Mad Props To Dejah and Marc!!

This past week Dejah Ault and Marc Pongnon graduated from high school. Both Marc and Dejah have been key organizers with AFSC's Student Career Alternatives Program(SCAP), they also both participated in SCAP's college prep and SAT tutoring program, and they both helped organize last year's Be The Change Youth Convergence.

Over the past four years it's been really exciting to watch Dejah and Marc grow as both human beings and community organizers. Last summer Dejah was granted a summer internship with AFSC and spent her time organizing youth in our Be The Change Crew. Dejah's outgoing, glowing personality made her a perfect fit for a role the required a lot of presentations, creative outreach, and leading teen workshops on social justice work. Dejah plans to attend Spellman and has been award the Gates-Millennium Foundation scholarship! The Gates-Millennium Foundation scholarship is basically a full ride all the way to a PHD! Way to go Dejah!

Marc got involved with AFSC during our campaign to stop the HOPE scholarship cuts last year and after just a few days ended up writing and giving a very profound speech during a press conference that clearly articulated the connection between a bloated military budget and education cuts. Marc stayed very active with SCAP ever since. Marc has received a scholarship to the University of New Haven, based on an essay he wrote about his experience organizing with AFSC.

Our hats are off the Dejah and Marc, we're so proud of both of you! No doubt that ya'll will continue to be the change our communities need!


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Carmen Pittman is Honored At Graduation Ceremony

Today, after a lot of hard work, Carmen Pittman  received her diploma from BaSix Knowledge Academy. Several activists who have been fighting alongside Carmen joined her family for the ceremony at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga.

While we were all very proud of Carmen's accomplishment none of us, including Carmen, knew that she was to be honored for advocacy in the community. Over the course of the last six months Carmen has not only become a spokesperson for her families struggle against Chase Bank, she's become a spokes person for for thousands of people facing foreclosures and evictions in the Atlanta area.

It was just six months ago that Occupy Atlanta responded to the crisis facing the Pittman family. They had not only lost their beloved Mother and Grandmother, Eloise Pittman, they found out the Chase Bank was planning on evicting the family as well. Prior to Occupy Atlanta's involvement with her families struggle, Carmen had never thought of herself as an activist or an organizer. That all changed in the weeks and months to follow.

From day one Carmen expressed a desire to learn about the connections between the systems of violence oppression that control our economic system. Carmen has embodied the concept that Occupy Atlanta's home defense work has tried to lift up; that we don't fight for folks, we fight with them.

Carmen has come a long way from sitting in on strategy meetings and attending actions. She now calls for meetings, and plays a key role in planning every aspect of the campaign to save her home. More recently Carmen has also worked with other families who are standing up to the banks.

Today Carmen was awarded the Myra Jackson Pioneer Award for her outstanding activism in the community! Congratulations Carmen Pittman!

AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program has been proud to committ resources towards the campaign to stop Chase Bank from evicting the Pittman family and we're excited to see a new much need leader in Carmen Pittman!

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Occupy Our Homes ATL Lift Off!

Thanks to all who made it out on Saturday for the Occupy Our Homes ATL official launch, a project that's very close to the heart of AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program! Special thanks to Chris Frazer, Bridgette Walker, Carmen Pittman, Pastor Dexter Johnson of Higher Ground Empowerment Center, and Pamela Flores for sharing their victories and struggles; to Senator Vincent Fort and Tony Romano of Right to the City Alliance for their inspiring messages of support; to folks who donated to and participated in our silent auction; to Altobeli's for the wonderful food; and to all who pledged to defend homes in the metro-Area!

Here's what OOHA has put out on their listserv:

"Over $7,000 was pledged at the event to help us with start-up expenses and initial program costs. Our goal was to have $10,000 pledged, so we are hoping to make up the difference by extending our initial push pledges one more week. By June 1st--the same day that we will move into our new communal home and headquarters--we hope to have $10,000 pledged.

If you were unable to pledge your solidarity and financial support at our launch, please consider donating here.

You will notice that over the course of our first year we are aiming to raise $28,000 through local, grassroots support. While this initially might strike ya'll as an overly ambitious fundraising goal, we want to assure folks that we've been very thoughtful and intentional about this goal and its use. As a budding community organization with large, transformative demands to change the way our city approaches housing, we recognize that there are many resources that we need in order to not only defend homeowners and tenants from foreclosure and eviction on a mass scale, but also to strive toward a total sea change in our city's approach to housing. While there are many resources that would certainly make our work more effective, we recognize that the resources we cannot do without are committed, accountable, full-time activists.

