Take Back the Land
Encyclopedia
Take Back the Land is an American organisation based in Miami, Florida devoted to blocking eviction
s, and rehousing homeless people in foreclosed houses
. Take Back the Land was formed in October 2006 to build the Umoja Village
Shantytown on a plot of unoccupied land to protest gentrification
and a lack of low-income housing in Miami. The group began opening houses in October 2007 and moved six homeless families into vacant homes in 2008. By April 2009, the group had moved 20 families into foreclosed houses. , the group had ten volunteers. Take Back the Land volunteers break into the houses, clean, paint and make repairs, change the locks, and help move the homeless families in. They provide supplies and furniture and help residents turn on electricity and water. Though the occupations are of contested legality, local police officers were not intervening, judging it to be the responsibility of house owners to protect their property or request assistance.
houses, and they give the families cleaning supplies and furniture. The group gains access to unoccupied houses, paints and cleans them, changes the locks, and connects electricity and water. Rameau says each occupation costs the group $200. Take Back the Land instructs tenants of the houses to occupy the houses openly; they enter and leave through the front door, pay for utilities in their own names, and are honest with neighbors. The families live in the houses they occupy until they either save up enough money to afford to pay for housing or are forcibly evicted by police.
The group maintains a waiting list of families who would like to move into foreclosed homes. Rameau says tenants are carefully chosen in order to avoid creating crack houses; drug addicts are rejected, and participants are assessed for their "urgency of need".
According to Rameau, he had approached banks in 2008 with the idea of buying them for a discount price and renting them to homeless people; they seemed interested at first but he says they stopped calling him back after the 2008 federal bailout
was announced.
Take Back the Land uses illegal tactics. The group commits trespassing and tenants could be charged with crimes such as vandalism. Rameau says, "there's a disconnect between the need and the law. Being arrested is just one of the potential factors in doing this." The tenants are told that they may be arrested if caught. Take Back the Land has a pro-bono lawyer on standby. Kelly Penton, a spokeswoman for the city of Miami, said that the city was not taking action to stop Take Back the Land's activities stating that "it is up to the property owner". , police had not gotten involved.
organization inspired by the Landless Workers' Movement
in Brazil
and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
in South Africa
. The group built the Umoja Village
in Miami in 2006, a shantytown on an undeveloped lot in support of the "black community's right to own land". Fifty homeless people lived in the village. After the village burned down in April 2007, the group moved 14 of the ex-residents into a warehouse. Max Rameau released a book detailing the experience entitled Take Back the Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown.
Partly due to overbuilding and speculation, Florida, and particularly Miami, have been affected by the housing crisis in the late 2000s recession
. In September 2008, Florida had the second highest rate of foreclosures in the country.
Take Back the Land moved the first family into an unoccupied house on October 22, 2007. By November 2008, it had opened up six houses, and by April 2009, the group had moved 20 families into foreclosed homes.
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
s, and rehousing homeless people in foreclosed houses
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
. Take Back the Land was formed in October 2006 to build the Umoja Village
Umoja Village
The Umoja Village shantytown was founded on October 23, 2006, in the Liberty City section of Miami, Florida, in response to gentrification and a lack of low-income housing in Miami. The name Umoja is Swahili for "unity", hence "Unity Village"....
Shantytown on a plot of unoccupied land to protest gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
and a lack of low-income housing in Miami. The group began opening houses in October 2007 and moved six homeless families into vacant homes in 2008. By April 2009, the group had moved 20 families into foreclosed houses. , the group had ten volunteers. Take Back the Land volunteers break into the houses, clean, paint and make repairs, change the locks, and help move the homeless families in. They provide supplies and furniture and help residents turn on electricity and water. Though the occupations are of contested legality, local police officers were not intervening, judging it to be the responsibility of house owners to protect their property or request assistance.
