South African Anti-Eviction Activist

Saturday, Nov 28, 12:00 - 2pm
Northside Action for Justice offices,
Edgewater Presbyterian Church building, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, 3rd Fl

Ashraf Cassiem, an activist and organizer from South Africa, has been helping thousands of tenants defy banks and resist evictions, water privatization and other human rights abuses.

Ashraf will join us for a conversation about tenant organizing, including strategies and tactics.  He'll talk about the tremendous work being done by tenants in Cape Town, South Africa, in the name of Human Rights, (housing, water, land). 

He's helped inspire some great work already:

Last Tuesday NA4J joined tenant Lenise Forrest, Cabrini residents, STOP, and the Coalition to Protect Public Housing to form an eviction blockade at Lenise's Cabrini rowhouse.  There were so many people, and enough press, that the sheriff's deputies did not show, (as they had announced in an eviction notice served 2 weeks prior).  CHA has now stated that they will work with her, as they should have already.  This wrongful eviction is at least stalled for now, and we will send an action alert to you all should we need to go to the CHA office, (as we went to HUD to stop the Bledsoe Family eviction).

You can read more about this story at:
http://trueslant.com/megancottrell/2009/11/16/at-the-end-of-her-rope-cabrini-green-resident-faces-eviction-tomorrow/

http://trueslant.com/megancottrell/2009/11/16/community-will-try-to-stop-lenise-forrests-eviction/

Please join us --bring friends and family in town for the holiday. 

We'll be joined by Erica Bledsoe and Lenise Forrest--two fighting tenants who stood up and said, 'No more, this is my home!'   They know that each time we fight for one home, we make it harder for them, (banks, HUD's outsourced management, etc), to take the next one--maybe yours.