Activists Defend Black Women Being Evicted From Her Detroit Home

Housing rights activists are taking a stand in support of a Black woman being evicted from her tiny home in Detroit.

Taura Brown, a member of the Dexter-Linwood neighborhood, is being evicted from her 317-square-foot home. The 44-year-old, who is battling stage five kidney disease, feels she is being kicked out after being somewhat of a whistleblower regarding the issues at Cass Community Social Services (CCSS). CCSS, is a nonprofit that designed the homes for low-income Detroiters. The group then allegedly received a court order to evict Brown after a two-year legal battle, although her rent was paid on time. “At this point, we are in home defense,” Brown told The Detroit Metro Times.

“I’m going to fight this because this is b*******. … I ain’t going.”

Protestors outside Brown’s home have called out the landlord, Reverend Faith Fowler, who is white, displaying a huge banner reading “Reverend Faith Fowler is a fraud!” Brown supporters, like Bob Day, a retired lawyer with Detroit Eviction Defense, feel Fowler is a bad example of what a caring landlord should be. “Faith Fowler is an example of a nonprofit poverty pimp, a white savior, a white supremacist treating people like crap,” Day said.

“We can’t have it. We can’t allow it. And it’s setting the tone for slumlords all across the city who figure, ‘If anybody complains, anybody tries to organize, anybody tries to speak out, we’ll evict them.’”

Things got heated recently when protesters clashed with bailiffs looking to kick Brown out. According to Fox 2 News, bailiffs were able to get Brown’s belongings out the house, but not without a fight. Detroit Police Deputy Chief, Deshawne Sims, said they were there to keep the peace, not start a fight. “We did have to engage on a couple occasions to separate the parties, so the bailiffs could do their job,” Sims said. “We are here only to keep the peace. We are not here to evict anybody, that is not part of the role of the Detroit Police Department.”