Today, at the Commerce Club on Peachtree St., Occupy Our Homes Atlanta went business casual, but we’re never going business-as-usual. Atlanta residents fighting for housing justice and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta (OOHA) activists attended The Atlanta Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon in Downtown Atlanta. Egbert Perry, Integral CEO and Fannie Mae Chairman of the Board, was in attendance and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to speak on behalf of cases like Zannie’s and Mark’s.
You’re probably wondering who would invite OOHA to attend a swanky, business-attire only luncheon about community development and home loan lending. The answer is, absolutely no one. We weren’t invited, but thanks to some awesome sponsorship we got tickets and Fannie Mae didn’t know that we were coming.
We were there today with home defender, Mark Harris. Mark Harris is a veteran of the United States military and after fighting for his country he faced a battle with big business, specifically Fannie Mae, for his home. Fannie Mae won that round. They refused to modify Mark’s home loan. They had him evicted at gunpoint and arrested. Mark got the opportunity to demand the “good faith” money he sent Fannie Mae to returned, because they acted in anything but “good faith” when they evicted him in the midst of negotiations.
Rob Call, of OOHA, stood on behalf of resident and member, Zannie Jackson. Zannie’s currently battling kidney failure in the hospital and was unable to make it. Zannie’s down, but he’s not out! He’s still fighting for the principle mortgage reduction that would make his home affordable and allow him to prioritize his steep medical expenses. When Rob stood to talk about Zannie it became obvious that the issues on the ground in Atlanta were not the concerns of the people in the sky-high Commerce Club.
Tim Franzen, of OOHA and AFSC, was chastised for being “inappropriate” during the luncheon. There were lots of grumbles and harrumphs about how OOHA was being indecent.
But what’s more indecent:
1.) asking people to do their jobs and take care of American families in crisis?
Or
2.) foreclosing on millions of Americans, leaving millions of Americans with underwater mortgages, and then bragging about your profits?
#perspective #PerryNewsmaker #badform
The housing market is still reeling. Big banks follow the example of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and right now those two are setting a poverty precedent. Millions of homeowners are still struggling with foreclosure and underwater mortgages. Regular Americans don’t have time for pleasantries.
Atlanta’s developers and corporations and government planning officials don’t seem to have solutions. But they do have luncheons. Negotiating with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is like trying throwing oneself against a brick wall. They aren’t responsive. They aren’t flexible. But any brick wall can be razed and they needed that reminder. OOHA stepped in to start a conversation that Fannie Mae has been refusing to have. How can we work together to keep people in homes and make housing affordable?
Watch video from today: https://www.facebook.com/OccupyHomesAtlanta
Learn more about Zannie’s story: http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/bank-of-america-seterus-keep-zannie-jackson-in-his-home
Learn more about Mark Harris here: http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/disable-desert-storm-veteran-needs-help-to-save-his-home
