Tuesday, January 19, 2010
CHANGER MLK Day Action
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PPEHRC affiliate CHANGER--Chattanoogans and North Georgians for Economic
Rights-- demanded jobs today, MLK's birthday, with scores of other
organizations and individuals. Marching with our youth leaders were people
of all colors and faiths in the shadow of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN.
"From Lookout Mountain in Tennessee, let freedom ring!" --MLK
Labels: CHANGER, Martin Luther King
Monday, October 5, 2009
In Tennessee, CHANGERs March for Housing, Health Care, and Living Wage Jobs
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Led by some of the many homeless people of the region, hundreds of members and supporters of CHANGER—Chattanoogans and North Georgians for Economic Rights—held their 2nd annual march through downtown Chattanooga on Friday, October 2nd.
They were joined by a vanload of allies from WIT—Women In Transition—of Louisville, KY. Khalilah Collins, their Executive Director and the recently elected chair of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) Coordinating Council, brilliantly and passionately keynoted the rally at the end of the march. She concluded with an invitation to all to stay with her: “I will go anywhere, march anywhere, until we end this war on the poor and have our rights!”
Others among the marchers were scores of social workers, high school students and teachers, members of the clergy, artists, and a city councilman who, formerly homeless himself, reminded us at the rally that the sooner we identify with the poor, the sooner we will ensure everybody’s human rights. A special message of solidarity was sent to those who dared not attend the march—the hundreds of undocumented workers recruited by local mills in the past and now living in fear, often in the area’s hills and woods, perversely called “illegal”. The age and ethnic diversity of the marchers bore witness to the depth of the economic crisis and the breadth of the commitment to carry out solutions that preserve human dignity and rights.
This year the march and rally were designated as CHANGER’s Zero Evictions Day initiative. Marchers halted in front of the banks that have been aggressively foreclosing the mortgages of thousands of unemployed and underemployed homeowners in the region, changing “no more foreclosures!” Zero Evictions Day—a global effort to end evictions and claim the right to housing for all—will be observed on World Habitat Day, October 5, in Washington, DC, where PPEHRC will hold a press conference and demonstration to bear witness to the failed housing policies in the US and the bailout of the banks that continue to foreclose and evict millions of people across the nation.
For further information about the march and the organization, visit our web site, www.ChattanoogaChanger.org or contact our chair, Brother Ron Fender, at Circle_unbroken@hotmail.com
Labels: Brother Ron Fender, CHANGER, March on Chattanooga, WIT, Zero Eviction Day
Monday, September 14, 2009
Press Release: Chattanooga, TN -- CHANGERS' Second Annual March for Our Lives
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CHANGERS: Chattanoogans and North Georgians for Economic Human Rights
URGENT: Media Release
The Second Annual March for Our Lives
Friday, October 2, beginning 5 pm at UTC (McCallie Avenue and University Street intersection)
We will march through downtown and end at Miller Park for free food & music.
We are marching for a living wage, affordable housing and health care and the end to unjust poverty.
Who’s invited: everyone!
Contact: Brother Ron Fender, 423-756-4222, Chattanooga Community Kitchen
Download Flyer
CHANGERS is the local arm of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, an international movement working to abolish poverty through the promotion of economic human rights as named in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Articles 23, 25, and 26. These articles state our right to such provisions as housing, health care, a living wage job, and education. The founding creed of the United States of America, which asserts our rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, inspired the formulation of these human rights. Our government signed the UDHR in 1948; its full implementation would mean that our country would be living out the true meaning of its creed. This American Dream is possible because our country is the richest and most powerful in the world.
Poverty is a violation of our human rights. We accept anyone or any organization into this Campaign that unites with these principles.
www.chattanoogachanger.org
URGENT: Media Release
The Second Annual March for Our Lives
Friday, October 2, beginning 5 pm at UTC (McCallie Avenue and University Street intersection)
We will march through downtown and end at Miller Park for free food & music.
We are marching for a living wage, affordable housing and health care and the end to unjust poverty.
Who’s invited: everyone!
