The Struggle of Occupy Homes

Brad German, Freddie Mac’s public relations director, summed up Occupy Homes with the following statement: “What is unusual, in fact to our experience utterly unprecedented, is the level of aggression and defiance of the law by these activists.” Coming from him, that’s a badge of honor. Occupy Homes has won seven victories thus far, and more are on the way. The movement has combined longstanding community organizing models, like neighborhood meetings and BBQs, with militant direct action and mass civil disobedience.

The struggle for the Cruz house has been dubbed “The Battle of 4044 Cedar Ave” by The Huffington Post. A see-saw series of evictions and liberations featured an impromptu blockade of a major street, a pre-dawn sheriff’s eviction, protesters linking arms and charging a police line, shutting down a major highway, and a spectacular nighttime showdown ending with the chief of police himself stepping on activists blockading the doorway. Thirty-seven people, including internationally famed hip-hop artist Brother Ali, were arrested in well-publicized acts of civil disobedience. A progressive Democrat mayor locked his office doors after being exposed as a lackey for the banks.