Take Back The Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown

By Max Rameau

In October 2006 a group of housing activists called Take Back The Land seized control of a plot in Miami and built an encampment called the Umoja Village Shantytown: a living reminder of the lack of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1434845567
• ISBN13: 9781434845566
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
• Length: 133 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Insightful and Daring

This book provides a greater understanding into what so many people are unaware of, and too afraid to confront: unaffordable housing and homelessness. I recommend this book to anyone that is searching for a greater understanding of our present reality.

The Humanity of Politics

In this small book is the large story of an important political movement. We are privy to behind-the-scenes details of how a grassroots movement is created. Max Rameau reveals the origin of an ideal, how the issue is analyzed, how the movement is built and carried out, how success is defined, how unexpected events impact goals and strategies. Take Back the Land gives us a glimpse into all these aspects, wrapped in the humanity of people whose personal circumstances and accomplishments elevate politics to an inspirational level. From inception to the tragic fire that destroyed Umoja Village Shantytown and the political aftermath, we know we are witness to something truly unique and profound.

a gem

i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. i recognized names but this was the inside story about the amazing piece of history happening a couple miles away. this is the "what could have been", "imagine if" story, except it was not just being imagined, it was unfolding in reality, and being created and lived. 'What if' the homeless were not homeless, and if they had a means to make decisions affecting their community. How does that change a person, how does that change a neighborhood, and what powerful interests are there against any such story unfolding?