Housing Justice Organizers Across Nation Announce Mass Rent Strike Campaign

Press Release:

From: Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE)

Media Advisory For: Thursday, April 30, 2020

Contact: Cabot Petoia, 828-899-9239, cabot [at] megaphonestrategies.com; Louie Tan Vital, 425-330-5787, louie [at] megaphonestrategies.com


4/30 Press Call: Housing Justice Organizers Across Nation Announce Mass Rent Strike Campaign

“We Strike Together” to Launch in Response to Exacerbation of the Housing Crisis Fueled by COVID-19; Hundreds of Thousands from All 50 States Join in Solidarity to Demand Rent Relief

Nationwide -- This Thursday, April 30, at 12:00 PM ET, the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) and other grassroots organizations will hold a press call to announce the launch of a new campaign called “We Strike Together” ahead of rent day on May 1. They will be joined by Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, and Alex Caputo Pearl, United Teachers Los Angeles.

The campaign website will present a live “heat map” that compiles petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of people across the country who can’t pay rent this month, and have come together in a unified commitment to demand universal rent relief. The website will also feature robust organizing tools for tenants who need further resources to organize rent strikes in their communities.

“We Strike Together” demonstrates the urgency of addressing the housing crisis during COVID-19 and beyond, and calls on elected officials to take bold action in response to the collective demand to cancel all rent and mortgage payments. Overall, the campaign aims to shift the weight of the pandemic from where it currently lies -- on Black, Brown, and low-income people -- to corporations and the wealthy.

WHAT: Press briefing featuring grassroots organizers demanding universal rent relief, announcement of “We Strike Together” campaign

WHO: Maurice BP-Weeks, Co-Executive Director of Action Center on Race and the Economy; Alex Caputo Pearl, President of the United Teachers Los Angeles;

Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota

Vanessa Bulnes, Oakland based tenant leader from Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Winsome Pendegrass, NYC based tenant leader from New York Communities for Change

Tiana Caldwell, Kansas City Based tenant leader from KC Tenants


Sponsored By:

Action Center on Race and the Economy, The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Alliance for Housing Justice, Bargaining for the Common Good, Center for Popular Democracy, Housing Justice for All, Jobs with Justice, KC Tenants, Partnership for Working Families, People’s Action Homes Guarantee

WHEN: Thursday, April 30, 12 p.m. ET

WHERE: To RSVP for the press briefing or for more information, email acre [at] megaphonestrategies.com.


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The Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) is a campaign hub for organizations working at the intersection of racial justice and corporate accountability. We provide research and communications infrastructure and strategic support for organizations working on campaigns to win structural change by directly taking on the corporations that are responsible for pillaging communities of color, devastating working-class communities, and harming our environment.

--
Anya Svanoe
Communications Director
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)
510-423-2452
she/her/hers

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