A lesbian couple in Riverdale, Ga., will get to stay in their home after successfully negotiating a refinanced mortgage with the help of activists from Occupy Atlanta, according to an article published today on Huffington Post.
Brigitte Walker, and her partner Ajai Craig, turned to Occupy Atlanta for help earlier this month when Walker, a veteran on 90 percent disability, found out her home was facing foreclosure by mortgage holder, JP Morgan Chase. Walker said at the time her limited income through disability and JPMorgan Chase's unwillingness to negotiate new terms to the loan meant she was in "a deep hole."
Members of the Occupy movement moved in with Walker and Craig, drawing national attention to the couple's case. Occupy Atlanta also canvassed Walker's neighborhood and even set up "Occupy Riverdale" headquarters in Walker's garage. Huffington Post reports that a loan modification became official earlier today, which will save the couple “hundreds of dollars” a month in mortgage payments.
Activists with Atlanta's Occupy movement will occupy the Riverdale home of Brigitte Walker and her partner, Ajai Craig, the group announced this week.
Walker, an Iraq War veteran, is on 90 percent disability stemming from injuries she sustained while serving in the military and is facing foreclosure from her mortgage holder. Organizers say that her fixed income, along with her bank's refusal to negotiate new terms, have put her home “deep into the foreclosure process.”
Occupy Atlanta will host a press conference at Walker and Craig's home later today, organizers said.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was forced to answer public questions over his handling of the recent Occupy Atlanta arrests at a town hall-style meeting at Saint Mark United Methodist Church last night.
Reed was on hand to discuss the 2009 raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar, alongside the Atlanta Police Department's LGBT Advisory Board and APD head Chief George Turner. But several of the open floor questions centered on the mayor's decision to revoke an executive order allowing Occupy Atlanta protesters to remain in the city's Woodruff Park beyond an 11 p.m. deadline and the subsequent arrests of the protesters who refused to comply in the early morning hours of Oct. 26.
Some 53 protesters were arrested, according to the city.
Despite being forcefully removed from Atlanta's downtown Woodruff Park, Occupy Atlanta protesters plan to return to the park on Nov. 5, 2011, according to the group's website. The move comes after the Atlanta Police Department, on orders from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, arrested some 53 protesters for refusing to vacate the park in the early morning hours of Oct. 26 after Reed revoked an executive order which allowed the protesters to remain in the park beyond the city's 11 p.m. curfew for parks.
Calling the movement's participants “the new world,” organizers say their message will not be silenced by the APD or the threat of more arrests. A message posted on the Occupy Atlanta website today states:
GA Voice editor Laura Douglas-Brown was featured on AM 1690 | The Voice of the Arts this week in a bi-weekly segment highlighting upcoming arts and entertainment events and LGBT community news featured in our upcoming issue.
In this week's segment, Laura discusses our cover story, "We are the 99%, too" highlighting LGBT involvement in the Occupy Atlanta movement, our interviews with actress Meredith Baxter and author Gregory Maguire, and upcoming LGBT-specific Halloween events.
Early Wednesday morning, the Atlanta Police Department, acting on orders from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, arrested 53 Occupy Atlanta protesters who defiantly remained in the city's Woodruff Park beyond an 11 p.m. curfew.
During an early morning press conference, Reed said that the city was forced to take action against the protesters after Occupy Atlanta organizers attempted to host a free hip-hop concert in Woodruff Park over the weekend without a proper security plan.
When Reed announced Oct. 24 a reversal of his earlier order allowing protesters to remain in Woodruff Park beyond the 11 p.m. curfew for the city's parks, activists accused the mayor of misrepresenting the reasons for booting the protesters.