A Group of Mothers, a Vacant Home, and a Win for Fair Housing

On November 18, two women walked in through the unlocked door of a vacant three-bedroom house on West Oakland’s Magnolia Street, set up small bedrooms for themselves and their children, and settled in for an occupation designed to call attention to the Bay Area’s housing affordability crisis.

Over the next few months, this collective of formerly unhoused women grew in size—and power. Calling themselves Moms 4 Housing, the group remained in 2928 Magnolia Street day and night, sometimes protected by volunteer security guards while they slept. National figures emerged to voice their support; housing activists and local community members showed up with signs and supplies. On January 10, a judge ruled that the women were squatting illegally and ordered them out. Still, they stayed—until Tuesday, January 14, when a heavily armed contingent of Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputies entered the home, pushed their furniture into the street, and arrested two of the women. By morning, the families had been fully evicted.