On Saturday, June 23 the first step was taken in the fight to end foreclosures in Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley at large. After gathering at the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie, a group that swelled to about 100 marched through the city of Poughkeepsie, shining a light on the injustice of having people on the streets while homes lie vacant. While we marched, signs in hand and the spirit of solidarity in our hearts, we chanted lines such as "Money for jobs and education, not for banks and corporations!" and "They say foreclosure, we say takeover!" In between marching and chanting we stopped at three vacant homes. A speaker, megaphone in hand, discussed the profits of the bank that foreclosed on the home, and in one case, the amount of money made by the CEO ($76 million), underlining the lie that banks are forced to foreclose on a working family's home. At the last house, speakers from Community Voices Heard, one of the organizations spearheading the efforts planning the march, discussed their experiences with homelessness and the heartlessness of the banks. One especially eloquent woman wondered how our society could send men to the moon and fund great scientific and military advances and yet fail to figure out how to house its own citizens. She wondered also how her son would see the world, whether he would see the powers that be as utterly narcissistic or whether he would consider his mother to be worthless, undeserving even of a roof over her head. She didn't see either scenario as desirable. Following a last chant of "Money for jobs and education, Not for banks and corporations" led by housing defense advocate Blair Goodman, we were invited to a barbecue in the back of the bank-owned property. I suppose the scene was an affirmation of the Freedom Socialist Party's Steve Strauss' comment that there is nothing better than a "stuffed socialist."
Saturday's march was, above all, a call to local politicians to do something about stopping foreclosures and housing the homeless in Poughkeepsie. However, this call was by no means dis-empowering, because in the next breath was the declaration that should politicians do nothing about foreclosure and homelessness, we the people will act in defense of the community. There are around 300 vacant buildings in Poughkeepsie alone. That means 300 families currently living on the streets could be given a home right now should the government act to fix up vacant properties and give these families a home. This is our demand, and the responsibility falls on the government to act. Right now the ball is in their court. However, should they fail to act, we the people have the strength and courage to act independently. Should the government fail to act, the ball will fall in our court, and given the energy and strength of the activists who rallied on Saturday, we will score.
Read more articles from the June 23-30 issue of The Hudson Valley Radical in print
Saturday's march was, above all, a call to local politicians to do something about stopping foreclosures and housing the homeless in Poughkeepsie. However, this call was by no means dis-empowering, because in the next breath was the declaration that should politicians do nothing about foreclosure and homelessness, we the people will act in defense of the community. There are around 300 vacant buildings in Poughkeepsie alone. That means 300 families currently living on the streets could be given a home right now should the government act to fix up vacant properties and give these families a home. This is our demand, and the responsibility falls on the government to act. Right now the ball is in their court. However, should they fail to act, we the people have the strength and courage to act independently. Should the government fail to act, the ball will fall in our court, and given the energy and strength of the activists who rallied on Saturday, we will score.
Read more articles from the June 23-30 issue of The Hudson Valley Radical in print
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