Contact: Brother Ron Fender, 423-756-4222, Chattanooga Community Kitchen
Download Flyer
CHANGERS is the local arm of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, an international movement working to abolish poverty through the promotion of economic human rights as named in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Articles 23, 25, and 26. These articles state our right to such provisions as housing, health care, a living wage job, and education. The founding creed of the United States of America, which asserts our rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, inspired the formulation of these human rights. Our government signed the UDHR in 1948; its full implementation would mean that our country would be living out the true meaning of its creed. This American Dream is possible because our country is the richest and most powerful in the world.
Poverty is a violation of our human rights. We accept anyone or any organization into this Campaign that unites with these principles.
www.chattanoogachanger.org
Labels: CHANGER, March for Our Lives, March on Chattanooga
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Flyer for the October 2nd March on Chattanooga by CHANGER
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Download the flyer for the October 2nd March on Chattanooga by CHANGER here: PoorPeoplesMarchonChattFlyer.pdf
Labels: CHANGER, March on Chattanooga
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Group rallies in support of cottages
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Original Article: http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1094988.html
By J.R. WELSH - jrwelsh@sunherald.com
WAVELAND — A small group of residents rallied Monday in support of a pending lawsuit and their push to keep living in Mississippi cottages when a state program expires.
About 20 cottage residents gathered at the Waveland ball field on Central Avenue, carrying homemade signs and making short speeches. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed Friday on the issue is expected to make its way to court this week.
“We need this permanent housing,” Andrew Canter, a lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice, told those at the rally. “We’re not going to let it be taken back.”
Canter and another lawyer from the justice center filed suit on behalf of eight Waveland residents still living in the small hurricane-relief cottages. They sued Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo and the Board of Aldermen, saying the city acted improperly when it decided to allow cottages to stay only in areas zoned for trailers when a housing program by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expires at the end of March.
In response, Longo said the lawsuit was “unbelievable.” He said the city had already taken steps to change its position, renegotiate a memorandum of understanding with MEMA, and allow cottages to remain in areas zoned residential.
Canter said he would be filing an additional brief in the case, which is scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. Friday in Chancery Court in Gulfport.
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors decided last week to allow the cottages to stay in residential neighborhoods, citing a state law that considers the structures to be modular homes, not mobile homes. Thus far the Bay St. Louis City Council has continued to restrict cottages to trailer parks.
Not everyone watching Monday’s rally of about 20 people favored the cottages. Waveland resident John Peterson, 73, sat in his car across the street holding an anti-cottage sign. He said the small, shotgun-style Mississippi cottages are ruining his investment in his home, which he rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.
“I rebuilt a $179,000 home and I’ve got Katrina cottages near me,” Peterson said. “What does that do to my property values?”
But one after another, cottage residents and their supporters made short speeches invoking their rights to a home. MEMA has offered to sell the cottages at low prices to residents who can meet a list of criteria.
By J.R. WELSH - jrwelsh@sunherald.com
WAVELAND — A small group of residents rallied Monday in support of a pending lawsuit and their push to keep living in Mississippi cottages when a state program expires.
About 20 cottage residents gathered at the Waveland ball field on Central Avenue, carrying homemade signs and making short speeches. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed Friday on the issue is expected to make its way to court this week.
“We need this permanent housing,” Andrew Canter, a lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice, told those at the rally. “We’re not going to let it be taken back.”
Canter and another lawyer from the justice center filed suit on behalf of eight Waveland residents still living in the small hurricane-relief cottages. They sued Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo and the Board of Aldermen, saying the city acted improperly when it decided to allow cottages to stay only in areas zoned for trailers when a housing program by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expires at the end of March.
In response, Longo said the lawsuit was “unbelievable.” He said the city had already taken steps to change its position, renegotiate a memorandum of understanding with MEMA, and allow cottages to remain in areas zoned residential.
Canter said he would be filing an additional brief in the case, which is scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. Friday in Chancery Court in Gulfport.
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors decided last week to allow the cottages to stay in residential neighborhoods, citing a state law that considers the structures to be modular homes, not mobile homes. Thus far the Bay St. Louis City Council has continued to restrict cottages to trailer parks.
