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PROPOSAL: The Bank Attack: Canvassing through Music & Art

Monday, October 29, 2012 | Posted by Alex
Antonio Ennis

Describe your project.
“The Bank Attack” project was born in the belly of CLVU’s weekly BTA meetings in 2011 by Antonio Ennis, a professional recording artist since 1985. Empowered and inspired by City Life’s method of fighting back against social injustice and in particular the big banks, he wrote a rally-song to galvanize thousands of underwater homeowners for the biggest protest in history against Bank of America headquarters in Boston, MA on Sept. 30, 2011 for which he was a national spokesperson for over 3,500 demonstrators. The song has since become an anthem and due to the popularity, a hi-def music video with social inspiration was filmed (Directed by Antonio Ennis & John Hulsey, Executive Produced by Antonio Ennis for The BuyBack Initiative/Music Group). The full-length album (16 songs, 10 skits & 2 bonus tracks) features politically charged lyrics intensified over melodic beats w/ live action-skits and BTA family testimony from the movement.

The project is aimed at Canvassing through Music & Art to sustain grassroots base building while amplifying the City Life mission statement and providing model shares, support and entertainment to other organizations and individuals. Utilizing true-to-life audio & visuals, the project will broadcast information & resources to families, especially those whose door is too far out of reach for us to knock on. Additionally, the project is profanity-free, rendering it presentable to all ages.

Our goal is to help families stay in their homes by initiating the buyback of foreclosed properties from banks or investors then selling them back to underwater homeowners at the current real-value. The BuyBack Initiative/Music Group strives to be a non-profit loan fund/financial intermediary, essentially a homeowner-friendly alternative to Boston Community Capital (BCC).
Most of the Board Members will be comprised of affected homeowners & tenants.
The multimedia gathered will be presented through the project website, www.TheBankAttack.org, as well as collaborative organization sites, cdbaby.com, facebook, twitter, youtube, national concerts and community events featuring live performances, video projection and BTA testimonials.

This project provides a unique opportunity to implement a base building hip-hop component of social awareness that empowers the youth. Recent studies show growth in national youth organizing. The goal, publicity, distribution and culture of the project will provide a plethora of opportunities for collaborative organizations.

How will you use the grant to make your idea happen?
We would use the grant money to attain the services of a capable publicist. Publicists typically take a monthly fee for serving a client. A publicist writes press releases, organizes campaigns and performs other public relations functions. We’ll engage a publicist that will generate and manage publicity, inaugurate press coverage on behalf of the project and serve as the bridge between client, the public and media outlets for newspapers, television stations, magazines and social forums.

Why and to whom is your project important?
The target audience for the publicist is the well-over 15 million families struggling with underwater mortgages, unemployment, health-care, education, gender equality and all of the social and economic injustice in America. While a small number of non-profit organizations do help families, there's still room for more. For instance, the AG settlement with the top 5 big banks will only make 1 in 40 families struggling with underwater mortgages eligible for assistance, leaving 39 families searching for support. This project is important because housing, education and healthcare is a human right not a privilege.

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