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Why I Fight: The Foreclosure Crisis in Minnesota Printer-Friendly
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Apr 27, 2012
By Chris Gray
Chris Gray works for Minneapolis Public Schools, coordinates the Occupy Homes Canvassing Committee, and is a leading organizer in Socialist Alternative MN.
It’s been five years since the housing bubble burst, sending millions of working-class homeowners into foreclosure and economic devastation. While banks got bailed out, the hard-won assets and savings of working-class communities were wiped out. But now, with the encouragement and confidence of the Occupy movement behind them, homeowners are beginning to fight back in a serious way.
On January 7, I spoke at an Occupy Homes community forum in the cafeteria of the elementary school where I work. The room was filled with over 150 “occupiers,” teachers, and community members prepared to launch into the then-uncharted territory of foreclosure and eviction defense.
I explained how one out of ten students at my school qualify as “homeless or highly mobile.” They do not have a stable place to sleep. The effects of this permeate through every aspect of the school. Kids need passes to the nurse so they can nap, teachers keep bananas in their desks, and office staff store clean clothes in cabinets. Ultimately, these solutions are band-aids on the malignant afflictions caused by the short-sighted, profit-driven decisions of the big banks.
Since 2007, almost 3,000 Minneapolis families a year have been foreclosed on, with the crisis disproportionately impacting communities of color. It is well documented that access to housing and food dramatically affect a student’s test scores, so foreclosures undoubtedly contribute to the dramatic racial achievement gap in Minnesota, which is among the highest in the country. In addition, due to the loss of 4,000 students from the district, foreclosures have cost Minneapolis Public Schools over $150 million since 2006 (Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, 2011).
In the zip code around my school, 55407, 19 percent of all homes have been foreclosed on. It is also home to Bobby Hull, who stood up against the banks with Occupy Homes MN and in February won back his home in a nationally acclaimed victory. Across town, in a predominantly African-American neighborhood where 51 percent of the homes have been foreclosed on since 2007, lives Monique White, a single African-American mother fighting to save her home from US Bank. She recently confronted CEO Richard Davis, in front of thousands of US Bank shareholders, demanding a meeting with him – which he was forced to accept.
People are quickly learning that an economic struggle against the banks turns into a political struggle against corporate politicians. Calls for a moratorium on foreclosures are growing. Most recently, community pressure pushed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to unanimously vote for a (non-binding) moratorium on foreclosures and evictions in the city after a study found a staggering 84% of all foreclosures there were “illegal or were missing crucial documentation” (Huffington Post, 4/11/12).
Undoubtedly this same widespread fraud and illegality exists in Minnesota, but so far government officials have mainly looked the other way. The mayors and elected sheriffs continue to send law enforcement in to evict families at the banks’ bidding, while almost no resources go to fighting white-collar crime. That’s why in Minneapolis we are demanding Mayor Rybak reprioritize police resources away from carrying out evictions. The mayor’s inaction and his public friendship with US Bank CEO Richard Davis clarify his role as an agent of the 1% in the eyes of an increasing number of people.
As people see that the toxic effects of the foreclosure crisis ooze into every aspect of life, they realize the breadth and depth of the economic crisis. But a growing number of homeowners and community members are finding a united voice in struggles like Occupy Homes.
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Lessons from Occupy Homes Printer-Friendly
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Apr 25, 2012
By Ty Moore
Ty Moore is on the Organizers Table of Occupy Homes MN and is the Midwest Organizer for Socialist Alternative
Occupy Wall Street changed the conversation. Now the challenge is to change the system (or at least win tangible reforms). So, as spring brings with it a fresh round of Occupy-inspired protests and campaigns, the central question facing the movement is how to transform mass support into mass action.
A large majority of the public – 77%, according to a December Pew Poll – agrees with the basic premise of Occupy Wall Street that big corporations and the 1% have too much power. But across the country, most Occupy events remain small and Occupy groups have failed to sink roots into working-class communities most impacted by Wall Street’s class war policies.
One of the exceptions to this trend is Occupy Homes Minnesota, a growing community campaign against foreclosures that is increasingly looked to as a national model. In a few short months, the campaign met with impressive success (see article in Justice 82).
After Occupy Homes forced Bank of America to renegotiate to keep Bobby Hull in his home, and mounted pressure campaigns delaying the foreclosure process of several others, more and more homeowners have approached us to fight back. We have consciously been building the foundations for a powerful, mass campaign and are poised to dramatically expand in the coming months.
This article is an attempt to draw lessons from our experiences that will help inform strategy discussions among Occupy activists across the country.
Bread-and-Butter Battles
When police repression and winter weather broke up Occupy Minneapolis, Occupy Homes MN was launched to re-gather the most serious activists around a bold mass strategy to fight foreclosures.
Our initial goals were twofold: First, to accelerate the momentum of Occupy by shifting gears into tangible bread-and-butter battles against the big banks. Second, to construct a vehicle for working-class communities to channel their rage at Wall Street into a powerful movement capable of forcing concessions from the 1%.
