Sunday, January 3, 2010
MNPPEHRC 2009 Year-End Recap
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Fredrick Douglass declared in his 1857 speech, "If there is no struggle there is no progress."..and."Power concedes nothing without a demand." Looking back over 2009, a year of hope amid despair, we activists made progress indeed through almost constant struggle.THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!
Galvanizing neighborhoodsIn January we started moving homeless families into vacant houses only to see the police quickly force people back out into the cold. So we launched the Underground Railroad in February as a way for people to help one another in time of need by physically moving those who are being evicted, storing their possessions, and providing temporary shelter.
Rosemary's refusing to leaveBy March, calls from the homeless declined as homeowners facing foreclosure started contacting us, reporting that banks were giving them the run-around. We brought in a social justice legal team to support Rosemary Williams' fight to save her home while our volunteers petitioned her neighborhood and joined demonstrations to stop sheriff sales on into April. Thus began joint actions with the MN Coalition for a People's Bailout.
Spreading resistanceFrequent press conferences and demonstrations, pressuring the banks to remodify adjustable rate mortgage loans like Rosemary's, caught the attention of the media. As spring turned into summer, other at-risk homeowners drew inspiration from Rosemary's resolve to stay in her house. Soon they too stepped out from their private lives to join the resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. once described this radicalization process: "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Our own Leslie Parks remembers, "I had always lived a quiet life under the radar until the bank foreclosed on my mom." Today Leslie's home is a bold public display of her stand for social justice.
Fighting in CourtIn June, Rosemary's lawyers and finance giant GMAC's lawyers went to court. To the shock of the courtroom full of supporters, the judge denied all of Rosemary's motions. Later in a follow-up conference call again sided with GMAC, effectively stopping future negotiations.
"The courtroom, one of the supposed bastions of democracy, is essentially a tyranny. The judge is monarch," as Howard Zinn pointed out in Declarations of Independence. So it should have come as no surprise when Barbara Byrd, one of our longest-fighting resisters, filed a motion against her bank for violations, that the judge threw her case out of court leaving supporters stunned, her lawyer gasping. Barbara filed an immediate appeal, then called for a healing.
Communities coming togetherMN Clergy and Laity Against Foreclosures and Evictions drew neighborhood and faith communities together by conducting an August prayer vigil in front of Rosemary's, and a prayer meeting on the north side in the weeks that followed. Food poured in for supporters and neighbors who joined the 33-day 24/hour occupation of Rosemary's home after her first eviction that protesters thwarted.
Exposing Mortgage lending negligence and incompetenceThe U.S. "Constitution set up a government that the rich could depend on to protect their property," (again, from Howard Zinn). The result? Our system not only is unjust, but grossly inefficient. Take for example large financial institutions with problems in inter-departmental communication. Barbara Byrd on December 22nd received notification from her lender that they owed her $19.67 for a previous inspection. Remember, Barbara's duplex had been in foreclosure for months, with eviction imminent since July. Moreover, the bank's lawyers have YET to respond to her October appeal!
Leslie Parks endured not one but TWO illegal lockouts from her house by the bank. Apparently the right hand (administration) did not know what the left (inspections and foreclosure) was doing. The first illegal lockout took place in May BEFORE the sheriff's sale and the second happened December 8th, eight days after the end of her redemption period. Leslie with her lawyer and supporters will take the bank to court for this one at 9am on January 21st.
Declaring victoriesMartin Luther King, Jr. believed that "Direct action and legal action complement one another; when skillfully employed, each becomes more effective." At a November press conference in front of the Leslie Parks' house as eviction day approached, an independent reporter asked what could we do? "Call the bank," Leslie replied. After just three days of flooding the bank with calls from supporters and members of the MN Coalition for a People's Bailout with contacts from all over, the bank cancelled the sheriff's sale and CAME TO THE TABLE November 30th. The bank asked her what terms she wanted to get her house back! On December 9th the CEO personally CALLED her to apologize for the second lockout, thereby placing her in an unprecedented strong negotiating position.
In August, Linda Norenberg and Ann Patterson told their stories on KFAI radio featuring the "Minnesota Five." Three minutes after one broadcast, a lawyer who resides in Robbinsdale where Linda lives called to volunteer Linda her services. Suddenly the bank was on the defensive, ready-after over seven months-to negotiate. Meanwhile, Ann, after more than eight months of desperate attempts to renegotiate her loan with the bank, looks forward to the possibility of a permanent solution in January.
Turning setbacks into opportunitiesRosemary bravely proclaimed "IT's NOT OVER" after her brutal eviction on 9/11. Protesters who were arrested that night must make their first court appearance in January. The stress of fighting foreclosure took a heavy toll on the well-being of resisters and families. James Blair, Ona Kingbird, and countless others were forced to pick up pieces of their lives move on, leaving their blocks in desolation. While Rosemary still remains homeless, she is being invited to speak and inspiring others around the country- even across the Atlantic!! She has learned that residents of countries like Denmark and Sweden are shocked at the extent of U.S. mortgage loan fraud, past and present.
Unstoppable momentum thrusting us into 2010
Democracy Now reported as climate talks closed in Copenhagen."the US slammed through a flimsy agreement that was negotiated behind closed doors." Yet "concerned citizens who marched, held vigils and sent messages to their leaders helped to create unstoppable momentum in the global movement for climate justice." Back here in Minnesota while bankers meet behind closed doors, outside we shall continue to build momentum toward a two-year moratorium on foreclosures and evictions. We will keep up the pressure for support of politicians and community organizations for those in need of shelter, and increase public awareness of the OUR COLLECTIVE POWER to effect change during this ever-deepening crisis. Onward!
