{takebacktheland.org} Survivors Village Takes Over former public housing site in New Orleans!

Press Release

For immediate release

Friday, May 28^th, 2010

Survivors Village Takes Over Housing Office

Mass sit in demands the Right to Return for former

St. Bernard Housing Project Residents

forcibly removed after Hurricane Katrina

Friday, May 28, 2010, 2:00pm- At approximately 1:30pm, the Survivors Village organization stormed and sat in at the offices of the Columbia Village apartments today. The complex sits on top of the land of what used to be the St. Bernard public housing complex. The complex was destroyed after Hurricane Katrina and all 1,500 families were removed. The new units are primarily market rate housing with approximately 130 set aside for public housing.

Police on the scene were attempting to decide what to do: continue to allow Survivors Village to protest or arrest them for trespassing on what is still public land. Almost 100 protesters are in the lobby. Video and pictures will be up soon on takebacktheland.org.

The protest is part of Survivor's Village Right to Return Weekend, during which the organization asserts the unconditional right of return for all public housing residents forcibly relocated by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent public policy actions of the local and state governments.

Right to Return Weekend continues on Saturday, May 29^th with a protest against land grabs and on Sunday, May 30^th to demand an end to homelessness. Both action begin at 9:00am on the 3800 block of St. Bernard Ave. in St. Bernard Parish.

Survivor's Village is an autonomous organization affiliated with the Take Back the Land Movement (TBLM). TBLM is a network of local organizations dedicated to demanding people's fundamental human right to housing housing and community control over land.

For more information about Survivors Village, visit communitiesrising.wordpress.com. For more information about the Take Back the Land Movement visit takebacktheland.org.

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{takebacktheland.org} Take Back the Land hits New Orleans

The Take Back the Land Movement May 2010 Month of Action to Elevate Housing to the Level of a Human Right kicked off on May 1st with Right 2 Survive in Portland, OR and will conclude with a bang as Survivor's Village hosts the Right to Return Weekend in New Orleans, LA.

The Right to Return Weekend was established to demand the unconditional right to come home for all former residents of public housing, many of whom were forced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina, while others were forced by cruel public policies and the economic forces of gentrification.

Survivor's Village is organizing three days of action, including:

Day 1: Saturday, May 28th • 12:00noon
Right to Return Rally & Protest
All former residents of public housing have an unconditional right to come home!
LET THE PEOPLE IN!
3800 St. Bernard Ave.

Day 2: Saturday, May 29th • 9:00am
Action against land grabs by developers & crooks!!
All vacant land should be developed by the community for the community
Our Communities Our Responsibility
3800 St. Bernard Ave.

Day 3: Sunday, May 30th • 9:00am
Action to fight against the problem of homelessness 60,000 vacant buildings, 20,000 people homeless
END HOMELESSNESS NOW!
3800 Block of St. Bernard Ave.

Survivors Village is affiliated with the national TAKE BACK THE LAND MOVEMENT

Right to Return Weekend co-sponsored by MAYDAY NEW ORLEANS

Get more information about Survivors Village at communitiesrising.wordpress.com

Get more information and ongoing updates about the action at takebacktheland.org.

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{takebacktheland.org} FUREE in the NY Times: Subsidize Housing not Hotels

The May 2010 Month of Action is on in New York City.

Read the Full story at Takebacktheland.org or http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/with-sheraton-downtown-brooklyns-makeover-continues/

"What we're saying is, in the middle of an affordable housing crisis, stop bailing out hotels and major development and start focusing on low-income and working-class families in this country."

- FUREE executive director Valery Jean in the New York Times.

Chanting "Housing, not Hotels," members of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) crashed the fancy grand opening of the Sheraton Hotel Brooklyn on Thursday, May 20. The 321 room hotel was feted with a food, elected officials and media, but not many local residents.  

"If the city of New York has money to subsidize wealthy corporation like Sheraton to build luxury hotel rooms during a recession, they should have money to build housing that is affordable to residents of Brooklyn," argued Diana Smith, Board Secretary of FUREE.

Members and other residents continued the protest even after the Sheraton called in the police. The action is part of FUREE's "Take Back our CommUNITY" campaign for community control over land and housing.

Dignitaries at the ribbon cutting included Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership president Joe Chan, among others. FUREE members, however, were not as happy as the Sheraton Hotel corporation to see the dignitaries.

"Joe Chan and other politicians are taking buildings that people live in, destroying them and making big condos and hotels that no one can afford," complained 19 year old FUREE youth leader and Brooklyn resident Elvin Paulino. "We are mad, so we are recruiting new members and are going to take down these politicians and developers with whatever we can."

