The fight against predatory landlords has reached a new stage of struggle in the city of Detroit.

On March 21, after months of grassroots struggle for the protection of Taura Brown and her home, Wayne County Judge Shawn Jacque of the 36th District Court signed a court order for her eviction. She had ten days to remove her belongings, including her dialysis equipment, but Taura and housing activists in Detroit were prepared to defend her home against an unjust and inhumane eviction at all costs.

On April 4, the courts began the violent eviction of Ms. Brown. Spearheaded by Detroit Eviction Defense, housing activists, including members of the Detroit Club of the Communist Party USA, stationed themselves outside of Ms. Brown’s house, ready to defend her and her home. What ensued afterwards was a disturbing display of violence, intimidation, and brutality by Wayne County bailiffs to evict Ms. Brown. Activists were punched, thrown to the ground, kicked, spit at, and even threatened with a knife by the bailiffs and their “movers.” The Detroit police officers who were present on the scene did little, if anything, to control the illegal and violent actions of the court officers and their contractors. The complicity of law enforcement on site comes as no surprise, as the police primarily exist to defend private property at the will of slumlords and at the expense of working-class and poor people.

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Detroit anti-eviction activists go toe-to-toe with court bailiffs