make it clear these laws make Georgia less safe.

HB 875, the law the would make it legal to bring a gun into a bar, a church, or on a school campus amazingly  passed through it's committee despite the overwhelming number of folks in the committee meeting that spoke out against the law. Dozens of faith leaders from various faiths pleaded with lawmakers not to allow guns in their churches. One gun rights advocate was overheard in the crowd claiming that Sandy Hook was a hoax perpetuated by those that want to take our (his) guns away.

SB 280,  introduced by Senator Vincent Fort, would repeal Georgia's Stand Your Ground law. There was almost no one in the packed heating room that wasn't wearing a yellow sticker that read, "Repeal Stand Your Ground". Georgia's Stand Your Ground law not only makes it ok to shoot unarmed people as long as you think they are a threat, it has also come to represent the idea that African American life is worth less in the south. Georgia's Stand Your Ground law has also been proven to make our state less safe, not more. After hearing just one person testify the Senate Committee shut down discussion and essentially killed the bill.

What are we doing now?
We're asking you to join us, this Monday at 4pm at the Georgia Capitol. We can't afford our own lobbyist, so let's make our voices heard and show up! Forward together, not one step back!

Sign ans share the online petition to repeal Georgia's Stand Your Ground law!

Repeal Stand Your Ground Law in Georgia

Today around 150 Georgians rallied to the Capitol to in an effort to challenge the extreme gun lobby agenda that's upon the state legislators this legislative session and to urge law makers to repeal Georgia's Stand Your Ground law.

Some of the outlandish gun related legislation up for debate this year include a bill that would make it legal to carry a gun to Church, on a school campus, and even at a bar.

A few weeks ago Senator Vincent Fort introduced a bill that would repeal Georgia's Stand Your Ground law, SB 280. Even some that disagree with gun control legislation see the problem with Stand Your Ground laws, which were introduced in State Houses all over the country after the American Legislative Exchange Counsel created draft legislation.

Stand Your Ground essentially makes it legal to shoot anyone who you think is a threat, whether they are armed or not. It's basically a license to shoot first and ask questions later with impunity.

Today was a day to bring attention to the fundamental moral problem with Georgia's Stand Your Ground law, mourn the loss of young life that has been taken as a result, and commit our self  to a path that sees us put such barbaric legislation behind us.

We are asking folks to plan to attend the GA Senate Judicial (Non-Civil) Committee
hearing on Sen. Fort's bill SB 280 to repeal the law, 3 pm Wednesday Feb. 5,
in room 307, Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Washington St. across
from the Capitol. We need to pack the room! Early arrival strongly suggested
(2:30 pm).

If you can't make it please consider calling a member of the committee and encourage them to do the right thing, repeal Georgia's Stand Your Ground law, pass SB280!

Jesse Stone                  404-463-1314

Hunter Hill                  404-463-2518

William Ligon             404-656-0045

Curt Thompson           404-463-1318

Josh Mckoon               404-463-3931

Charlie Bethel             404-651-7738

John Crosby                404-463-5260

Ronald Ramsey           404-463-2598

Finally Join us at the Capitol next Monday 4/17 at 4pm Sharp for a different kind of Rally at the Capitol.