Protesters demand foreclosure moratorium

Protesters gathered Feb. 18 outside the McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit for a demonstration called by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions & Utility Shutoffs and the People Before Banks Coalition. They were targeting the office of U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and demanding a national moratorium to stop all foreclosures and evictions.

Black women from a Detroit church were there, as were white male workers from the suburbs who are now laid off from jobs in auto-related industries and facing foreclosure. Several youth and students also attended.

Many first-time participants came because they saw anti-foreclosure attorney and moratorium coalition leader Vanessa Fluker on a recent “Defenders” segment on a WDIV TV 4 news broadcast. Reporter Kevin Dietz interviewed Fluker and showed excerpts from her recent testimony before a Congressional panel in Washington, D.C.

Fluker exposed the “silent bailout” the banks are receiving and the role of government-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in carrying out mass foreclosures and evictions across the country.

This was the second in a series of protests aimed at federal elected officials. Coalition organizers stressed the “criminal role of the U.S. government” in the ever-growing foreclosure crisis and how a moratorium can be won in the streets.