Evictions in Retaliation for Standing up to Police Harassment

by Society If Dads

In Retaliation for Standing Up to Police Harassment, Entire Row of Ypsilanti Public Housing Residents Served Eviction Notices

Today, Tuesday, June 23, an entire row of residences in Sycamore Meadows public housing in Ypsilanti—part of the Danbury Green neighborhood or “the Green”—received eviction notices for an incident that occurred on Thursday, June 4.

On June 4, around 4 p.m., a Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputy shined his headlamps on a resident at the Green for no reason. The resident joked with the officer by asking why he did that—did he want to “hit the weed” (the man was legally smoking marijuana)? The deputy didn’t like that and soon six more sheriff’s cars came in from multiple directions, some rolling across the grass, and made a semi-circle formation with their headlamps shining at the front porches of people’s homes.

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The people of Danbury Green, mostly African American, were in no mood for police harassment. One asked if the officers were going to “pull a George Floyd.” More and more neighbors started coming out of their doors to stand in solidarity against the police intimidation. The deputies started threatening people with trespass violations outside their own homes. The people remained defiant. Someone said, “You’re trespassing on my good time!” A political discussion of police harassment of Black communities kicked off. People began to take the knee.

Following this inspiring incident of Black power in the face of gratuitous police intimidation, deputies departed and no tickets were issued (there was nothing to issue them for).

Until today. The same row of homes that faced down seven deputy cars has been served eviction notices from this subsidized public housing. The false accusation is that there was a block party on June 4. There was no block party. People were outside their own homes with bbqs, visiting with family and friends, the same as any other summer day. Danbury Green homes are adjacent to each other in long rows without any side yards, so neighbors are within speaking distance of each other in their front yards, but there was no “block party.”

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The eviction notices, one of which is shown here, cites “WCSO reported community disturbances on June 4, 2020.” Residents, many of whose families have lived in the Green for decades, have 10 days to dispute the notice with management or else move out by July 15. In the middle of a pandemic.

There could not be a clearer example of racist police intimidation and structural violence against Black people, criminalized for “living while Black” in their own front yards. The deputies are exercising their white supremacist muscles to see if they can keep this community under their thumb. Let’s show them that time’s up for white and police supremacy. Alert your neighbors, friends, family, city and county reps. March in the street, make some art and music. Whatever you do, let’s do it now in solidarity with the Green!

– Abolition / The Green /

Comments

  2. Not just retaliation, but complete discrimination and against the rights of our constitution. Tenants have the right to speak unless under arrest, and the landlords cannot evict all of them because they are not able to pinpoint who caused the “issue”. It’s completely disgraceful. CALL THE NEWS!!!

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  4. This will NEVER happen! Someone needs to call Legal Services AND or a attorney and FIGHT sycamore meadows is crazy

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  9. Call Hud this is NOT RIGHT all residents in that row can not be removed and where is the police report? I would not except this being a Landlord in Ypsilanti Township if there is Not a police report with names, dates, and issue.

    Tenants STAY PUT Call HUD

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  10. Legal Services of South Central Michigan can help tenants facing eviction. Please call them for an intake: https://lsscm.org/ and (734) 665-6181.

    Also, Sycamore Meadows is a HUD-financed housing development. Most eviction cases cannot go through while the federal eviction moratorium is in place. Resources for more information:
    https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/cares-act-eviction-moratorium-covers-all-federally-financed-rentals-thats-one-four-us-rental-units and
    https://lsscm.org/sites/default/files/subsidized-housing-4-22-20-final.pdf.

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    • I heard that Survivor Speak is calling for one on Friday. They have a sketchy reputation so I don’t know details. They are on Facebook.

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  13. I wonder what Legal Aid and HUD would say about this. I encourage those residents to call. When we lived there, we had both of them on speed dial. We always got justice too!

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  14. No place is free of the plagues of hate and fear. This not just wrong, it is disgusting and reveals the dark and ugly side of our community.

    These officers could not have picked a worse moment to demonstrate the disturbing inner core of their social awareness. Ugly Ugly Ugly. For Shame

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  15. You have the absolute right to be heard and this is highly illegal. They cannot evict based on the sole word of the sheriff’s department. Find a lawyer asap

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