Fighting the Demolition of Atlanta’s Public Housing

By Shirley Hightower

Editor’s note: Shirley Hightower is the president of the Bowen Homes Residents Association in Atlanta. Bowen Homes has been moved to the top of the list of public housing projects slated for demolition by the Atlanta Housing Authority. Residents have until May 8 to get out. When all of the 12 remaining public housing sites slated for demolition by 2010 are gone, there will be no more public housing left in Atlanta. Her words here were prepared from an interview with Gloria and John Slaughter.

On a Thursday early in February at Loaves and Fishes, the main service center for homeless people in Sacramento, California, a group of homeless people came together to talk about the need for leadership. They were diverse — both Anglo and African American; young, middle aged and older; women and men. And as they described the problems they faced, it was clear that there is no one answer for homeless people — some have developed skills that allow them to live in hidden places and support themselves through recycling, or the sale of handicrafts, for example; others are homeless because life issues overtook them, and they found themselves unable to afford stable housing.

As the individuals around the table described different personal situations, it was also clear that there is a great need for leadership. Leaders can represent — speak out — on behalf of homeless communities who are trying to establish a safe place to live outdoors — and can protest and change the present policy of arresting and harassing homeless people. Leaders can assert the immediate demands of homeless people.

But how to lead? Several suggestions were made. First, leaders can become active in homeless organizations like the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee, document the violations of the human right to housing and dignity, and encourage others to become active in community affairs, both in terms of homelessness and other issues that are personally important, like building a sustainable future. There are city boards and commissions where homeless members could contribute their first hand knowledge of the hardships and needs of homeless people.

But to do this, to represent the interests not just of the individual but the entire population of homeless people, it’s also important for leaders to learn about the context of homelessness….Without understanding the context of homelessness, it’s all too easy to blame the individual. The media and the federal government have publicized the idea that homelessness is a matter of individual failure, rather than acknowledging that since the early eighties — as the homeless population exploded — the federal government has systematically eliminated funding for affordable housing. Now we see in New Orleans that structurally sound public housing is being torn down and people are being housed in tin trailers poisoned with formaldehyde fumes! Also, “blaming the victim” is extremely dangerous for homeless people, because it encourages violence against them.

That it’s not just a personal problem can be seen in Ontario, California, where the city fathers decided to permit a tent city on a muddy vacant lot near the airport. In a matter of weeks, in the dead of this winter, over 300 tents sprang up, including seniors and children, all people who simply can’t afford apartments or, with the “subprime” mortgage meltdown, have been evicted from their homes. One woman, disabled and out of work, said “I never thought this would happen to me.”

It’s up to homeless leaders to point out it’s not her fault and it’s not just an individual problem. We’re all human, we’re all vulnerable. We all have a right to dignity and, if we choose, housing; we all have a right to live without harassment just because we are not rich in material things.

Demonstrating during Poor People’s Day
PHOTO/EMERY WRIGHT

By Emery Wright

Initiated by the organizers of the annual Poor People's Day at the Capitol (Georgia Citizens’ Coalition on Hunger, Project South, and the Up & Out of Poverty Now! Coalition) and inspired by the 40th anniversary of the historic Poor People's Campaign for Economic Justice launched by Dr. King in 1968, a multi-issue coalition of grassroots organizations brought the voices and demands of millions of working and poor people to the Georgia State Capitol, January 26th, 2008. We stood side by side with movements holding actions around the world answering the World Social Forum’s call for a Global Day of Action.

Poor People’s Day (PPD) at the Georgia Capitol is the legislative expression of a statewide Georgia coalition of grassroots organizations called Up & Out of Poverty Now! and is led by the Georgia Citizens Coalition on Hunger. In 1980 Poor People’s Day at the Capitol was created by community leaders to give space for poor & working people to meet with state legislators about issues that affect them. In 1991 Up & Out of Poverty Now! Coalition Georgia was founded and co-chaired by Hunger Coalition & Project South to build statewide power that can eliminate poverty in the state of Georgia. In 1995, Poor People’s Day was expanded to holding an education day before the legislative Action day.

Sandra Robertson, Executive Director of the Hunger Coalition reflected on the Day. “Poor People’s Day is a great day. It gives grassroots people the opportunity to give voice to the issues that impact their lives. This year, we were able to engage more people and gain widespread local television news coverage so that it was seen and heard that the people took over the downtown of Atlanta and we sent a resounding and clear message that we’re not happy with elected officials or the policies they produce. We have the power to make change happen and we will.”

In planning the 2008 Poor People’s Day at the Capitol, organizers wanted to expand the mobilization of people and respond to the call to action raised at the United States Social Forum in June 2007, to hold a “People’s Movement Assembly” in your local community. The People’s Movement Assembly process is one way organizations are working to build on the momentum of the first US Social Forum and engage communities to build organizing models to respond to local pressures and increase grassroots power. The date of 2008’s Poor People’s Day was changed to January from February to connect our local demands to coordinated actions happening globally for the World Social Forum Global Day of Action. The 2008 WSF Global Day of Action included hundreds of local actions by grassroots movements occurring simultaneously across the globe on that day.

A People’s Caravan of flatbed trucks, charter buses and vans from all over the state took over downtown Atlanta and raised banners at 6 locations including: Grady Hospital (Healthcare for the People), Atlanta Detention Center (Freedom for the People), MARTA (Accessible Transportation for the People), Luxury condos (Housing for the People), CNN Center (Media for the People), and Atl Public Schools (Education for the People). The Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless staged a Reverse Eviction at the Atlanta Housing Authority to protest the mass evictions and scheduled demolition of Atlanta Public Housing and the huge caravan for liberation converged on the Georgia State Capitol where SPARK (formerly Georgians for Choice) held a Reproductive Justice rally. People came from far and wide across the State of Georgia. Delegations of support came from North Carolina and a nation-wide initiative called Equal Voices for American Families Campaign gave financial support and kicked off their Georgia efforts that day.

The People’s Movement Assembly announced 12 Resolutions for Action that demand community-led changes and will inform the collective work of organizations at the grassroots of Georgia communities.

This article originated in the People's Tribune
PO Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654, 773-486-3551, info@peoplestribune.org.
Feel free to reproduce unless marked as copyrighted.
Please include this message with reproductions of the article.