Founded in 2001, FUREE is a Brooklyn-based, membership led multi-racial organization of more than 500 families that organizes low-income and working families to promote equality, improve economic conditions, and build collective power to win systemic changes at the local, state and national level.  Primarily led by women of color with an emphasis on community and family, FUREE uses direct action, leadership development, community organizing, and political education to achieve our vision and goals.

FUREE will host its annual convention on Saturday, May 22 at PS 67, located at 51 Edwards St. (between Myrtle Ave. & Tillary St.) in Brooklyn beginning at 12 noon. For more information, visit to FUREE.org, call 718-852-2960 or email info@furee.org.

FUREE is an autonomous organization which is also part of the Take Back the Land Movement. This action is part of the may 2010 National Month of Action to demand the human right to housing called for by the Take Back the Land Movement (takebacktheland.org), which is supported by the US Human Rights Network (USHRNetwork.org).

Read the Full story at Takebacktheland.org or http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/with-sheraton-downtown-brooklyns-makeover-continues/

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{takebacktheland.org} 'If this isn’t neighborhood revitalization, I don’t know what is'- Desiree Wilson

As part of the Take Back the Land Movement May 2010 Month of Action, Operation Welcome Home (OWH) hosted an open house celebration on May 10, 2010, and introduced the world to Desiree Wilson, an after-school program assistant supervisor. OWH spared this mother of two and her family from homelessness by moving them into a long abandoned foreclosed home on the westside of Madison, WI. OWH organizer Z! Haukeness said it well: "It's unjust and immoral that there's homeless people on one side of the street and empty buildings on the other side of the street." 

Desiree Wilson said it best: "If this isn't neighborhood revitalization, I don't know what is."

Operation Welcome Home is asking police and local officials to refrain from evicting the Wilson family and, instead, work with them on finding real solutions to this extreme housing crisis. They also ask that instead of the scheduled May 18^th foreclosure sale, the property be handed over to a community land trust for the benefit of the community.

See the story, photos and video here: http://www.takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsstory&newsletterID=142

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5dEKDRD_FA

On the 50^th anniversary of the first civil rights era "sit-ins," this "live-in" is a part of the Take Back the Land Movement May 2010 National Month of Action, where local community organizations "liberate" vacant homes or defend families from eviction, all in pursuit of elevating housing to the level of a human right.

May 2010 has already been a busy month, with actions including:

• Right 2 Survive (right2survive.wordpress.com) seized a vacant lot in front of a long abandoned school in SE Portland and erected a tent city. Story and video: http://www.takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsstory&newsletterID=127

• The Toledo Foreclosure Defense League made national news as they helped Keith Sadler resist eviction before the SWAT team raided the home. There were no injuries and the Stony Ridge 7 are charged with 2 misdemeanors each. Story and video: takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newstory&newsid=143

• The Atlanta chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) disrupted a foreclosure sale on the courthouse steps. Story and video: http://www.takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsstory&newsletterID=131

• The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign (chicagoantieviction.org)protested the HUD office for their attempts to evict a family from public housing, a campaign could eventually lead to a defense. Story and photos: http://www.takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsstory&newsletterID=132

• In Philadelphia, PA the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign liberated a vacant city owned house and moved in a family.

• In Sacramento, CA a small faith based group continued their good works by moving two families into foreclosed homes in May.

• In April, Homes Not Jails San Francisco liberated a home for an octogenarian facing homelessness. http://www.takebacktheland.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsstory&newsletterID=115

Additional actions are planned for New York City, Boston, MA, Washington, DC, St. Petersburg, FL, New Orleans, LA and other locations.

The Take Back the Land Movement networks local organizations engaged in housing is a human right work. The Movement is supported with staff and technical assistance by the US Human Rights Network (USHRNetwork.org) and strategic partners the Ruckus Society (www.ruckus.org) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (www.ccrjustice.org). The network includes over a dozen organizations, including the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (www.economichumanrights.org). We urge you to join and support this movement.

What Can You Do?

• Have your organization join the movement. Go to takebacktheland.org and join a growing movement for community control over land and housing as a human right.
• Support the Take Back the Land Movement. Log in and sign the online petition to demonstrate broad support for the movement. Make a financial contribution to defray costs associated with training and support. Both can happen from takebacktheland.org.
• Write, blog, tweet and re-post stories about the May 2010 Month of Action. Make sure people know about what is going on and grow the story and the movement.
• The most important thing you can do is to be an active member of an organization fighting to elevate housing to the level of a human right. Find your local organization and ask them to join the struggle. If there are none in your area, start a new organization.

