The tenants and their supporters take a group photo to commemorate the car caravan protest. All photos by Ceferino Martirez.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, “cancel rent” has become a familiar demand called for by tenants everywhere. On Saturday, that same call echoed throughout downtown and the lower Westside as residents participated in a car caravan in district one.
The caravan, organized by the Housing Organizing Committee and the Long Beach Tenants Union, began at Cesar Chavez Park and drove throughout the district represented by Mary Zendejas. Throughout their stops, district one residents shared that rent increases proposed by their landlord have put them under extreme distress and called for the adoption of various policies to help them.
Residents in the caravan called for the cancelation of rent, suspension of mortgages, and the adoption of various housing items from the People’s Budget, such as a right to counsel.
The photos below were shot during the car caravan protest on August 22.
