WW organizer: Marching for housing in Philadelphia
By
Joseph Piette
Philadelphia
Published Jan 29, 2011 9:16 AM
They’re already marching away from City Hall — members of the Poor
People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign protesting residential
foreclosures in Philadelphia on Jan. 17.
The light is red, and the demonstration is moving up the street. If I rush up
to 16th Street, I’ll be able to join them. Finding a parking spot makes
me late, and then I mistake the many homeless in Love Park lined up for hot
food as the housing protest.
“The banks get bailed out; the people get thrown out!” The turnout
and energy are good for such cold weather. Now we’re turning back up 16th
Street, and we stop at a Bank of America office. I take out my camera.
“Bank of America, the recipient of $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money,
continues to foreclose homes and evict families from their homes.”
I’m taking several photos, one of an infant in a pink coat being held by
a man holding a pink “STOP FORECLOSURES!” sign.
As we take off back toward City Hall, one man says, “Is it time to use
the rocks yet?” A couple of people quickly respond, “No!”
“Just wondering,” he replies. “We used them back in the
day.” Everyone laughs.
I take a picture of protesters in wheelchairs, one of whom has no gloves. My
hands are cold, and I’m wearing gloves.
I move to the front of the protest to take a shot of the whole march. We begin
to climb steps when shouts in the back make us stop — the wheelchairs
can’t follow us. We return and walk in the street to City Hall.
Back on the sidewalk, the marchers are led toward Broad Street. The chants are
now directed against the sheriff’s policy on foreclosure evictions.
“Where’s the sheriff’s office?” I ask a marcher. He
shrugs and goes to ask someone.
I stop. It’s 1 p.m. I have to go to a rally against deportations with
fliers against the FBI entrapment of Muslims on Jan. 25 and Workers World
newspapers.
The marcher returns and tells me the sheriff’s office is one block south
of here. I tell him I’ve got to go. “See you next time,” he
responds.
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