March for Homes Report
Reflections on the March for Home
by a member of Feminist Fightback
On 31st January 2015, Feminist Fightback, joined housing activists, unions and campaigners to march on Boris in City Hall and demand better housing for London. The March for Homes saw over 6,000 people protesting in the streets.
The day began with coffee and bustle at The Common House. Our contingent spontaneously taking over Bethnal Green Road as we marched to the main meeting point, set the uplifting tone for the rest of the demo. Members of the public started to add to our numbers and buses honked their horns as they drove past. This positive reception highlighted the benefits of demonstrating more locally. Despite the dreary rain and grey skies, the mood of the march was diverse and dynamic. There were samba drums to brass bands; traditional marching to funky dancing; chanting slogans to socialising laughter. At one point the booming acoustics under a bridge created a euphoric crescendo in the crowd and a cacophony of ricocheting sound. The roar of resistance.
The Feminist Fightback marchers were marked by our brightly coloured hand-crafted banners.
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Read our article ‘Why the East London housing crisis is a feminist issue?‘
Read The Guardian’s article ‘Thousands gather in London to protest against lack of affordable housing‘ which features quotes from Feminist Fightback members.
Keep up-to-date by following London’s Housing Struggles blog and watching the video of the same title (embedded below).
Read Aditya Chakraborrty’s (Guardian) and Jasmin Stone’s articles for more information about the Focus E15 Mother’s campaign.
Read our article about the E15 Occupation and report of our film night held at the occupation.
Listen to ‘A Tribute to Occupy E15‘ – a song by Feminist musician & activist, iRate.