The report below was published by the ANSWER Coalition. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a member organization of ANSWER and participated in the Jan. 7 action against foreclosures and evictions.
With the deepening of the capitalist
economic crisis that started in 2008, we are seeing in 2012 record numbers of
impoverished and homeless people living in the wealthiest country on the
planet. The response to this has been the new Occupy mass movement that has
swept much of the globe.
As the state repression of the
expanding Occupy encampments across the United States has left very few tents standing,
the movement is adapting in various ways.
In many cities, the focus has
shifted to housing rights and actions against evictions and foreclosures. In
San Francisco, the ANSWER Coalition has been involved in working with community
groups, individuals and Occupy and Housing organizations like the San Francisco
Tenants Union, ACCE, Causa Justa (Just Cause) to stand up for the right to
housing.
On Saturday, Jan. 7, Occupy SF
took its show of solidarity to San Francisco’s Excelsior district, a working-class
neighborhood where evictions and foreclosures are becoming increasingly
prevalent. The starting point of the action was Bank of America, which had its
doors closed when we arrived. One demonstrator was able to make it inside and hold
a sign against the door of the entrance denouncing the foreclosures until he
was arrested.
The protest of about 125 people then
moved one block over to Wells Fargo. An ANSWER activist and schoolteacher spoke
of the basic right to education. She pointed out the hypocrisy of a system that
blames teachers for the failings of an education system that is grossly
underfunded and where more and more students are homeless or suffer from
housing or food insecurity.
The energy of the protesters
continued to grow as we marched to Citibank and Chase, and eventually back to Bank
of America for a closing rally. People spoke of living through foreclosures and
the impact on their families and children and the need to keep fighting against
such injustices.
Basic needs such as housing and
health care must be guaranteed rights, not just commodities to be sold for a profit
only to those who have the means to pay. Our task is to build a movement capable
of struggle to win justice for the working class.
