Yesterday, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign hosted the first screening of the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights’ national week-long launch of the film (in solidarity with the International Alliance of Inhabitant’s World Habitat Day’s Zero Evictions month of events.
Over 70 people – community members, students, and academics came together to watch the film and discuss what’s happened since the Rapporteur’s visit in 2009. Topics touched on included Occupy Wall St., the ripple of Housing Liberations growing across the country and the important role of groups like the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign in making the human right to housing a reality for all.
The film proved to be a real eye-opener for many in attendance. After seeing the film, one youth in the audience asked, “How do we restructure the system — really deconstruct the mindset of people — when they are so dependent on it?” J.R Fleming, Chairman of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, noted, “We have already begun to deconstruct this mentality of WHAT IS the human right to housing by touching the lives of those around us, from members of our own community to the police.”
The excitement was clear by the repetition of questions from audience members of: “What can we do next?” & “How do we get involved?”