by Maria Lourdes, PNN New York correspondent

I am a poor African-American mother of four. I have worked all my life. One year ago, after all the rich people working downtown as bankers and investors were paid $7 billion, my landlord was foreclosed on. I have never owned a house and probably never will, because I will never have that kind of money or credit. But I have rented a rent-controlled apartment – which I was evicted out of because of the foreclosure.

Now I am homeless with my children.

When Sister Tiny called to ask me how I felt about the Wall Street protests, I said, “Oh yeah, dat’s wut I’m talking about.” Finally some people are speaking up to these legalized gangsters and bank pimps.

Sadly, I can’t go to the protests. I don’t have the time. I am too busy working two jobs just to save money to try to move out of the shelter we are in to hopefully somewhere safe for me and my kids.

But those folks are speaking for me and all poor people who don’t even know if we can pay for the rising cost of food, much less dream of getting a loan or a mortgage from these terrible corporate thieves.

Tiny thinks that someday capitalism will end and po’ mamas like me and her and all of the never-thought-about people will have the chance to take care of ourselves and our children and our land.

I hope so. But right now I walk around my cleaning job with a smile on my face as I empty the trash of rich white people in a luxury hotel I work for. Someday, I dream, maybe these people will finally understand the struggle I have seen and maybe someday the poor people can run Wall Street.

Maria Lourdes is a poverty and mama skolar and Poor News Network New York correspondent. Visit Poor at www.poormagazine.org or email deeandtiny@poormagazine.org.