Evictions protested in Roxbury

ROXBURY, Mass.--An all-too-familiar scene unfolded here as a round of foreclosures left multiple families homeless on September 21. But activists and members of the community refused to surrender without a fight, taking inspiration from similar efforts in other communities across the country and organizing a protest against the evictions.

Roxbury, a city with a large Black and Latino population, is not a new victim of the housing crisis. On the block where some 80 people gathered for the demonstration, there are more foreclosed homes than inhabited ones.

Frances Louis, one of the people being evicted, has been occupying a vacant apartment since her house was foreclosed on last year. Deb Jones, another target of the eviction, has already been evicted twice and is now fighting to save the home for her family of eight.

Before their evictions, Louis and Jones attempted to have their mortgage refinanced and resold to City Life/Vida Urbana, a local grassroots group that organizes around housing rights. Their request was denied, and the bank continued with the foreclosure proceedings.

The protest, which was called by City Life and the Bank Tenants Association, a growing organization of residents of foreclosed properties, drew local residents who were victims of the banks' onslaught as well as supporters from outside the community.

One protester said she was inspired by the multiracial unity and militant young people at the event, which reminded her of a scene from the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The comparison became particularly poignant when the crowd began to sing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Not Be Moved."

Inell Mendez, a third target of the eviction, said that the foreclosure has motivated her to get involved in local organizing. "I joined City Life, and we shifted from focusing on finding my family a new house to resisting and maintaining my home," she told the crowd at the rally.

This event was one of many that City Life has been organizing to fight foreclosures and evictions, and the growing militancy shows that City Life is seeking ways to challenge banks unwilling to refinance or resell the properties.

"We are going to let the banks know that these houses are not going to be left vacant," said Melonie Griffiths, one of the action's main coordinators. "We are going to move the families back in!...We are going to come back and we are not going to back down."

A previous anti-eviction event in Boston led Wells Fargo to begin negotiations with a foreclosed family to sell them back their home. These examples show that, contrary to the corporate media's claims, the economic crisis is continuing--and that people can organize to make a difference.