We recognized that, while mass sympathy existed for Occupy Wall Street, as long as concrete struggle remained limited to holding parks and plazas against police repression, there would be no hope for mass involvement. Instead, it would be necessary to re-position the movement to fight budget cuts, layoffs, racist police policies, and other real injustices meted out by the 1% and their political servants. The foreclosure crisis seemed like a clear place to start.
A Compelling Vision
One of the widely recognized keys to Occupy Wall Street’s success was their creation of a compelling story. The slogan “We are the 99%” caught on like wildfire. Similarly, the early emphasis in Occupy Homes was about building a compelling narrative.
We were extremely fortunate to have Monique White come forward among the early homeowners asking for help. Her story as a hardworking single mother who lost her job due to state budget cuts resonated with the experiences of millions. Moreover, as a black woman living in the most heavily foreclosed-upon neighborhood in the state, her struggle spoke to the ongoing legacy of racism in the banking and housing industry.
Real resources were put into ensuring Monique’s story would be told well and widely. Professional videos were produced, a serious social media apparatus was built, and careful attention to messaging was emphasized.
Using the occupation of Monique’s home as a model, a vision for a mass campaign was projected. At rallies, public forums, and campaign meetings we repeatedly explained our goal of getting hundreds of foreclosure victims like Monique to publicly pledge to stay in their homes until the banks renegotiated a fair deal. We publicly warned that any attempt to evict Monique or other homeowners would be met with mass resistance.
Building Capacity
On the basis of this clear vision, we appealed for supporters to energetically plug into a coherent campaign plan to transform the vision into reality. This has meant reaching out beyond the “usual suspects” of the Occupy activists and long-standing left circles.
A systematic canvassing campaign in neighborhoods most impacted by foreclosures was initiated, alongside outreach to community groups, churches, trade unions, and other potential allies. Energetic students recruited for an “Occupy Spring Break” initiative remained active and brought the campaign to their campuses. Important ties in the Latino and African-American communities have been established.
Implementing our campaign plan required building a solid leadership team that could quickly draw lessons, gauge progress, and propose tactical changes to the wider campaign as needed. The anti-leadership, anti-structure mood in Occupy had to be challenged. Many of the most serious activists, frustrated at the dysfunction of the General Assemblies, began informally meeting to discuss a strategy.
In a conscious effort to build a cohesive leadership team across ideological, racial, and other barriers, systematic “one-to-one” discussions are encouraged to build trust, to explore areas where we agree and disagree, and on this basis to work out a common vision for Occupy Homes.
Important weaknesses and debates over democratic process continue within Occupy Homes MN, but in practice we have established a self-confident, politically representative, and effective leadership team capable of mobilizing the energy and ideas of larger numbers of people.
We are now gearing up for a major new campaign this summer, aimed at building a statewide network, expanding the number of public homeowner campaigns into the hundreds and popularizing the demand for an across-the-board principal reduction for underwater homeowners and a foreclosure moratorium.
The Need for Demands
From the first days of Occupy Wall Street, outspoken opposition to adopting clear demands dominated the movement. Some argued that demands for reform undermined the revolutionary spirit of Occupy. Others worried demands were divisive. And as long as the main practical goal was to simply maintain physical occupations of parks and plazas, the problems with these arguments were less apparent.
Once the movement shifted into a real class struggle with the banks over tangible assets – people’s homes – the whole discussion rapidly changed. Several immediate problems arose from Occupy Homes’ lack of a program to solve the housing crisis.
Far from being more revolutionary, the lack of demands reduced the campaign to essentially fighting house-by-house. One week we’d demand US Bank offer Monique a fair deal; next week we’d demand Bank of America negotiate with Bobby. But how could this work once we brought hundreds of homeowners into the campaign?
The only way to beat the power of the banks is to build a mass movement around clear demands for collective solutions. Demands help popularize clear goals for the movement and provide protection from politicians watering down or diverting our struggles. They allow movements to establish the terms of debate and to expose the wider agendas of those in power.
Through this process, working people begin to feel their collective power, to see the corrupt role of the 1% and their governing institutions, and to recognize the need to challenge capitalism as a whole.
The discussion on a program for Occupy Homes MN is ongoing, but three basic demands on three clear targets were agreed for outreach materials. First, a call on the banks to renegotiate mortgages to levels homeowners can afford. Second, for state authorities to pass an immediate moratorium on foreclosures. Third, for the mayor and sheriff to stop sending police to evict families at the banks’ behest.
Avoiding Co-Optation
Since Occupy Wall Street rose into the national spotlight last fall, attempts to co-opt the movement have been made by various liberal groups aligned with the Democratic Party.
