Photos and Quotes from Rosemary's

UPDATE 4:20pm Friday from MN PPEHRC: "At this very moment Rosemary is on the phone [Correction: a conference call is being set up] with GMAC and her lawyer to work out details of a possible real deal that Rosemary could accept. Again we cannot allow ourselves to let our hopes skyrocket high until papers are signed!"

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With a deal allegedly on the table, the tactics have changed on the 7th day of the occupation, with the goal of allowing Rosemary to live in a semi-normal state in her home.  Organizers are still on the watch for police action, however, as they wait to hear further word from GMAC lawyers.  | Photo of email from Elizabeth Glidden about offer from GMAC CEO

"I slept like I didn't think the cops were going to come, and they didn't!" - PPEHRC organizer

Waiting around: "So you guys are all on the same schedule, right?  GMAC's schedule?  They determine our lives and what we do?" - PPEHRC organizer

"The police were trying to push this one out the door and he wouldn't go.  He grabbed the policeman's leg and wouldn't let go of it!" - Rosemary, describing her grandson after the Sheriffs came on Friday

Related: Misplaced Blame at the Heart of Stories Like Rosemary's by Gail Rosenblum/Star Tribune

Most photos below were taken Thursday, August 13.

click photos to see bigger

coffee has been in abundance!

dick's down home victory chili

donated food from food not bombs, sisters camelot, and elsewhere

Quotes from Thursday's Press Conference:

Cheri Honkala (PPEHRC): "We don't know if it's a good deal, we don't know if it's a bad deal, but one thing we know right now is that a deal is on the table and that the assistant police chief has also been contacted.  So I'm sure that the Minneapolis police department will act right and won't raid when there's a deal on the table.  Don't you think, guys?" ... "But we have to continue to watch this every day, every hour, make sure you're on twitter, on the websites, on the phone tree, because if some reason this deal changes, we go back to the original plan."   "All of us should take pride in the fact that this deal is on the table."  

Mick Kelly (People's Bailout): "We are the center of a national movement where people are standing up and saying no...  It is because of the effort of so many who have done so much."  ...  "The other day we were sitting and we thought a raid was imminent.  There was no doubt in my mind, Cheri's mind, the minds of many of us here.  But we're still here.  Still saying that we want an agreement that keeps Rosemary in her home and any agreement that does that will be a victory and a success."

Jeanine Estime (MPLS City Council Candidate):  "Unfortunately we don't have a city council and a mayor [who will stand up]:  I think this is the time when we need people to be standing here with us, because this is not just happening to Rosemary Williams, this is happening to many people - many homes and families are being destroyed.  This is an issue where we need everybody to stand with us."

Rev. Loren McGrail (UCC): "[Pointing to a sign on Rosemary's porch] 'Rights for beings not for banks'--I think that that's a deeply theological statement and a true statement."

Anne Patterson (PPEHRC): "I'm also pre-foreclosure. The last word I got from Wells Fargo was that because I'm not behind, my mortgage is manageable, even though I'm trying to be proactive and fix the problem that I know is going to occur when my ARM goes up again, before we have to have sit-ins in my house. They said no--why don't you just forget about all your other bills and pay us." ... "So this is a lot more important to me now that I'm about to lose my house and be homeless with my children.  Now it's a different story now that it's my own house.  Everyone's coming forward now; there's a woman who wants us to come out and help save her farm.  We've got people that are calling us daily that need help like this; so unless we do a national action and do actiosn like the march on the banks on August 15 at 11am, we're going to have to keep doing this down to the wire again and again.   We need to start stopping the problem at the beginning."

the email from councilwoman glidden stating that a deal is underway has been posted inside the front door

reverend loren mcgrail at the press conference

rosemary and city council candidate jeanine estime (center left/center right)

in thursday's star tribune

photos and a map of empty homes nearby

Photos from earlier

watching from 32nd and clinton

corporate press arrives at the eviction friday

civil disobedience

this sign wasn't up for long

moving rosemary's belongings