A movement is growing to elevate housing to the level of a human right, in our lifetime. Join the movement to Take Back the Land.

Community control over land!

Housing is a human right!

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{takebacktheland.org} NEW POLICE RAID ON SADLER / TFDL HOME

At 6:30AM Woods County Police arrived at the home of Keith Sadler to attempt to evict him and the 4 others sealed inside.

The Toledo Foreclosure Defense League is helping defend Keith Sadler from foreclosure related eviction. Sadler and supporters have been sealed in Sadler's Toledo area home since Sunday in order to defend against eviction. The action is supported by the Take Back the Land Movement and is part of the May 2010 Month of Action, with similar actions taking place in a dozen US cities.

The Take Back the Land Movement calls on people to immediately call the Wood County Sheriff at 419-354-9001 and demand an end to the raid of the Sadler Home.

Regular updates and previous coverage can be found at takebacktheland.org.



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{takebacktheland.org} Police attempt to swarm Toledo FDL Home- May 5

At approximately 1:00EST, the Wood County Sherrif's department swarmed the property of Keith Sadler, shutting off the power and threatening arrests before media cameras showed. Just as quickly, police moved out. The presence, quick thinking and plan of the Toledo Foreclosure League (TFDL) successfully defended the Sadler home from eviction. No arrests were made, but as they pulled out, police announced they would be back.

Get the full story and the first pictures from takebacktheland.org. Additional picture updates, and possibly video, are coming soon.

The Toledo Foreclosure Defense League (TFDL) has been defending the home of Keith Sadler from foreclosure related eviction. Sadler and supporters sealed themselves in the home in order to prevent eviction, which was scheduled for May 3. Police refused to execute the eviction as the TFDL held a press conference and media awaited the police. This story has made national news in hundreds of newspapers and tv newscasts. The TFDL is supported by the Take Back the Land Movement and this defense is a part of the May 2010 National Month of Action.

The Take Back the Land Movement re-asserts support for the TFDL and the valiant struggle for housing as a human right by defending families from eviction.

We call on people to immediately call the Wood County Sherrif at 419-354-9001 and demand an end to the raid of the Sadler Home.

The TFDL is an autonomous organization which is also a part of the Take Back the Land Movement. The action is part of the May 2010 National Month of Action to demand the human right to housing, called for by the Take Back the Land Movement (takebacktheland.org). The Take Back the Land Movement is provided staff and technical support by the US Human Rights Network (USHRNetwork.org). The May Month of actions are expected in at least twelve (12) US cities and include housing takeovers and the defense of families facing eviction. The Movement is comprised of dozens of organizations and partners, notably the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC- economichumanrights.org).  

Defending the fundamental human right to housing is challenging work and cannot be done without resources. Please visit takebacktheland.org or the ushrnetwork.org and donate generously today.

forward,

Max Rameau

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{takebacktheland.org} TBtL by Max Rameau at Sankofa Books Friday May 7 at 6PM

After banks get billions in bailout money and families suffer from the housing crisis, thousands of foreclosures and new condos sit vacant. What are communities doing about it?

ONE DC and Empower DC invite you to the Take Back the Land Movement: a presentation by Max Rameau. The event includes presentations by ONE DC and Empower DC followed by a presentation and book signing by Max Rameau of Take Back the Land. The event is scheduled for Friday, May 7, 2010 at the Sankofa Bookstore, 2714 Georgia Ave., Washington, DC and begins at 6:00PM.

The TBtL is a network of organizations devoted to community control of land and elevating housing to the level of a human right. In pursuit of these objectives, TBtL is coordinating a May 2010 Month of Action in which organizations "liberate" vacant government owned and foreclosed homes and move families into them or defend families from eviction in the first place. Successful actions have already taken place in Portland, OR and Toledo, OH (see Takebacktheland.org for details) and more are planned in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chicago, Madison, WI and Washington, DC. TBtL is supports both ONE DC and Empower DC.

Max Rameau is a part of the Take Back the Land Movement, whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Associate Press, USA Today, CNN, ABC News, Democracy NOW! and the latest Michael Moore movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. He will talk about and sign his book Take Back the Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown. This is Max's second book signing at Sankofa Bookstore.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit takebacktheland.org or http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107632045947324

ONE DC: onedconline.org
Empower DC: empowerdc.org


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