Not everyone watching Monday’s rally of about 20 people favored the cottages. Waveland resident John Peterson, 73, sat in his car across the street holding an anti-cottage sign. He said the small, shotgun-style Mississippi cottages are ruining his investment in his home, which he rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.
“I rebuilt a $179,000 home and I’ve got Katrina cottages near me,” Peterson said. “What does that do to my property values?”
But one after another, cottage residents and their supporters made short speeches invoking their rights to a home. MEMA has offered to sell the cottages at low prices to residents who can meet a list of criteria.
Labels: Biloxi, CHANGER, Cheri Honkala, FEMA, Housing, Katrina, MEMA, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC, Rev. Bruce Wright, Waveland
Waveland rally a huge success!
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The Waveland residents turned out for a first-ever public rally to stand for their right to housing. They were joined by PPEHRC members Cheri Honkala, Rev. Bruce Wright of Tampa, and Mary Bricker-Jenkins of CHANGERs in Tennessee.
More pictures and stories to come.
 |
| Waveland Rally |
More pictures and stories to come.
Labels: Biloxi, CHANGER, Cheri Honkala, FEMA, Housing, Katrina, MEMA, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC, Rev. Bruce Wright, Waveland
Residents file lawsuit over Katrina cottages
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Original Articles:
WAVELAND — A group of Waveland residents has filed a lawsuit against city aldermen and the mayor, claiming their rights were violated when they were refused permits to remain in Hurricane Katrina cottages.
The lawsuit was filed in Hancock County Chancery Court Friday by lawyers with the Biloxi-based Mississippi Center for Justice. It asks the court to issue a preliminary injunction against the city, forbidding officials to force the residents from their cottages when a housing program by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expires.
MEMA officials started distributing the cottages to displaced homeowners after Katrina.
There are eight plaintiffs, some of whom are disabled. Defendants named in the suit are Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo and the city’s board of aldermen.
WAVELAND — A group of Waveland residents has filed a lawsuit against city aldermen and the mayor, claiming their rights were violated when they were refused permits to remain in Hurricane Katrina cottages.
The lawsuit was filed in Hancock County Chancery Court Friday by lawyers with the Biloxi-based Mississippi Center for Justice. It asks the court to issue a preliminary injunction against the city, forbidding officials to force the residents from their cottages when a housing program by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expires.
MEMA officials started distributing the cottages to displaced homeowners after Katrina.
There are eight plaintiffs, some of whom are disabled. Defendants named in the suit are Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo and the city’s board of aldermen.
Labels: Biloxi, CHANGER, Cheri Honkala, FEMA, Housing, Katrina, MEMA, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC, Rev. Bruce Wright, Waveland
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Chattanooga: Chattanooga Times Free Press: Marchers for poor tape manifesto on City Hall door
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Marchers for poor tape manifesto on City Hall door
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/oct/04/chattanooga-marchers-poor-tape-manifesto-city-hall/
By: Cliff Hightower
More than 50 people marched down McCallie Avenue to Miller Park on Friday and then peacefully walked to the steps of City Hall to post a manifesto calling on economic rights for poor people.
The Poor People’s March was the first of its kind in Chattanooga as organizers tried to bring attention to homelessness and poverty in the city.
“The ultimate goal is to end poverty,” said Mary Bricker-Jenkins, a Chattanooga resident and member of the Chattanooga and North Georgia Economic Human Rights Campaign. The group organized the march across downtown Chattanooga.
Caption: A group trying to call attention to the rights of poor people marched from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to City Hall, where it taped a manifesto to the doors.
The group, which started just a few months ago at the Community Kitchen, is affiliated with the national Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, Ms. Bricker-Jenkins said.
Homeless people, volunteers, teenagers and a small group of Gregorian friars walked along McCallie Avenue at 5 p.m. led by a bagpipe player in a Scottish kilt. The group of marchers held signs, some saying “Homelessness is not a crime” or “We’re all homeless.”
