Minneapolis, MN – As the candidates for governor were preparing to debate inside the Pantages Theater here Sept. 15, about 30 members of the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout, including folks from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and the Welfare Rights Committee were on the street out front.
Detroit, MI – Fight Back! interviewed Rosemary Williams, an important leader in the struggle against home foreclosures, at the U.S. Social Forum on June 24.
Newark, NJ – The Community Coalition against Foreclosure and Homelessness rallied here, May 22, to demand that effective measures be taken by government to help victims of the housing bubble. Coalition members include the People’s Organization for Progress (POP), the Newark Teachers’ Association (NTA) and New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA). In all there were 12 organizational sponsors.
Irvington, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) held a protest at the Irvington, New Jersey branch of Wachovia, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, April 17. Irvington has been devastated by foreclosures, with many boarded-up houses on every residential block in town.
Minneapolis, MN – Friends, neighbors and other supporters joined the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout at the home of Michel Kidd, April 9. Kidd has been fighting to keep his home for over a year. He has had enough of the mortgage servicer, Aurora Loan Services, stalling, changing terms, ‘forgetting’ about past agreements and items faxed and mailed several times and apparently refusing to negotiate in good faith.
St. Paul, MN – A bill that places a moratorium on home foreclosures and brings a halt to the eviction of tenants from foreclosed buildings got through the Minnesota State House of Representatives Housing Policy and Finance and Public Health Finance Division, Feb. 9. The moratorium bill will now proceed to the House Commerce Committee. It is expected that Senate hearings on the bill will be announced in coming days.
St. Paul, MN – About 100 people gathered here Feb. 4 on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol for a protest that coincided with the opening of the Minnesota State Legislature. The Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout organized the protest. Standing at the top of a giant banner reading, “Tax the rich, no cuts to poor and working people,” Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee led the chant, “Hey politicians, here’s the fix – tax the rich! Tax the rich!”
St. Paul, MN – The battle is under way to put a moratorium on home forecloses in Minnesota. The first legislative hearing on an bill to put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions began with a joint hearing by State Senate Economic Development and Housing Budget Division and Health and Housing and Family Security Committee, Jan. 27 at the Minnesota state capitol.
Minneapolis, MN – Under the call of “Foreclose the war, not people's homes,” more than 100 people joined a protest here to mark the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Demonstrators gathered at the home of Leslie Parks, an African American woman who is fighting back against the attempt to foreclose on her home. Later, participants gathered at Saint Joan of Arc Church. The events were organized by the Iraq Peace Action Coalition and the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout.
Minneapolis, MN – Neighbors and supporters rallied at the home of Leslie Parks, Dec. 18, demanding an end to foreclosures and evictions. Parks has made it clear that she will not be foreclosed out of her home. This was the first public action since Dec. 8, when IndyMac/One West Bank temporarily locked Leslie out of her home.
Minneapolis, MN – Leslie Parks and her backers went to housing court Dec. 9 and filed papers against IndyMac/One West for doing an unlawful lockout. Leslie Parks had arrived home the night before only to find that all the locks had been changed on her home.
Minneapolis, MN – On the night of Dec. 8, in a freezing blizzard, Leslie Parks returned from her job to find that IndyMac/One West had changed the locks to her home.
Minneapolis, MN – Supporters of Leslie Parks gathered at her home holding signs and banners, visible to rush hour traffic on the morning of Nov. 30. They demanded that IndyMac/One West Bank come to just settlement with the Parks family that allows Leslie Parks to keep her home.
Minneapolis, MN – Friends, neighbors and supporters of Leslie Parks, a longtime resident of south Minneapolis who is facing foreclosure, gathered in front of her home Nov. 19, to demand that her mortgage holder – IndyMac – come to the table and reach an agreement that allows Parks to remain in her home.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 50 people gathered at the home of Leslie Parks, Nov. 13, to declare solidarity for Leslie Parks and her mother as they fight foreclosure and eviction.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people gathered here, for an Oct. 28 mass community meeting to demand a moratorium on foreclosures and for protections for renters in foreclosed properties. Organized by the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout, the meeting brought together people facing foreclosures, trade unionists, welfare rights activists and concerned members of the community.
Within the last few years Newark, New Jersey and nearby communities have been devastated as thousands of homes have been foreclosed and tens of thousands made homeless. An Oct. 24 protest at Bank of America here, sponsored by the People's Organization for Progress, charged Bank of America and other banks are responsible for these calamities.
Fight Back! photographer Kim DeFranco was inside Rosemary Williams' home during the Sept. 11 police raid. This is her account and photos of what took place.
Minneapolis, MN – After a months long fight against her foreclosure, police came to evict Rosemary Williams from her home, Sept. 11. Dozens of police cordoned off the street, sidewalks and alley all around the home, police with rifles and tear gas were at the ready at windows inside the house, as a private security company used metal grating to board up windows and doors. The police showed up as preparations were being made for a birthday party for Rosemary Williams’s grandson, Talib, who turned two that day.
Minneapolis, MN – Anti-war activists from across the Twin Cities gathered at Rosemary Williams’s house, Aug. 27, to say “Foreclose the wars! Not people’s homes!”