Eviction defense is not just marked by an alliance on the eviction blockace, but instead a complete strategy of escalation. We begin with the identification of demands, a choice on how we want to approach things. With Leonard Spears, a person who was trying to resist an unjust foreclosure with the help of Take Back the Land, we started with a demand letter and a petition. The letter was then intended to be dropped off at a local branch so that his grievance could be aired publicly and they would have a chance to respond, which would give us the go ahead to either call for some measure of victory or move on to the next stage of escalation. With Leonard’s confrontation of Wells Fargo a little bit of both happened, and this can be used as an example of how even a small attempt at solidarity can change the game during a campaign.
Today Leonard Spears’ is still in his home, though the future is not so certain.