Rent Strike 2020 stands in solidarity with #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd! The movement has spread like wildfire nationally and internationally, as youth and working people stand up in outrage against the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other black and brown people murdered in cold blood by the police! 
It is no coincidence that these historic demonstrations have flared up now.
While the overall unemployment rate fell last month, Black unemployment rose: more than 1 in 6 Black workers are currently out of a job.
58% of Black households rent vs 28% of white households.
25% of Black and Latino renters reported nonpayment or deferment of rent during the pandemic, vs 14% of white renters.
In May, 44% of Black tenants said they have little or no confidence they would be able to meet their next rent payment.
Black women are evicted at higher rates than any other demographic.
This is unacceptable, and points to the need to fight the systemic racism at the heart of our dysfunctional, for-profit housing system.
The threat of eviction is yet another way the state terrorizes communities of color. Riot gear for one police officer could buy personal protective equipment for 31 healthcare workers. We join the call to #DefundthePolice to redirect money away from bloated police budgets, instead funding high-quality, publicly-owned social housing, education, and healthcare.
To defend our communities against eviction, we must get organized. No one should face mounting rental debt while the COVID crisis deepens and unemployment rises. We can’t afford a racist system that puts profitability over the lives of working people.