Check out our New Year's website! www.mnppehrc.wordpress.com/
Galvanizing neighborhoodsIn January we started moving homeless families into vacant houses only to see the police quickly force people back out into the cold. So we launched the Underground Railroad in February as a way for people to help one another in time of need by physically moving those who are being evicted, storing their possessions, and providing temporary shelter.
Rosemary's refusing to leaveBy March, calls from the homeless declined as homeowners facing foreclosure started contacting us, reporting that banks were giving them the run-around. We brought in a social justice legal team to support Rosemary Williams' fight to save her home while our volunteers petitioned her neighborhood and joined demonstrations to stop sheriff sales on into April. Thus began joint actions with the MN Coalition for a People's Bailout.
Spreading resistanceFrequent press conferences and demonstrations, pressuring the banks to remodify adjustable rate mortgage loans like Rosemary's, caught the attention of the media. As spring turned into summer, other at-risk homeowners drew inspiration from Rosemary's resolve to stay in her house. Soon they too stepped out from their private lives to join the resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. once described this radicalization process: "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Our own Leslie Parks remembers, "I had always lived a quiet life under the radar until the bank foreclosed on my mom." Today Leslie's home is a bold public display of her stand for social justice.
Fighting in CourtIn June, Rosemary's lawyers and finance giant GMAC's lawyers went to court. To the shock of the courtroom full of supporters, the judge denied all of Rosemary's motions. Later in a follow-up conference call again sided with GMAC, effectively stopping future negotiations.
"The courtroom, one of the supposed bastions of democracy, is essentially a tyranny. The judge is monarch," as Howard Zinn pointed out in Declarations of Independence. So it should have come as no surprise when Barbara Byrd, one of our longest-fighting resisters, filed a motion against her bank for violations, that the judge threw her case out of court leaving supporters stunned, her lawyer gasping. Barbara filed an immediate appeal, then called for a healing.
Communities coming togetherMN Clergy and Laity Against Foreclosures and Evictions drew neighborhood and faith communities together by conducting an August prayer vigil in front of Rosemary's, and a prayer meeting on the north side in the weeks that followed. Food poured in for supporters and neighbors who joined the 33-day 24/hour occupation of Rosemary's home after her first eviction that protesters thwarted.
Exposing Mortgage lending negligence and incompetenceThe U.S. "Constitution set up a government that the rich could depend on to protect their property," (again, from Howard Zinn). The result? Our system not only is unjust, but grossly inefficient. Take for example large financial institutions with problems in inter-departmental communication. Barbara Byrd on December 22nd received notification from her lender that they owed her $19.67 for a previous inspection. Remember, Barbara's duplex had been in foreclosure for months, with eviction imminent since July. Moreover, the bank's lawyers have YET to respond to her October appeal!
Leslie Parks endured not one but TWO illegal lockouts from her house by the bank. Apparently the right hand (administration) did not know what the left (inspections and foreclosure) was doing. The first illegal lockout took place in May BEFORE the sheriff's sale and the second happened December 8th, eight days after the end of her redemption period. Leslie with her lawyer and supporters will take the bank to court for this one at 9am on January 21st.
Declaring victoriesMartin Luther King, Jr. believed that "Direct action and legal action complement one another; when skillfully employed, each becomes more effective." At a November press conference in front of the Leslie Parks' house as eviction day approached, an independent reporter asked what could we do? "Call the bank," Leslie replied. After just three days of flooding the bank with calls from supporters and members of the MN Coalition for a People's Bailout with contacts from all over, the bank cancelled the sheriff's sale and CAME TO THE TABLE November 30th. The bank asked her what terms she wanted to get her house back! On December 9th the CEO personally CALLED her to apologize for the second lockout, thereby placing her in an unprecedented strong negotiating position.
In August, Linda Norenberg and Ann Patterson told their stories on KFAI radio featuring the "Minnesota Five." Three minutes after one broadcast, a lawyer who resides in Robbinsdale where Linda lives called to volunteer Linda her services. Suddenly the bank was on the defensive, ready-after over seven months-to negotiate. Meanwhile, Ann, after more than eight months of desperate attempts to renegotiate her loan with the bank, looks forward to the possibility of a permanent solution in January.
Turning setbacks into opportunitiesRosemary bravely proclaimed "IT's NOT OVER" after her brutal eviction on 9/11. Protesters who were arrested that night must make their first court appearance in January. The stress of fighting foreclosure took a heavy toll on the well-being of resisters and families. James Blair, Ona Kingbird, and countless others were forced to pick up pieces of their lives move on, leaving their blocks in desolation. While Rosemary still remains homeless, she is being invited to speak and inspiring others around the country- even across the Atlantic!! She has learned that residents of countries like Denmark and Sweden are shocked at the extent of U.S. mortgage loan fraud, past and present.
Unstoppable momentum thrusting us into 2010
Democracy Now reported as climate talks closed in Copenhagen."the US slammed through a flimsy agreement that was negotiated behind closed doors." Yet "concerned citizens who marched, held vigils and sent messages to their leaders helped to create unstoppable momentum in the global movement for climate justice." Back here in Minnesota while bankers meet behind closed doors, outside we shall continue to build momentum toward a two-year moratorium on foreclosures and evictions. We will keep up the pressure for support of politicians and community organizations for those in need of shelter, and increase public awareness of the OUR COLLECTIVE POWER to effect change during this ever-deepening crisis. Onward!
Check out our New Year's website! www.mnppehrc.wordpress.com/
Labels: Foreclosure, Leslie Parks, Linda Norenberg, MN PPEHRC, Rosemary Williams
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