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Reclaiming America for the 99%... We are not gonna' take it anymore!
Fighting Foreclosure!
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/foreclosure


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The mortgage crisis is no accident.  This is a symptom of a much

larger problem.  Transnational economic cartels and corporate 

criminals have taken control of the US congress, the executive

branch, and the judiciary.  Regardless of who we vote for or what

we want, these entities control our lives and future.  It is time we

take a stand and fight back. Si se puede!

Published on Oct 29, 2012

On May Day of this year Occupy and a number of organizations including Veterans For Peace helped to put Alicia back in her home and are continuing to stand by her against the police attempts to evict her as she continues to battle the banks and now the city as more pressure is being applied to remove her and the activist who are standing guard.
"This is not a story of excess," said Angus Maguire, representing We Are Oregon, another group sponsoring the action. "This is not a story of people who took out big mortgages that they couldn't afford. It's people paying their mortgages for five or six years and got hit by the economic crises. Banks refuse to take responsibility, so the community is taking responsibility

 


TOP NEWS
A Measure of Change

Cautious Moves on Foreclosures Haunting Obama

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM

President Obama's response to the housing crisis was deliberately subdued, and some economists believe stronger action could have softened the economic impact.


Alicia Jackson has taken over the house that was built on her land with the help of the community, and it is being turned into a community center to organize against gentrification and police brutality!


For Immediate Release
August 5, 2012


Northeast residents reclaim duplex, fight gentrification

Contact Number (Lobo): (925) 609-4815


Portland, OR -- On Sunday, August 5th, residents of NE Portland held a block party in the historically black Woodlawn neighborhood, to celebrate the ongoing defense of Alicia Jackson's home from foreclosure, and to publicly reclaim the new duplex built on her land. This property is also on Ms. Jackson's land and was taken during the foreclosure process. Community members plan to use the reclaimed duplex, which is currently the subject of a legal dispute, as a base of organizing against gentrification and police violence in the neighborhood.


"This property was illegally taken from me by the banks. This community is strong. We will not sit by and watch developers destroy our neighborhood, while the police harass our youth and drive families from this community," said Alicia Jackson, member of the Black Working Group and subject of much attention when her home was liberated by 500 people on May 1 of this year.


Northeast is often called “the soul of Portland” because of its historically black neighborhoods, but gentrification, the replacement of locals by wealthier residents through bank investment and uncontrolled development, has changed that. In response, a growing number of people in NE are waging a public fight to keep their homes, rather than be relocated by the banks. The action at Ms. Jackson's home on May Day was the first of several community supported home defenses in the city this year. On Friday, July 27th, 79 year old Annette Steele declared that she would resist eviction, saying “This is my home. They can’t take it away from me. My neighbors support me and if the sheriff comes, I’m ready… I don’t have a gun anymore, but I keep hot water on the stove.”


“Housing must be defended to end violence in working-class communities. Stable housing creates an environment for community self-reliance and healthy relationships. Without secure housing, families are displaced and communities are fragmented,” said Lobo, co-founder of the Blazing Arrow Organization, a group that formed to fight gentrification and police violence in North and Northeast Portland. “Gentrification breaks the tie between generations, and forces communities to depend more heavily on outsiders such as the police to solve conflicts. Defending homes and stopping eviction protects the community’s safety.”


Continued exploitative development of NE Portland is tied directly to the PPB's Gang Enforcement program. Since the program began, over 200 people, mostly black youth, have been arrested each month along Killingsworth between N Interstate Ave. and MLK Blvd. In addition to land and building reclamation, Blazing Arrow Organization is beginning community patrols to monitor arrests and support people as police conflicts arise. The community patrols will be based out of the newly liberated center.


“Working people deserve to live without the fear of losing their home or being brutalized by the police. The BAO will use this new organizing center to stop gentrification and respond to police violence. It will be open to anyone fighting for freedom from white supremacy and oppression. We are working class, queer, and people of color, committed to creating a society that both meets our basic needs and respects our human dignity. We are prepared to defend ourselves and the work we are doing, and invite others to work alongside us."


The Blazing Arrow Organization was formed by a group of community members to address gentrification by way of housing defense. To find out more and get involved, contact Lobo at (925) 609-4815. To become part of the rapid response network and defend homes, text @ploc-openrrn to 23559.


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Wells Fargo Has Blood on Its Hands: Desperate Man Commits Suicide After Shocking Foreclosure Mistreatment

This is the story of what happens when an average couple is up against a giant, wealthy, powerful bank.
 
Photo Credit: AFP
 
 
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Norman and Oriane Rousseau were one more couple pushed by a huge, greedy bank to the brink of homelessness. On Sunday, desperate and with nowhere to go, Norman Rousseau shot himself. 

This is the story of what happens when an average couple is up against a giant, wealthy, powerful bank. Unfortunately the result is what the result always is when people are on their own against the wealthy and powerful: the bank ends up with all of their money, takes their house to sell and throws them out onto the street. In this case the bank is Wells Fargo.

The quick version of this terrible story is that Norman and Oriane Rousseau of Newbury Park, California were scammed into a predatory mortgage. But they made their payments anyway, always paying with a cashier’s check in person at the same branch. Then one day the bank misapplied their payment and said they still owed the money. This started a long, nasty process that led to the bank evicting the Rousseaus from their home. 

Here’s the shocker: right at the start the Rousseaus came up with proof that the bank had received the payment and had cashed the check. But the bank continued to claim it had missed the payment, gave the Rousseaus the runaround, started applying fees, and used it as an excuse to foreclose on the house anyway. 

The Rousseaus fought back, the bank dragged it out for so long and pulled so many tricks, getting its way every step of the process, until this last Sunday Norman Rousseau finally gave up and shot himself in despair – two days before the scheduled eviction, Tuesday, May 15. (The Rousseau’s lawyer just said he was able to win a 2-week delay.)

It is a tragic story, but when you dig into the details it becomes much worse.  

 

 

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