Advocacy
The group advocates for changes in governmental housing policy. Max Rameau, the homeless advocate running the program, called it "morally indefensible to have vacant homes sitting there, potentially for years, while you have human beings on the street". Rameau says that the group only moves families into government- or bank-owned properties, and argues that it is not fair for the banks to be receiving government bailouts while keeping these assets.Tactics
Rameau states that having people occupy the buildings helps the owners by preventing looting and property destruction that he says would likely happen to unoccupied buildings. He also says that the group requires that tenants get electricity and provides solar panels if the electricity does not work. Take Back the Land activists help maintain and clean the yards of the squattedSquatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
houses, and they give the families cleaning supplies and furniture. The group gains access to unoccupied houses, paints and cleans them, changes the locks, and connects electricity and water. Rameau says each occupation costs the group $200. Take Back the Land instructs tenants of the houses to occupy the houses openly; they enter and leave through the front door, pay for utilities in their own names, and are honest with neighbors. The families live in the houses they occupy until they either save up enough money to afford to pay for housing or are forcibly evicted by police.
The group maintains a waiting list of families who would like to move into foreclosed homes. Rameau says tenants are carefully chosen in order to avoid creating crack houses; drug addicts are rejected, and participants are assessed for their "urgency of need".
According to Rameau, he had approached banks in 2008 with the idea of buying them for a discount price and renting them to homeless people; they seemed interested at first but he says they stopped calling him back after the 2008 federal bailout
Troubled Assets Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008...
was announced.
Take Back the Land uses illegal tactics. The group commits trespassing and tenants could be charged with crimes such as vandalism. Rameau says, "there's a disconnect between the need and the law. Being arrested is just one of the potential factors in doing this." The tenants are told that they may be arrested if caught. Take Back the Land has a pro-bono lawyer on standby. Kelly Penton, a spokeswoman for the city of Miami, said that the city was not taking action to stop Take Back the Land's activities stating that "it is up to the property owner". , police had not gotten involved.
Background
Take Back the Land was originally formed in 2006 as an anti-gentrificationGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
organization inspired by the Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement is a social movement in Brazil; it is the second largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a country it sees as mired by unjust land distribution...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign is a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The group built the Umoja Village
Umoja Village
The Umoja Village shantytown was founded on October 23, 2006, in the Liberty City section of Miami, Florida, in response to gentrification and a lack of low-income housing in Miami. The name Umoja is Swahili for "unity", hence "Unity Village"....
in Miami in 2006, a shantytown on an undeveloped lot in support of the "black community's right to own land". Fifty homeless people lived in the village. After the village burned down in April 2007, the group moved 14 of the ex-residents into a warehouse. Max Rameau released a book detailing the experience entitled Take Back the Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown.
Partly due to overbuilding and speculation, Florida, and particularly Miami, have been affected by the housing crisis in the late 2000s recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
. In September 2008, Florida had the second highest rate of foreclosures in the country.
Take Back the Land moved the first family into an unoccupied house on October 22, 2007. By November 2008, it had opened up six houses, and by April 2009, the group had moved 20 families into foreclosed homes.
See also
- Abahlali baseMjondoloAbahlali baseMjondoloAbahlali baseMjondolo , also known as AbM or the red shirts is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa which is well known for its campaigning for public housing. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now...
- The Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh CommitteeBhumi Uchhed Pratirodh CommitteeBhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee is an organisation in West Bengal, India, formed to oppose the set-up of a Special Economic Zone in the rural area of Nandigram. It formed an important role in resisting land-acquisitions in the following Nandigram violence...
in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - The EZLN in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- Fanmi LavalasFanmi LavalasFanmi Lavalas is a leftist political party in Haiti. Its leader is former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 1991. Fanmi Lavalas governments supported a policy of "growth with equity" based on Caribbean and Western European social...
in Haiti - The Homeless Workers' MovementHomeless Workers' MovementThe Homeless Workers Movement is a shack-dwellers' movement in Brazil. It originated from the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra in 1997...
in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... - The Landless Peoples MovementLandless Peoples MovementThe Landless People's Movement is an independent social movement in South Africa. It represents rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The LPM boycotts parliamentary elections and has a history of conflict with the African National Congress...
in South Africa - The Landless Workers' MovementLandless Workers' MovementLandless Workers' Movement is a social movement in Brazil; it is the second largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a country it sees as mired by unjust land distribution...
in Brazil - Movement for Justice en el BarrioMovement for Justice en el BarrioMovement for Justice in El Barrio/Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio is a community organization based in East Harlem, New York.-Organisational profile:The Movement defines itself as follows:-Background:...
in the United States of America - Narmada Bachao AndolanNarmada Bachao AndolanNarmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - The Western Cape Anti-Eviction CampaignWestern Cape Anti-Eviction CampaignThe Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign is a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa...