City Life/Vida Urbana On Bill Moyers Journal

CL/VU will be featured on Bill Moyers Journal. The projected date of airing is May 1. A producer was onsite for much of a week in March filming and interviewing.

The Bill Moyers Journal is aired on PBS. In the Boston area on WGBH Channel 2 at 9PM. (there are other times when it repeats)

~will be interesting to see how “the Journal” interprets CL/VU’s work and what kind of story is told in this very well respected, award winning program.

Congrats to everyone at CL/VU for doing the work and occasionally getting some recognition! It makes a difference!

People before profit!

Viewers of the Journal are encouraged to post comments and to contact CL/VU using the contact info in the sidebar.

 

 

Eviction Blockades

Dear friends,
    City Life maintains a list of families in foreclosed buildings who we will defend, if necessary, by eviction blockades.  Several families are on our eviction blockade list at this time.  We hope that a blockade won't be necessary.
    One good reason there have been no recent blockades is that the Banks are backing down in the face of pressure.  Two weeks ago we began to organize a blockade for Mr. Freeman.  This gentleman has lived all his life in his home in Grove Hall.  He takes care of his disabled uncle and mom and his 3-year old daughter.  He started a juice bar for area teens to visit, a safe place to go without alcohol or drugs.  Faced with the possibility of an eviction blockade, Wells Fargo backed off.  There are negotiations now to enable Mr. Freeman to repurchase his home at its real value (half loan value).
    Three times (out of 15 organized blockades), the banks have succeeded in evicting our members.  But even those evictions have turned into movement victories for us.  Paula Taylor's eviction on September 5, 2008, has helped launch a growing movement against Bank of America.  On March 22, Paula Taylor was a featured interview on Dateline NBC exposing bank practices.

Contact us at City Life if you would like to be on the Eviction Blockade email list.

Steve Meacham

City Life/Vida Urbana Director of Tenant Organizing

[submitted by Stewart L.]

Six Weeks of Bank of America Protest at Copley Complete- Watch for Next Actions

For six weeks in March and April, each Thursday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 PM, hearty souls gathered at the Bank of America in beautiful Copley Square, Boston to remind passersby and bank customers that while Bank of America accepted federal bail out funds, it is not serving the interests of our community. It evicts tenants of foreclosed properties without fault, and without the option of continuing to pay rent. Protesters chanted: "Banks get bailed out, people get thrown out."

Bank of America Protests

On a cold windy February 14, Valentine's Day, over 50 people protested outside Bank of America in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester, MA. They were encouraging those with accounts to participate in the National Day of Account Closures at Bank of America! While some banks have stopped evicting tenants of foreclosed properties, BoA continues this practice, displacing families, disrupting school attendance, blighting communities. BoA has refused to accept fair market rent or to negotiate resale at appraised market value. US tax payers now own a significant portion of BoA...it should serve the interest of our communities!

Purim, Progressives and City Life

On March 21 young radical Jewish friends from Workmen's Circle, Kavod House, and the community threw City Life a Radical Purim Party sponsored by Workmen's Circle, and held at SEIU Local 615 Union Hall. Progressive Jews reclaim Purim as a celebration of speaking truth to power in all its forms and the theme of housing justice, specifically the issue of foreclosures and evictions, was woven into the traditional staged Purim spiel performed that night. About 200 supporters celebrated and it was fantastic to see youth so committed to a vision of justice. Proceeds from the party will support City Life's Campaign to Halt Post-Foreclosure Evictions!

Vision

The members and friends of City Life/Vida Urbana embrace a vision of a world where there is:
• peace among nations and peoples
• respect for our cultural, racial and sexual diversity
• cooperation rather than competition
• no extremes of wealth or poverty
• respect for nature and the condition of the environment for ourselves and future generations
• production that serves the needs of the many rather than the greed of the few
• a guarantee that each person has the right to food, housing, health care, education, meaningful employment, and the right to exist in freedom without fear of displacement or deportation.
We understand that these changes will not happen spontaneously. We hope to be part of a city, state, national, and international movement that believes in a similar vision and is prepared to build the organizations and leadership that it will take to create this new world.

Power to the People- The Unofficial City Life Blog