Movement Blog for the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights

Sharon Jasper at the May 28 Columbia Parc demonstration.

Public housing residents are under constant threat of eviction or voucher termination for violating any one of a broad range of rules made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, from missing an appointment or a utility bill to having a verbal dispute with a security officer. When these hostile and excessive regulations are employed to silence community leaders and activists, it only further underscores their inconsistency with democracy and the human right to housing. No one should have to choose between free expression and keeping their home.

Show your support for Sharon Jasper, New Orleans public housing resident and community leader facing a battery charge and an eviction order after her participation in a May 28 demonstration organized by Mayday New Orleans and Survivors Village. The demonstrators, taking part in Take Back the Land Movement’s May 2010 Month of Action, staged a sit-in at the Columbia Parc management office in New Orleans to demand the unconditional right of return for former residents of the St. Bernard Housing Development. Columbia Parc replaced the St. Bernard public housing complex after the City of New Orleans voted to replace the 1500 public housing units with a “mixed income” development, and later imposed a strict set of eligibility criteria on public housing residents to return.

Columbia Parc filed a battery charge on one of their rental agents against Sharon, though no complaint was filed by Columbia Parc the day of the demonstration and the alleged battery was not mentioned when protesters were ordered to disperse. This charge resulted in an eviction order for Sharon.

"Let the people in!" The May 28 demonstration at Columbia Parc.

“Sharon was not arrested because she broke any laws, but because she has been a tireless and uncompromising fighter for the right of poor people to return to their communities after being displaced by the government negligence which led to the city of New Orleans being flooded.  Further, the Housing Authority of New Orleans and HUD are now trying to make an example out of Sharon by taking her voucher away. With rent three times as high as it was before the evacuation, this is basically an attempt to make her one of the thousands of homeless people that already exist in the city of New Orleans. If we allow these people to be successful in their efforts to silence Sharon, no resident will be safe to express themselves or fight back through protest and community actions.” –Endesha Juakali, Survivors Village organizer

Get informed:

Watch video of the May 28 demonstration, from the march to the sit-in at the Columbia Parc management office, here:

Video regarding Sharon Jasper’s arrest, posted by Survivors Village New Orleans, can be found here:

News coverage of the May 28 demonstration, collected by Take Back the Land, is available here:

Information regarding Sharon Jasper’s next hearing and a photo slideshow of the May 28 demonstration can be found at the Survivors Village New Orleans blog:

TAKE ACTION:

If you’re in New Orleans:

Check out this call to action from Survivors Village organizer Endesha Juakali:

TODAY, Tuesday July 20 at 3 pm in Municipal Court Section D, our comrade Sharon Jasper has her first court appearance. We are hoping that she will receive wide support from those who believe in social justice and community activism.

Survivors Village met on last Saturday with many individuals and organizations to plot a long term strategy for this fight, and we will win!!

More information will be forthcoming soon, but the first step in the battle is to support Sharon in court!!

And if you’re not in NOLA:

Call/fax these officials and demand that the charges and eviction order against Sharon Jasper be dropped:

David Gilmore, Executive Director, Housing Authority of New Orleans: (504) 670-3300

http://www.hano.org/

Noel Khalil, CEO, Columbia Residential: (404) 874-5000, x111, Fax (404) 874-0999

http://www.columbiares.com/about/principals.html

Gerard Barousse, Jr., Chairman, Bayou District: (504) 272-0307, Fax: (504) 523-1704

http://bayoudistrictfoundation.org/

Charles Knapp, President, Purpose Built Communities: (404) 591-1400, email: interest@purposebuiltcommunities.org

http://www.purposebuiltcommunities.org/network-members/overview.html

Please stay tuned about upcoming opportunities to further support Sharon!

[Big thanks to Endesha Juakali and Jay Arena.]