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Drop Bogus Criminal Charges Against Public Housing Activist Sharon Jasper
  1. Signatures
    247 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. The Governor of LA (+ 4 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The Governor of LA
      • The LA State Senate
      • The LA State House
      • Columbia Residential (Noel Khalil)
      • Housing Authority of New Orleans (Terry Cassreino)
  2. Created By
    Megan Cottrell
    Chicago, IL
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
Why This Is Important

Sharon Jasper, a fierce community activist from New Orleans, led a sit-in at the Columbia Parc realty office on May 28th, 2010. She led her fellow public housing residents there to demand justice for their community, to demand the right to move into the new housing that was supposed to replace their former homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

She didn't get justice. Instead, she was accused of assaulting a real estate agent, a move residents say was made to keep her from creating problems for a housing authority that seems to want to ignore low-income residents. Sit-in attendees say there was no assault, pointing out that the agent continued to work in the office, and that when police arrived, they made no mention of an assault when talking to the residents. Still, a few days later, a SWAT team arrived at Jasper's home to arrest the elderly woman for assault and battery. 

Since the storm, the city has replaced public housing units with market rate apartments. Almost none of the former residents have been able to move back into the new developments.

We call for the charges against activist Sharon Jasper to be dropped and for her housing voucher to be reinstated. When community engagement is rewarded with handcuffs, no resident can feel safe to express their concerns, insights and problems without fearing retaliation.

We support Sharon Jasper and urge the Columbia Residential real estate to drop the charges and for  local elected officials to intervene on behalf of the most vulnerable members of their community!

Recent Signatures

Drop Bogus Criminal Charges Against Public Housing Activist Sharon Jaspe

Greetings,

Sharon Jasper, a fierce community activist from New Orleans, led a sit-in at the Columbia Parc realty office on May 28th. She led her fellow public housing residents there to demand justice for their community, to demand the right to move into the new housing that was supposed to replace their former homes.

She didn't get justice. Instead, she was accused of assaulting a real estate agent, a move residents say was made to keep her from creating problems for a housing authority that seems to want to ignore low-income residents.

Police say Jasper assaulted a real estate agent during the sit-in at the Columbia Parc real estate office. But attendees say there was no assault, saying the agent continued to work in the office, and that when police arrived, they made no mention of an assault when talking to the residents.

A few days later, a SWAT team arrived at Jasper's home to arrest the elderly woman for assault and battery.

"Sharon was not arrested because she broke any laws," said Survivors Village, a group of former St. Bernard residents fighting for the right to return to their homes, "but because she has been a tireless and uncompromising fighter for the right of poor people to return to their communities after being displaced by the government negligence which led to the city of New Orleans being flooded."

Survivors Village also said that the Housing Authority of New Orleans and HUD are trying to take away Jasper's housing voucher. This step would essentially render Jasper homeless because rent in New Orleans is three times what it was before Katrina.

We call for the charges against activist Sharon Jasper to be dropped and for her housing voucher to be reinstated. When community engagement is rewarded with handcuffs, no resident can feel safe to express their concerns, insights and problems without fearing retaliation.

We urge you, the Columbia Residential real estate to drop the charges, and for the Housing Authority of New Orleans and local elected officials to intervene on behalf of the most vulnerable members of their community!

[Your name]