Told through the eyes of four homeowners—a grandmother in Detroit, an entrepreneur in rural North Carolina, a man in Chattanooga, and a mother in Chicago—A Dream Foreclosed presents a people’s history of the U.S. financial crisis and the rise of a people’s movement for economic justice, dignity, and freedom from foreclosure. With power and humanity, Laura Gottesdiener bears witness to the ordinary people organizing their communities to challenge the banks and legal system. Their stories are extraordinary but the situation is all too common.
The ongoing mortgage crisis has created one of the longest and largest mass displacements in U.S history. While profiting from government bailouts, banks have evicted more than ten million Americans from their homes, their life savings, and their dreams. As many of the families victimized by bank fraud, predatory loans and other corporate crimes are African American, communities of color have been among the most outspoken and organized in confronting the banks.
Woven throughout Gottesdiener’s page-turning narrative are clear explanations of the origins of the crisis, the consequences for housing, and how community organizing and social movements are having national impact.
PRAISE FOR LAURA GOTTESDIENER ANDA DREAM FORECLOSED
Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple
"I’m spreading the word about Laura Gottesdiener’s FINE book wherever I go and wherever I am. [It's] a wonderful book."
Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine
"A riveting book."
Ralph Nader
Laura Gottesdiener has the acute eye and pen of a young progressive star with extraordinary talent. Her pages should grip you with motivational indignation."
Johanna Fernandez professor in the Department of History at Baruch College
“From the time of their capture in Africa, through Emancipation and the Great Migration, to the national economic and housing crisis of today, people of African descent in the United States have been defined by their search for home. Using the dreams and aspirations of four families as her point of departure, Laura Gottesdiener narrates a beautifully crafted story about predatory lending, foreclosure abuse, the racial politics of home ownership, and the brave struggles launched by African American communities to keep their dignities and their homes. ... a powerful, impressive and page-turning testimony that ordinary people can fight back and win.â€
Noam Chomsky
“The legislation to rescue the perpetrators of the current financial crisis included provisions for limited compensation to their victims...the enormity of the crime strikes home vividly in the heart-rending accounts of those who are brutally thrown out of their modest homes — for African Americans particularly, almost all they have — then survive in the streets, struggle on, and sometimes even regain something of what was stolen from them thanks to the courageous and inspiring work of the home liberation activists, now reinforced by the Occupy movement. All recounted with historical depth and analytic insight."
Tim Wise
“A brilliant and needed narrative by an insightful and inspiring author.â€
Clarence Lusane, author of The Black History of the White House
“[a] brilliant discourse on the battle over home and community by African Americans... [w]e owe Gottesdiener a great debt for her research and powerful argument that permeates A Dream Foreclosed. ... She takes sides in this battle and gives voice to those who are rarely if ever heard.â€
Mumia Abu-Jamal , Counterpunch
“A Dream Foreclosed finds beauty amidst immense pain and suffering—the beauty of people continuing to fight back against rapacious banks, the politicians they buy and the lawyers they hire. It is a work both beautiful and terrible that deserves to be read by many.â€
Marc Lamont Hill, Huffington Post Live
"An incredible bookÂ…a great set of stories being told hereÂ…and more importantly, a powerful narrative about the relationship between black people and ownership"