Ali Rudolph, 24, moved here in August with her husband from Oregon, she said. Both are homeless, but he was gone Friday to the Military Entrance Processing Station in Knoxville to join the Tennessee Army National Guard, Mrs. Rudolph said.
She marched in solidarity with others like her, she said.
“It is for a good cause,” Mrs. Rudolph said. “A lot of us out here don’t get treated the way we should.”
The group ate dinner at Miller Park and then proceeded to City Hall, where they taped a copy of the “Poor People’s Manifesto” on the door. Brother Ron Fender, a local Gregorian friar, told marchers he asked City Council members Tuesday to come on the march.
None showed, he said.
“We want them to have a reminder we were here,” he said.
Several marchers shared different reasons for marching. Amanda Wheelock, a 16-year-old Ringgold, Ga., girl, said just a few days ago she met a homeless man on Walnut Street Bridge who used to be a doctor. She said a few minutes later, while he was eating a sandwich, the police shooed him away.
“That’s why I’m here,” she said. “I can’t see why he can’t sit there and eat his sandwich.”
Elizabeth Wray, an 18-year-old Chattanooga resident and member of the human rights group, said her brother died two years ago homeless. Marching for her is “personal, not political,” she said.
She said sometimes people in Chattanooga take for granted what they have. The reward Friday night was everyone blending together, she said.
“It’s really a beautiful thing to see people merge,” Ms. Wray said.
A group trying to call attention to the rights of poor people marched from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to City Hall, where it taped a manifesto to the doors.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/oct/04/chattanooga-marchers-poor-tape-manifesto-city-hall/
By: Cliff Hightower
More than 50 people marched down McCallie Avenue to Miller Park on Friday and then peacefully walked to the steps of City Hall to post a manifesto calling on economic rights for poor people.
The Poor People’s March was the first of its kind in Chattanooga as organizers tried to bring attention to homelessness and poverty in the city.
“The ultimate goal is to end poverty,” said Mary Bricker-Jenkins, a Chattanooga resident and member of the Chattanooga and North Georgia Economic Human Rights Campaign. The group organized the march across downtown Chattanooga.
Caption: A group trying to call attention to the rights of poor people marched from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to City Hall, where it taped a manifesto to the doors.
The group, which started just a few months ago at the Community Kitchen, is affiliated with the national Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, Ms. Bricker-Jenkins said.
Homeless people, volunteers, teenagers and a small group of Gregorian friars walked along McCallie Avenue at 5 p.m. led by a bagpipe player in a Scottish kilt. The group of marchers held signs, some saying “Homelessness is not a crime” or “We’re all homeless.”
Ali Rudolph, 24, moved here in August with her husband from Oregon, she said. Both are homeless, but he was gone Friday to the Military Entrance Processing Station in Knoxville to join the Tennessee Army National Guard, Mrs. Rudolph said.
She marched in solidarity with others like her, she said.
“It is for a good cause,” Mrs. Rudolph said. “A lot of us out here don’t get treated the way we should.”
The group ate dinner at Miller Park and then proceeded to City Hall, where they taped a copy of the “Poor People’s Manifesto” on the door. Brother Ron Fender, a local Gregorian friar, told marchers he asked City Council members Tuesday to come on the march.
None showed, he said.
“We want them to have a reminder we were here,” he said.
Several marchers shared different reasons for marching. Amanda Wheelock, a 16-year-old Ringgold, Ga., girl, said just a few days ago she met a homeless man on Walnut Street Bridge who used to be a doctor. She said a few minutes later, while he was eating a sandwich, the police shooed him away.
“That’s why I’m here,” she said. “I can’t see why he can’t sit there and eat his sandwich.”
Elizabeth Wray, an 18-year-old Chattanooga resident and member of the human rights group, said her brother died two years ago homeless. Marching for her is “personal, not political,” she said.
She said sometimes people in Chattanooga take for granted what they have. The reward Friday night was everyone blending together, she said.
“It’s really a beautiful thing to see people merge,” Ms. Wray said.
A group trying to call attention to the rights of poor people marched from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to City Hall, where it taped a manifesto to the doors.
