In the wake of police action to clear out Occupy encampments around the country last week, many people have wondered where the movement would go from here. According to ThinkProgress, the answer may be foreclosed homes.
Over the weekend, Occupy Minneapolis joined University of Minnesota adjunct teacher Sára Kaiser — who recently went into foreclosure after U.S. Bank refused to negotiate lower monthly payments with her family — and occupied Kaiser’s former home.
When Minneapolis police arrived to remove the protesters, 150 activists formed a human chain to block the officers’ access to the home. Although two protesters were arrested, the blockade was successful in driving the police away for the night. They returned the next day, however, and successfully removed the protesters and boarded up the house.
According to ThinkProgress, the movement to occupy foreclosed homes is just beginning.
A movement to begin occupying foreclosed houses has long been nascent. Occupy movements around the country have begun lending their support to similar actions in Atlanta, Cleveland, and Harlem. Occupy Oakland voted to encourage the occupation of abandoned and foreclosed homes, and in Boston, the community organization City Life/Vida Urbana has organized eviction blockades for years.
A widespread movement to occupy foreclosed homes could be big banks’ worst nightmare; foreclosures are an issue that resonates with Americans from all parts of the political spectrum, and focusing on the issue could help ‘Occupy’ broaden its coalition substantially.
Video of the occupation is below, also via ThinkProgress:
