Foreclosure Defense Group Update – May 5, 2012

FORECLOSURE DEFENSE GROUP UPDATE – May 5, 2012

1. ACTION THIS THURSDAY!
2. OOFDG Debrief on Mayday DnR march
3. Updates: Emergency callout, Marquinita’s eviction, etc.
4. Upcoming: canvass, shifts in focus, la Fruitvale
5. CHECK THIS OUT! : Portland throws down!
6. GA announcement policy for OOFDG

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1. Action this Thursday: We are collaborating on a fight in the Fruitvale: a teacher who has had her hours cut back to the point that she is now fighting to keep her home. She and other homeowners have organized a collective action to put the bank on notice. Here’s the callout from ACCE:

“Folks:
ACCE Home Defenders have been ramping up again and getting ready to take action to stop sales and be part of the movement to demand that Banks reset mortgages to current market value or stop foreclosing on our neighborhoods and communities.
This Thursday, May 10th, Home Defenders are getting together with the Occupy Oakland Foreclosure Defense Group and other supporters to stop the sale of an Oakland resident and Adult Education Teacher who has had her hours severely reduced in part due to the economic downturn that the Big Banks helped to create. Now she is facing a sale date on her East Oakland home for May 15th and we are ready to fight to make sure this teacher, resident and activist isn’t the next casualty in the foreclosure crisis and as always, we can use your help!

What: Home Defense and “Move in” Action. The Bank is moving her out, so we plan to move into the Bank until they commit to stopping her sale

When: Thursday, May 10th @ 3pm

Location: We will be meeting in the parking lot behind the Peet’s Coffee off of Lakeshore Ave.

If there are any questions please email me or Lupe, ACCE’s new home defense organizer at lcazares@calorganize.org”

You want to face the banks? You want to get involved with an organizing crew in Oakland working in the neighborhoods in a real way? Come out!

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2. Mayday DnR march with the OOFDG: We turned out to support the march from start to finish. Over a 1000 flyers were handed out along the way. Our banner was in full effect as dozens of photographers stopped in their tracks to grab a shot of it and us. Positive feedback all the way round and we even had folks coming up to us asking us for our bilingual flyers.

[*Note: we have already received a hit off of the flyering effort, have visited with the homeowner and have initiated the strategizing and fight formulation process.)

¡Adelante!

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3. Reportbacks: last week’s Emergency Callout: We received an emergency email from a 77 yr old woman in Walnut Creek last Sunday before last about an impending eviction coming Monday 6am. you might recall the alert we sent out to our lists and online summoning people to back her up as she faced down the Sheriffs. A member from Oakland got out there plus three folks from Vallejo answered the call getting up to drive out there at 5 in the freaking morning! [big props to the Occupy the Yard crew from Vallejo!] Ms. Aguero, her daughter a total of 5 allies turned the sheriffs around convincing them to examine the eviction documentation that the family claims are illegal and the fruit of a fraudulent foreclosure and in violation of the protections of the bankruptcy that is in place. They now have until May 17th to regroup and fight back. This is what is possible with solidarity. Real solidarity. …. To get into these fights in this real way, be a part of our emergency response text alert system and text “ooforeclosure” to 69302. …

Update on an earlier emergency callout: You all might remember the case of Ms. Marquinita, the east Oakland woman who came to a GA and made her appeal directly to OO to help her fight an eviction. Folks responded and the OOFDG wasn’t there in the house at first but lent a hand in the sending of legal resource and fightback counsel tyo aid in what turned out to be a struggle over a will with other family members. A group of occupiers and local squatters offering support and defense turned the sheriffs back and gave her an opening to seek legal counsel and redress. She decided on her own course of action but alas was evicted on Monday, May 4th. Even though this isn’t a foreclosure case and is pretty complicated we have a member accompanying her to the County Recorders office this week to help with her personal fight. Yeah it sucks. And yeah it’s complicated… but I never like seeing somebody put out.
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4. Neighborhood organizing: We are focusing on a sector of the Fruitvale. Individual fights are just little sparks in what is a forest fire of displacement and class warfare. We are moving towards neighborhood based organizing, towards collective fights and the creation of neighborhood councils. Social atomization and shame isolate people from each other, from solidarity, from real power. Why did we choose the Fruitvale? We didn’t. It chose us. Three fights in a row have come to us out of the same neighborhood.
We are canvassing now in an intensive way. If you are one of those that is good with people face to face, if you are one of those people that would like to be better organizing face to face, if you are tired of lipservice about “community” and want to get into the trenches, come to the members meeting 12:30 Sundays at the park, 19th St and Telegraph Avenue and join us -or- just reach out to the hotline 510.207.0182 or email: foreclosure@occupyoakland.org. You can bet that we will put you to work.

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5. CHECK THIS OUT!: Portland Steps It Up!

Mayday Foreclosure Occupation in Portland!

http://www.kptv.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7110835#

More here: http://www.liberatepdx.org/

Portland Liberation Organizing Council reoccupies Alicia Jackson’s home with her on Mayday. w00t!

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6. We pledged to regularly update the GA on our activity. We are modifying our commitment and are disclosing such publicly:
Due to time demands, the less than perfunctory operation of the GAs, and the limited content that we can deliver in a short standup announcement format, we will now be reporting back as we are able and as the urgency of upcoming actions and plans demands. We would be more than pleased if more committees were at GAs to facilitate the inter-organizing potentials between committees but as it stands it is a disproportionate demand on our time and members. We will announce and report though if any of our members are in attendance and feels so motivated.