Labels: CHANGER, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Chattanoogan: Poor People's March Set In Chattanooga Next Friday
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http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_135939.asp
Posted September 26, 2008
A "March for Our Lives" will be held next Friday beginning at 5 p.m.
The march will begin at UTC's Hunter Hall on McCallie Avenue and proceed to Miller Park where there will be music and local, fresh food served by Food Not Bombs, followed by speakers from across the nation.
The march will then proceed to City Hall, where the Poor People's Manifesto for Economic Human Rights will be posted to the doors.
The march will then conclude with a Tent-Inn, its location to be announced at a later date.
At sunrise on Saturday, Oct. 5, an ecumenical prayer service will conclude the march.
Officials said, "Every day in our community, working families are forced to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries, between paying the landlord or filling prescriptions.
"Every night in our community approximately 300 people are sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings, under bridges or in the woods.
"Every day, hundreds of children begin the school-day hungry or cold from sleeping in their cars, or on the couch, or in a church basement.
"Twenty five percent of homeless people are employed. Forty percent of homeless men are veterans.
"We have program shelters that are filled to capacity, not one of them city-run or funded.
"On Oct. 3, we invite you to take a stand as poor people march on Chattanooga.
"Why is this march being held?
"Believing that all humans are equal and that all humans have the right to shelter, health care, water, food and all other economic, social and political rights, the Poor People's March was created in response to the growing inequalities and economic injustices occurring in our city and across our nation.
"All people are invited to the march and the park and to spend the night at the Tent-Inn, especially poor People, homeless people, working people, students, teachers, old people, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, city and county leaders, doctors, lawyers, rabbis, farmers, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, religious people, agnostics, atheists, writers, readers, cowboys, policemen, priests, preachers, sinners, saints, social workers, activists, students, anyone with a heart who cares about the poor. Animals are welcome, as well.
"The goal of the march is to move from service to solidarity, and to make basic economic human rights a reality for all in Chattanooga. The March is being organized by the North Georgia and Chattanooga chapter of the Poor People's Human Rights Campaign."
Posted September 26, 2008
A "March for Our Lives" will be held next Friday beginning at 5 p.m.
The march will begin at UTC's Hunter Hall on McCallie Avenue and proceed to Miller Park where there will be music and local, fresh food served by Food Not Bombs, followed by speakers from across the nation.
The march will then proceed to City Hall, where the Poor People's Manifesto for Economic Human Rights will be posted to the doors.
The march will then conclude with a Tent-Inn, its location to be announced at a later date.
At sunrise on Saturday, Oct. 5, an ecumenical prayer service will conclude the march.
Officials said, "Every day in our community, working families are forced to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries, between paying the landlord or filling prescriptions.
"Every night in our community approximately 300 people are sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings, under bridges or in the woods.
"Every day, hundreds of children begin the school-day hungry or cold from sleeping in their cars, or on the couch, or in a church basement.
"Twenty five percent of homeless people are employed. Forty percent of homeless men are veterans.
"We have program shelters that are filled to capacity, not one of them city-run or funded.
"On Oct. 3, we invite you to take a stand as poor people march on Chattanooga.
"Why is this march being held?
"Believing that all humans are equal and that all humans have the right to shelter, health care, water, food and all other economic, social and political rights, the Poor People's March was created in response to the growing inequalities and economic injustices occurring in our city and across our nation.
"All people are invited to the march and the park and to spend the night at the Tent-Inn, especially poor People, homeless people, working people, students, teachers, old people, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, city and county leaders, doctors, lawyers, rabbis, farmers, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, religious people, agnostics, atheists, writers, readers, cowboys, policemen, priests, preachers, sinners, saints, social workers, activists, students, anyone with a heart who cares about the poor. Animals are welcome, as well.
"The goal of the march is to move from service to solidarity, and to make basic economic human rights a reality for all in Chattanooga. The March is being organized by the North Georgia and Chattanooga chapter of the Poor People's Human Rights Campaign."
Labels: CHANGER, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC
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