The Beyond Recovery campaign is a project of the radical-left-aligned Right to the City Alliance¹ to halt evictions, rent, and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and to extend these suspensions permanently state after the recovery. ² Beyond Recovery’s objectives include guaranteed government-provided housing and government-provided utilities for everyone, forever. ³

Kamau Walton is a leader of Right to the City Alliance and Beyond Recovery, an anti-police activist, and a member of the prison-abolitionist group Critical Resistance. ⁴

List of Demands

Beyond Recovery issued a list of demands including the immediate cancellation of utility, mortgage, and rent payments throughout the COVID-19 crisis with a three-month interval for recovery. ⁵

It demands the government use vacant housing for all homeless people. Beyond Recovery seeks a home for every single person now and after the crisis is over. ⁶

Beyond Recovery further demands that specific imprisoned people to be released without further electronic monitoring. The group seeks the release of detained illegal immigrants, those over 50 years old, and those who have weakened immune systems. It further seeks the release of incarcerated criminals with under 90 days’ sentence remaining and shortening of the terms for those with more than 90 days remaining. ⁷

Beyond Recovery demands that migrants be granted refuge permanently and that there be a stop to evictions, raids, sweeps, and foreclosures. Beyond Recovery demands that people who are living outdoors must be given comprehensive support by city governments. ⁸

It further demands that all Americans must be provided a union-rate wage, guaranteed unemployment, paid leave, health care, and worker protections. ⁹

National Organizing Calls and Rallies

Beyond Recovery holds Digital Rallies, through which politicians and protestors call for the fulfillment of their demands. One moderator, Oakland City Councilor Nikki Fortunato Bas, called for pandemic legislation to help workers rather than high earners. Another moderator, Sunni Hutton, called for more government aid and the cancellation of rent. ¹⁰ Hutton is an advocate for government-run health care (“Medicare for All”), the union-demanded $15 minimum wage, government-funded education, and a new socialist political party based upon Marxism, as she believes Democrats are held under the sway of business interests. ¹¹

The rally featured a singer, Ana Tijoux, who labeled capitalism an enemy, a sickness, and a disease. ¹²

Beyond Recovery is hosting bi-weekly Zoom calls to help foster the campaign to eliminate rent, mortgages, and establish free housing for everyone. It has a live Spanish translation service. ¹³

Leadership

Kamau Walton works for the Right to the City Alliance (RTTC) as the national organizer for communications. He has said that the current for-profit real estate model is a capitalist tool restricted to a limited quantity of people, and part of the system of oppression affecting renters. ¹⁴

Walton has explained that Beyond Recovery’s charter is to organize local to nationally in rural and urban areas for “rent strikes” and other goals. RTTC claims members across the country and campaigns against landlords and property owners in California, Miami, and Detroit. Walton believes that the Beyond Recovery campaign will help solve homelessness as there are a sufficient number of homes for everyone. He opposes the free market as he sees it as geared to favor the rich. Walton has said Beyond Recovery’s objective is to not return to the status quo of the pre-pandemic but to find new approaches. ¹⁵

The Beyond Recovery Organizing Toolkit

The Right to the City Alliance created the Beyond Recovery Organizing Toolkit to outline how to grow a movement and a step by step approach to stop so-called “housing and land exploitation.” The blueprint shows how to increase pressure incrementally by beginning with low-threat tactics like petitions and then ratcheting up with more aggressive steps like rallies, press conferences, op-eds, protests, rent strikes, court-packing, teach-ins, and banner drops. ¹⁶

Homes For All: Take the Pledge

The toolkit includes a sign-up to join the Homes for All campaign to gather and organize support for socialist housing policy. ¹⁷

Sample Letters to Landlords

There is a letter builder within the toolkit designed with the help of tenants’ rights groups and lawyers that takes into consideration local, state, and federal laws applying to renters. ¹⁸

1. Raymond, Robert R, Shane Burley, and Jake Johnson. “COVID-19 Is Worsening a Housing Crisis That Started Long Before the Virus,” May 2, 2020. https://truthout.org/articles/covid-19-is-worsening-a-housing-crisis-that-started-long-before-the-virus/.
2. Chou, Elizabeth. “Housing Activists, Officials Call for Rent Suspension, Mortgage Relief amid Coronavirus Crisis Job Losses.” Daily News. Daily News, April 2, 2020. https://www.dailynews.com/2020/04/01/housing-activists-officials-call-for-rent-suspension-mortgage-relief-amid-coronavirus-crisis-job-losses/.
3. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
4. Covert, Bryce. “How to Make Defunding the Police a Reality.” The Nation, June 29, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/police-reform-defund-activism/.
5. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
6. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
7. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
8. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
9. “A People’s Plan to Ensure a Healthy, Stable, Thriving Future for Us All.” Demands. Beyond Recovery, 2020. https://cancelrent.us/demands.
10. Virtual Rally Calls For Cancellation Of Rent, Mortgage Payments During Coronavirus Pandemic, April 1, 2020. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/virtual-rally-calls-for-cancellation-of-rent-mortgage-payments-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ar-BB122Fe0?ocid=hplocalnews.
11. Lian Yang , Jia, and Treasure Shields Redmond. “Transcript: Season 1 / Ep. 5 The Master’s Tools.” Who Raised You? Podcast. Who Raised You? Podcast, March 19, 2018. https://www.whoraisedyoupodcast.com/blog/2018/3/18/transcript-ep-5-the-masters-tools.
12. Virtual Rally Calls For Cancellation Of Rent, Mortgage Payments During Coronavirus Pandemic, April 1, 2020. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/virtual-rally-calls-for-cancellation-of-rent-mortgage-payments-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ar-BB122Fe0?ocid=hplocalnews.
13. “Welcome! You Are Invited to Join a Meeting: Organize The Block! Beyond Recovery National Bi-Weekly Call #CancelRent #CancelMortgages. After Registering, You Will Receive a Confirmation Email about Joining the Meeting.” Zoom Video, 2020. https://zoom.us/meeting/register/vpEtd-2rrjwrmT2bsHtYIGkE5lAc7802wA?eType=EmailBlastContent.
14. Raymond, Robert R, Shane Burley, and Jake Johnson. “COVID-19 Is Worsening a Housing Crisis That Started Long Before the Virus,” May 2, 2020. https://truthout.org/articles/covid-19-is-worsening-a-housing-crisis-that-started-long-before-the-virus/.
15. Raymond, Robert R, Shane Burley, and Jake Johnson. “COVID-19 Is Worsening a Housing Crisis That Started Long Before the Virus,” May 2, 2020. https://truthout.org/articles/covid-19-is-worsening-a-housing-crisis-that-started-long-before-the-virus/.
16. “Beyond Recovery- Organizing ToolKit.” Google Docs. Google, April 29, 2020. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kZdrH7_UEEYCb7nsh2IDBOnI6sQzF-kZQxuSdeMoJnI/edit?eType=EmailBlastContent.
17. “Beyond Recovery- Organizing ToolKit.” Google Docs. Google, April 29, 2020. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kZdrH7_UEEYCb7nsh2IDBOnI6sQzF-kZQxuSdeMoJnI/edit?eType=EmailBlastContent.
18. “Beyond Recovery- Organizing ToolKit.” Google Docs. Google, April 29, 2020. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kZdrH7_UEEYCb7nsh2IDBOnI6sQzF-kZQxuSdeMoJnI/edit?eType=EmailBlastContent.