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Campaign to stop foreclosures reaches out
By
Caleb T. Maupin
Detroit
Published Jun 7, 2008 12:18 AM
The Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions has been
undertaking a growing campaign over the past few weeks to win passage of
SB1306. This bill, which would put a two-year moratorium on mortgage
foreclosures, was introduced in the Michigan Legislature by state Sen. Hansen
Clarke.
Quick action stops eviction in Detroit.
WW photo: Alan Pollock
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Activists have been doing phone banking, outreach and leaflet distributions
from the coalition’s office located at Central United Methodist Church in
downtown Detroit. They are holding almost daily street meetings and
distributions at the nearby 36th District Court, the scene of many eviction and
foreclosure proceedings.
At these street meetings, two organizers hold a banner as another member of the
team agitates and gets the attention of those going into the court. Meanwhile
the remaining activists distribute leaflets and engage people in a dialogue
about the campaign and its goals. So far, they have distributed thousands of
leaflets and many people have signed up for more information. Police harassment
of the street meetings has gradually increased as the courts and bankers see
that the campaign to challenge the free reign of the predatory lenders is
picking up steam.
A job fair in downtown Detroit this week was also the site of the Moratorium
Now! Campaign’s mass leafleting. As rows of unemployed workers dressed in
their best clothes awaited a chance to get inside and try to get a job,
moratorium activists distributed fliers and talked with some of the hundreds of
people waiting in line.
The campaign is currently publicizing and preparing for a march through the
banking district of Detroit on June 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. to highlight the crimes
of predatory lenders. A statewide organizers’ meeting to discuss strategy
for building a movement to pass SB1306 is scheduled on June 14 from 10 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. at the UAW Local 7 hall on Detroit’s east side.
Sen. Clarke will then chair an official town hall meeting from 2 to 4 p.m.
Clarke will take testimony from community members about foreclosures,
evictions, neighborhood blight, lowered property values, increased homelessness
and other problems facing the community because of the mortgage foreclosure
crisis. During the meeting, a simultaneous free legal clinic, hosted by the
Coalition’s legal committee, will provide practical advice to those
facing foreclosures and evictions.
Coalition organizers hope to rally support in cities and towns throughout
Michigan in order to build the necessary movement that will force the
politicians to put a halt to the foreclosure epidemic. Community activists in
Benton Harbor and Battle Creek have already expressed interest in holding
meetings on the moratorium in western Michigan. The campaign has been contacted
by people as far away as Traverse City and Cheboygan in northern
Michigan.
Direct action stops eviction
On every front, Coalition activists are committed to stopping foreclosures and
evictions. These organizers rapidly switched gears one morning last week when
the office received a call that an illegal eviction was about to take place. A
woman who had paid her rent and done everything expected of her, awoke that
morning to find a sheriff knocking on her door informing her that she had two
hours before bailiffs would rip her belongings to shreds and dispose of them in
a large dumpster, already waiting outside of her home that morning.
Several Coalition activists, including members of Michigan Emergency Committee
Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), Michigan Welfare Rights and the Green
Party, made their way across town to the property. Alan Pollock of MECAWI
photographed the bailiffs assertively, much to their chagrin. As a woman from
Michigan Welfare Rights stalled the bailiffs, several activists arranged
themselves on the porch so that they blocked the entrance to the woman’s
home.
Activists were able to stall the bailiffs long enough to contact a judge and
get a stay placed on the eviction by the court. According to Coalition
attorneys, landlords whose homes are foreclosed must still follow the law by
giving tenants proper notice when preparing to evict them.
Readers wanting more information or to get involved can contact the Moratorium
NOW! Coalition at 313-964-5813, e-mail [email protected], or visit
the group’s Web site at www.moratorium-mi.org. Donations can be sent to
the Moratorium NOW! at 23 E. Adams, 4th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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