Neighbors from Liberty City rallied together Thursday to gather trash at an abandoned, foreclosed home and then deliver the garbage to a downtown branch of Bank of America, which owns the empty house.
See the below slideshow for photos from the protest, organized by the Miami Workers Center, which works to create a "progressive political and social environment in South Florida that allows for the full growth and development of low-income communities of color."
Organizer Trenise Bryant said ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities? It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood."
While police on bicycles blocked the entrance to the bank, protesters wielding bags of trash and discarded tires yelled: "Bank of America, bad for America,' and "They made a mess of the economy. Clean up your mess. They made a mess of our community. Clean up your mess. "
When the protestors initially arrived at the abandoned home, Miami police were already there and threatened to arrest them for trespassing, the Sun Sentinel reports. So instead, they gathered the ample trash strewn around the property.
One of the community activists Michael Daniels told the Sun Sentinel, "They probably get away with code violations and the city's not going to pick up and fine them on that. They'll continue to keep the property like this for years and nobody says anything about it."
In Chicago, after taxpayers were forced to pick up the bill to maintain such abandoned homes, the city started requiring the banks to take responsibility for the properties' upkeep.
NPR reports that if a Chicago owner is over a month and a half late on their mortgage, the bank has to check if the home has been abandoned. If it has, the lender then has to secure it, register it with the city, and keep it up to city code or suffer steep daily fines.
Watch video from the cleanup protest at the house and drop-off protest here.
Check out photos from Thursday:
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Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: Hashim Yeomans-Benford places bags of garbage that had been collected from abandoned foreclosed home in front of a Bank of America branch during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: A security guard watches from inside a Bank of America branch as protesters bring garbage collected from abandoned foreclosed homes to the front of the bank during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: A City of Miami police officer directs protesters carrying garbage from abandoned foreclosed home to the front of a Bank of America branch during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: Jia Castro carries a bag of garbage that had been collected from an abandoned foreclosed home to the front of a Bank of America branch during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: Hermenia Nasser pushes a tire that had been collected from an abandoned foreclosed home to the front of a Bank of America branch during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: Hermenia Nasser pushes a tire found earlier in the day in front of an abandoned foreclcosed home during a protest organized by the Miami Workers Center in front of a Bank of America branch on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. According to the Miami Workers Center, the home is owned by the Bank of America. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Housing Activists Protest Against Bank Of America
MIAMI, FL - MAY 03: Maria Hernandez and others stand together and protest in an event organized by the Miami Workers Center in front of a Bank of America branch on May 3, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The residents of the Liberty City neighborhood came together to clean up the abandoned property and later in the day planned on delivering the collected trash to a Bank of America branch. Trenise Bryant, a member of the Miami Workers Center who organized the event said, ''Banks maintain foreclosed properties in white neighborhoods why can't they do the same in black communities?'' ''It’s bad enough these big banks put families out of their homes, now they just let the houses sit there bringing down the property value for everyone else in the neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Posted: 05/05/2012 11:23 am Updated: 05/07/2012 3:48 pm