June 12, 2018
Washington D.C. — ​ At approximately 930pm on June 11th, federal police began evicting poor & homeless from Resurrection City II in Dupont Circle, despite their lawfully obtained permits. Nearly twenty police officers congregated in Dupont Circle, citing “noise complaints” as the reason for their presence, & eventually citing the use of “permanent structures” (tents) & the “obstruction of signs” as grounds for the revocation of the permit, which was slated to continue through June 12th. The Poor People’s March on Washington was cited with an $80 fee resulting from the complaint. There were no arrests, though property was seized.
Resurrection City II was formed by poor & homeless adults, youth, families, veterans, returning citizens, people with disabilities, & people who receive SSI, WIC, SNAP, & other life-saving services. The creation of the city, which included a stage & scheduled performances by artists such as Rebel Diaz & Immortal Technique, served as the celebration & culmination of the ​ Poor People’s March on Washington​ , a week-long march from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. organized by ​ Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign​ . Throughout the day, marchers made speeches, performed music, & spoke their truth in the present of other poor & homeless people, as well as passerbys. Freedom songs could often be heard coming from the park, including during the eviction. Despite their acquisition of a permit, marchers were routinely harassed by police during their two day stay.
“Each & every day in this park people sleep & they are harassed by police & they are arrested. But they came down hard because we are also poor & homeless people & we had the audacity to put up signs & talk about the horrendous things that are happening in this country…. In this country of abundance, it should be against the law for men, women, & children to be homeless on any given night…. we think it’s a sin against God for men, women, & children to be out in the elements sleeping outside.” — Cheri Honkala, PPEHRC Co-Director
On Tuesday June 12th, Poor People’s March on Washington will be going to visit the real criminals, demonstrating outside the Chamber of Commerce. “We are coming to issue a citizen’s arrest because we demand those who are responsible for our displacement, our hunger, & our homelessness be held accountable, not left pulling of the strings of the puppet politicians.” — Cheri Honkala, PPEHRC Co-Director
For more information, please contact:
English: ​ Cheri Honkala, Co-Director of PPEHRC, (215) 869-4753, ​ cherihonkalappehrc@gmail.com
Spanish: ​ Tara Colon, Co-Director of PPEHRC, (863) 557-5233, ​ tara.b.p.colon@gmail.com
Learn more on the​ PPEHRC website​ , read our ​ Principles of Unity​ , follow us on ​ Facebook​ & ​ Twitter​ &​ to donate​.