The biggest OWS national day of action was called for November 17 last year and was effectively organized in coalition with SEIU (Service Employees’ International Union). But when SEIU’s President Mary Kay Henry used the occasion to publicly endorse Obama’s re-election campaign and his anemic jobs bill, many occupiers were justifiably enraged. More recently, MoveOn.org spearheaded the impressive “99% Spring” initiative, drawing thousands into “direct action trainings” which, in reality, were part of their 2012 campaign to elect Democrats.
The mistake made by many in Occupy, however, is to simply avoid working with unions or liberal groups. Occupy Homes took the approach of active coalition with more established community groups, while maintaining political independence and a mass movement strategy.
An important test came when Occupy Homes organized a confrontation with Minneapolis Democratic Mayor R.T. Rybak, urging him not to send police to evict Monique White. We initially got seven of nine city councilors to sign a petition with the same demand. Following the action, leaders in SEIU who had donated money and significant human resources to Occupy Homes put pressure on activists to stop publicly calling out the mayor. Their ties to the mayor and wider Democratic Party, they argued, could be used for behind-the-scenes negotiations instead.
This failed strategy of refusing to put public demands on the mayor has been tested. SEIU and others have campaigned against foreclosures for over a year already, but the mayor and his police were completely left off the hook for their complicity in the housing crisis and have continued evictions with political impunity. In reality, elected officials are far more vulnerable to public pressure than the monolithic banks. Collective solutions to the foreclosure crisis will require policy changes by local, state, and federal governments. And since both parties are funded and controlled by the big banks, achieving political change means placing demands on both parties.
Occupy Homes, while maintaining a working relationship with SEIU leaders, rejected their approach and has continued to protest the mayor’s use of police resources for the bankers’ profit-driven agenda.
Socialist Alternative has been involved from the early days of the campaign, with members involved in both strategic planning and day-to-day work. It has been an inspiring and educational experience for us, and all involved. Moving forward, we must closely study similar campaigns across the country and internationally, including the mass household tax boycott led by our Irish affiliate organization. The goal must be to build an ever-growing, constantly learning movement that can win tangible victories for working people and, even more importantly, train a new generation of community fighters to carry the struggle against capitalism forward.
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Occupy Homes Protest Forces Delay of Sheriff Sale Printer-Friendly
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Apr 10, 2012
By Ty Moore
We republish here a press release from Occupy Homes MN following a successful campaign to stop US Bank from auctioning off the Vinje family's home. Thanks to all Socialist Alternative members across the country who participated in the national call-in campaign to US Bank VP Tom Joyce. -Ty Moore
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Occupy Homes Protest Forces Delay of Sheriff Sale
US Bank buckles under pressure, delaying sale of veteran John Vinje's home until May 29th
After a week of escalating pressure demanding US Bank postpone the sheriff’s sale of John and Lucinda Vinje’s home, Occupy Homes won another 11th hour victory today. John Vinje led a contingent of 50 Occupy Homes MN supporters into the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Civil Division where the sale was to take place at 11:00am this morning. Speeches, chants, and song filled the marbled hallways in the ground floor of city hall. No potential buyers were seen entering the courtroom the entire time, and just after 11:30am it was announced that US Bank had delayed the sale to May 29th.
Following the victory, John said: “This shows that the power is now with the people, and not with large, monolithic corporations, like US Bank. Homeowners throughout Minnesota facing foreclosure, facing sheriff's sales, should get together with their community and demand a postponement and renegotiation. They should get connected with Occupy Homes because we can save homes throughout the state of Minnesota when we all work together.”
Today’s action followed a week of escalating pressure on US Bank, including a national call-in campaign aimed to VP Tom Joyce, and a march on US Bank CEO Richard Davis’ mansion on April 7th. Ty Moore, an organizer with Occupy Homes explained: “We’ve got the banks scrambling already, but this fight is just beginning. John’s victory, following Monique and Bobby’s victories, is sending a message. Minnesota homeowners aren’t going to leave their homes quietly and in shame anymore. It’s the banks and CEOs like Richard Davis who should be ashamed!”
Occupy Homes MN achieved national media attention after winning Bobby Hull’s foreclosed home back after US Bank bought his property at a sheriff sale, and repeatedly delaying the eviction of Monique White, who also received her original mortgage through US Bank. John and Lucinda Vinje are among a growing number of homeowners joining together through Occupy Homes to fight back against the unjust and illegal banking practices behind the foreclosure crisis.
John and Lucinda Vinje bought their home in 2008, the first house either of them had ever owned. John is an Air Force veteran now working as a security guard, and Lucinda has worked a government job for ten years. But when financial difficulties caused them to fall behind on payments by just two months, US Bank refused their request to repay their arrears in installments and immediately began foreclosure proceedings. Meanwhile, Lucinda has been forced into "medical retirement" due to a chronic condition, adding financial strain on the family.
If US Bank would renegotiate their mortgage to current market value as the Vinje’s request, they could afford the payments. After six months of delays, in March US Bank offered them a measly $97 less on their monthly payments. Both John and Lucinda have worked their entire lives, but now stand to lose the only home they have ever owned.
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