[Northeast-earth-first] *National Call to Action*: Mass Day of Account Closures

[Michelle Todd]

*NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION*

BREAK UP WITH BANK OF AMERICA ON VALENTINES DAY

FEB 14th, 2009: MASS DAY OF ACCOUNT CLOSURES

STOP ALL EVICTIONS AND FORECLOSURES!

STOP FINANCING COAL AND CLIMATE CHANGE!

Contact: valentinesday at risingtideboston.org

This Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2009, join Rising Tide Boston (RTB) in
demanding that Bank of America stop its funding of the dirty and deadly coal
industry and demanding, in solidarity with City Life/Vide Urbana, stop its
unjust foreclosures and evictions of working families. Closing your account
with Bank of America (BOA) is an important step in bringing closure to this
unhealthy relationship. In Boston, we are planning a day of coordinated bank
account closures in at least two locations, and encourage people in other
places to organize something similar.

It is completely within Bank of America's power to stop evicting people from
their homes, and such a step wouldn't be unprecedented. Mortgage giant
Fannie Mae recently announced a moratorium on evictions of tenants in
foreclosed houses after facing pressure from housing justice activists. Now
is [the] time to let BOA know in no uncertain terms that we won't allow them
to push any of us or our neighbors out of our homes, and that we're
certainly not going to trust them with our money.

Soledad Lawrence, a community organizer with City Life / Vida Urbana says
that the racist foreclosure crisis is "like Katrina without the water." We
will not allow Bank of America's predatory lending practices to displace
poor people and people of color in our city or anywhere. The same
working-class communities that are most oppressed by the economic system
these greedy banks support are now facing the worst effects of the
environmental devastation that it causes. While communities in Boston
continue to struggle in the face of the ongoing disaster of foreclosures and
evictions, communities in Appalachia are fighting back against the disaster
of the coal industry, which is poisoning their water and displacing them
from their homes. Climate change is a social justice issue, and we must
build alliances now to confront the corporations who put profit before
people and the planet.

Recently, Bank of America attempted to salvage its relationship with the
movements working to end mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) by releasing
a [statement on] Coal Policy, in which the bank failed to commit to a
timeline or any concrete action to halt their financing of MTR. In this
"policy", BOA touts "advanced technologies such as carbon capture and
storage" as solutions to climate change. BOA does not seem to understand
that we need is a livable planet that hasn't been turned into an overheated
toxic wasteland, not token gestures or promises to support false solutions.
The recent devastating coal-ash spill in Tennessee is a reminder that we
already have enough ongoing and imminent disasters from the coal industry-
we don't need any more. BOA's first step should be the immediate
cancellation of loans to destructive corporations such as Peabody Energy,
Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Dominion, and all others involved with mountaintop
removal and trashing the climate.

We encourage everyone who does business with Bank of America to take time
this Valentine's Day to tell them "it's over between us." In Boston, we're
encouraging people to pledge ahead of time, so we can know how many people
to expect and let them know which branch we will be at. Even if you don't
have a bank account at Bank of America, you can still participate at a
support rally. We are calling on social and environmental justice groups
around the country to work together organize account closings in their
communities on this day. Without our money, greedy banks cannot continue to
destroy the planet and exploit marginalized communities.

For help organizing a day of mass account closings in your town, or to make
a pledge to close your account in the Boston area, write to:
ValentinesDay at RisingTideBoston.org.

Stay tuned to www.RisingTideBoston.org for some suggestions or logistical
support.
For information about City Life/Vida Urbana, check out www.clvu.org.
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