Housing

by Charles Hallman
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 11/4/2009

Lax legislation leaves homeowners, renters ill equipped to fight banks

from Fight Back! News: http://www.fightbacknews.org/2009/09/rosemary-williams-eviction-from-ins...

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.

Thirty-five days into the popular occupation of 3138 Clinton, Rosemary Williams (one of five Minnesota women publicly resisting eviction - TCIMC/PPEHRC video) was inside her home when it was raided by the Minneapolis Police Department around 2:45pm Friday afternoon.  Three supporters were inside.  Police claimed they would give ample time to move out remaining belongings, and those inside did so, aided by several dozen who rallied to the scene.

But later in the afternoon, the MPD's plan for a quiet, obedient eviction was foiled.  After rallying the crowd, a handful of activists crossed the yellow tape roping off Clinton Avenue on either side of the house and were promptly assaulted by the police with kicks and pepper spray.  Other supporters crossed the now-removed yellow tape from the opposite direction to ensure the activists' safety.  Officers responded aggressively; one shoved someone to the ground with a two-handed shove to the chest. A TC Indymedia volunteer was sprayed directly in the face while on the "public" side of the police tape.

Four or five people sat down in front of the house in an act of civil disobedience.  An officer pointed to another man standing motionless with the crowd outside the police cordon, grabbed him and arrested him.  Eventually, seven were taken waiting vans in the alley and arrested.  An MPD spokesman said they were charged with obstruction of legal process, though they have not actually been formally charged as of tonight.  As of midnight, all have been released from jail.  This video (1:50) shows the police conduct during the civil disobedience.

Download video (MP4) 8.4MB | YouTube | Related: Video: Before the arrests  | Article from Fight Back News | Foreclosure Solutions Forum Sat. 9/19  | TC Daily Planet article w/ video Williams interview | Upcoming: Saturday 10am Leaflet at 7th/Hennepin outside Obama event | Sunday 2pm Press conference outside Rosemary's house

Have videos, photos, or updates?  Post them as a comment or publish to the newswire.

Rosemary Williams and four other Minnesota women have decided to resist the foreclosure and eviction monster that's destroying our communities.

People from the Twin Cities are helping these women defy eviction, the Hennepin County Sheriff, and the big banks that want to steal their homes. Produced by Twin Cities Indymedia and the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign. Here's the 110-second trailer; the full 12 minute video is posted below the fold...
 

110-second trailer URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGZCXaXSbbA
12-minute video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQeNyVjHuvQ

Latest (8/20): Anti-foreclosure activists crowd mayor's office; Rybak hides, doesn't support foreclosure moratorium.  "Call 311," says an aide.

Talks broke down between Rosemary Williams and the companies preventing her from owning her home, organizers revealed Tuesday at 3138 Clinton Ave.  But plans were also announced about how the eviction resistance will continue.

The offer from GMAC and Aurora Loan Services - two of the plethora of companies in the picture (a hard-to-follow flowchart was handed out on Tuesday) - was for Williams to rent the home, reportedly at $850 a month, for a mere 12-month period with no option to buy and no guarantees against a future rent increase. Without the deed to the property that she says she's paid for "a million times over," Williams considers the deal unacceptable.  Cheri Honkala called it "really not an offer."  As such, although fears of a raid don't seem to be on people's minds, a 24-hour presence at the home is still being maintained.

In response to the stalled talks - which were, admittedly, an improvement over GMAC's previous position offering $5,000 to end the campaign - PPEHRC and the People's Bailout Coalition are now planning a "major protest" at a different politically advantageous site each week in an attempt to force the issue and keep supporters active.  First up: Mayor RT Rybak's office at 11am on Wednesday (meeting first at the Government Plaza LRT Station on 5th Street).  Beyond that, Honkala hinted at plans to take the fight to Pittsburgh for the upcoming G20 summit resistance (schedule/organizing bodies, latest organizing update), at which an economic justice march has been scheduled for Saturday, September 20 preceding other marches and actions the entire next week, and shortly thereafter to an action in Washington, DC.

Occupation coverage archive | Photos

UPDATE 4:20pm Friday from MN PPEHRC: "At this very moment Rosemary is on the phone [Correction: a conference call is being set up] with GMAC and her lawyer to work out details of a possible real deal that Rosemary could accept. Again we cannot allow ourselves to let our hopes skyrocket high until papers are signed!"

* * * * * * * *

With a deal allegedly on the table, the tactics have changed on the 7th day of the occupation, with the goal of allowing Rosemary to live in a semi-normal state in her home.  Organizers are still on the watch for police action, however, as they wait to hear further word from GMAC lawyers.  | Photo of email from Elizabeth Glidden about offer from GMAC CEO

"I slept like I didn't think the cops were going to come, and they didn't!" - PPEHRC organizer

Waiting around: "So you guys are all on the same schedule, right?  GMAC's schedule?  They determine our lives and what we do?" - PPEHRC organizer

"The police were trying to push this one out the door and he wouldn't go.  He grabbed the policeman's leg and wouldn't let go of it!" - Rosemary, describing her grandson after the Sheriffs came on Friday

Related: Misplaced Blame at the Heart of Stories Like Rosemary's by Gail Rosenblum/Star Tribune

Most photos below were taken Thursday, August 13.

As Indymedia and others have been reporting, the direct action occupation of Rosemary Williams' foreclosed house is ongoing and has now entered its sixth day. So far, the cops haven't raided, but the general expectation is that they will soon.

We urgently need to stop that from happening and keep the protest going until GMAC agrees to negotiate in good faith!

One strategy to make this is happen is to call on the elected officials who claim to stand with people like Rosemary, not the banks and corporations, and demand that they take action to intervene.