As we moves forward with our plans, we now--perhaps more than ever--hope to make it clear that we are working under the banner of the Occupy Movement. While we will not be accountable to the GA's, but rather accountable to each other and our communities, we do recognize the contradiction of Occupy activists receiving stipends from large foundations and from the 1%. Because of this, we are aiming to support our four full-time activists solely through grassroots fundraising. Please consider donating to support our activists today."

We look forward to updating everyone on OOHA's developments soon. Stay tuned for more information about our summer Home Defense Mobilizing Conferences.

AFSC's Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program aims to continue to support this important movement with trainings, resources, and space for meetings and conferences. Our cities housing crisis is unprecedented and requires unprecedented, bold, nonviolent, creative action.

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Newton County Resident Moves Back Into Home After Wrongful Eviction

 Newton County resident Eddie Jones was illegally evicted on Thursday, May 17th. Instead of just rolling over and letting his house get taken away like so many other Americans, Eddie decided to fight back. Eddie got a few friends together and did something very few have been brave enough to do—he moved back into his home.

This past Saturday, Sheriff’s deputies showed up at Eddie’s home to evict him. After allowing Eddie to show them paperwork that proves his foreclosure--and therefore eviction--is wrongful, the officers decided to leave and give Jones until Monday, May 21st to vacate his home.

Former Congress Woman Cynthia McKinney, who Eddie used to work for as a body guard while she was in office, contacted Occupy Our Homes ATL(OOHA) this past Saturday with a sense of urgency.
OOHA sprung into action and planned a press conference for Monday morning, the same time Eddie's 2nd  eviction was scheduled. As we were mobilizing folks the Sheriff of Newton county was contacted and informed that Eddies case was rife with fraud, and that the community would push back if there was an eviction attempt.

At the press conference, which was also a soft blockade against Eddie's eviction, we were joined by Vison Jones of National Action Network, Cynthia McKinney, Civil Rights leader Joe Beasley, and members of Newton County SCLC.

After the Monday morning press conference Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown agreed to meet with Eddie and put off eviction for an additional two weeks to establish fraud on behalf of the foreclosing entity, which in the case is Fannie Mae

More on Eddie Jones’s fight to save his home.

Mr. Jones suffered from a car wreck in 2008 and missed three payments on his mortgage, which caused him to spiral into foreclosure. He applied for the Making Home Affordable program and was accepted. After making three payments in full and on time Mr. Jones was mysteriously dropped from the program. His home was then transferred over the Internet via MERS from Litton Loan Servicing to Fannie Mae. He has a copy of the MERS transfer of the property to the evicting party, Fannie Mae, which is under a cloud of legal suspicion and may not have standing in Georgia Courts.

Mr. Jones’s home was fraudulently obtained by Fannie Mae through MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems), which was deemed by Courts throughout the country as not having any ownership interest in any mortgage. He has a case pending before Newton County Court, #2012978-5.

Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Chris Frazer, Picking Up The Pieces

Today, on Mothers Day, several of us came out to visit Chris Frazer, her mom Daisy, and Grandson Malachi at their new house, which is temporary. We brought Mothers Day flowers and offered our labor as there's still much moving around that needs to be done.

It's been just over a week since the Frazer family was evicted at gunpoint by Sheriff Thomas Brown and 40 of his officers at 3am. The trauma that the unprecedented action caused the Frazer family undeniably lingers strong. It was a tough scene to observe for anyone, but one can only imagine what it's like having you doors knocked in, physically forced out, and see all you belongings carelessly tossed onto the lawn.

Given the circumstances the Frazer family is making the best of the situation. The family's first priority was getting everyone under the same roof again.

There are needs.

The unexpected move has brought many expenses, from moving trucks, movers, broken and damaged property, first and last months rent, and turning on new utilities, the Frazers money is stretched very thin. We've set up a wepay account that goes directly into Chris Frazers account. Our hope is to get at least 2,500 by the end of the week, can you help?

https://www.wepay.com/x2tg0qn/donations/193827

There are also specific items that the family needs. They Include:

Window Treatments
Clothing hangers
Sink stoppers
Night Lights
Twin Bed, and sheets
Queen Bed and sheets
Frame for a king sized bed
Full sized bed foot board

Next steps.

This Thursday(5/17) at 7:30pm there will be a candlelight vigil in front of the home(3662 wellhaun rd, Decatur) Chris Frazer's family was evicted from in the middle of the night at 3am. We invite all who are concerned with foreclosures, evictions, and housing in general to stand with Chris Frazer and her family.

During the eviction the Frazer family had several items stolen from them, they include:

Three gold watches
Ipod
Wii video game system
Three machetes that belonged to Chris's deceased husband
An 18 inch solid gold necklace and pennant

What Sheriff  Thomas Brown did was just wrong. We're asking folks to call his office and let them know that we can't afford that kind of behavior in our communities. Call his office at this number:
404-298-8145


                 Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee