At least 100 people gathered at a rent demonstration in Detroit on Saturday afternoon following a mother who was evicted with police assistance not too long ago. People walked the streets in the metro area, shouting, "no slumlords, no cops, all evictions got to stop!" This comes as millions of Americans are behind in rent and face eviction if the nationwide moratorium expires at the end of March.
Independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwage captured the rent protest in a series of tweets Saturday afternoon. He said about 100 people turned up for the event to march through Detroit's West Side.
The crowd was heard chanting: "When Black homes are under attack, what do we do? Rise up, fight back!"
Protesters also chanted: "No slumlords, no cops, all evictions got to stop!"
More views of the protest.
During the demonstration, the crowd marched past a community food distribution and donation drive. Housing and food insecurities are huge issues in America right now with no resolution in sight.
Protesters told people in the community to "come out of their houses and join them" in their march against evictions.
What sparked the protest was when a mother was evicted from her home by police in December.
Meanwhile, a nationwide eviction crisis is here, and there's no way to stop it.
According to research firm Moody's Analytics, about 12 million renters owe an average of almost $6,000, which includes past due rent, late fees, and unpaid utility bills. In total, some $72 billion is owed.
"These are low-income households," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. "They've probably already borrowed as much as they can from family or friends. They have no resources left."
In New York City alone, tenants owe a whopping $2 billion in back rents.
COVID has severely impacted almost all Americans but has financially crushed those with the lowest incomes.
The federal government has yet to address the eviction crisis with a long-term solution. In December, Congress allotted $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. Frankly, the federal government and Federal Reserve don't have a viable long-term plan to fix this socio-economic mess - all they care about is printing trillions of dollars and throwing free money at everyone, thinking it will somehow immediately repair the deeply scarred economy.
With eviction courts already clogged up with cases, the big question that looms is if the Biden administration will extend eviction moratoriums... If not, prepare for more rent protests.
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1 comment:
Slumlording should be a crime and Landlords are nothing but double taxation and pure misery!
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