Michael DiBerardinis
In this interview, Mike DiBeradinis talks about the squatting campaign in Philly in the ’80s, which was organized by ACORN and KJAC (Kensington Joint Action Council). He explains, “We squatted eight hundred families east of Broad Street over three years, maybe four or five years. But really a three year, really intensive program, eight hundred folks became homeowners, but not a penny of grant money. What we did to support them is we set up a tool bank. So we raised money and bought all these tools so you could sign up.” He talks about moving into local government in the ’90s and how he believes local government can really make a difference. He also speaks about the importance of having both a race and class analysis, and how “liberal Democrats have a tough time connecting class and race in the same sentence.”