[2] Take Back the Land erected several tents and then built wood-frame shanties in order to provide housing for otherwise homeless people in the area.
Police, City of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials were unable to evict the residents or organizers due to the landmark 1996 Pottinger Settlement.
Umoja Village enjoyed broad support in the community, and, therefore, was able to successfully repel numerous attempts by government officials to evict them.
The village itself was built with the help of local white and Latino anarchists, operating under the black political leadership of Take Back the Land.
Miami police arrested 11 residents and activists for attempting to remain on the land, and the City erected a barbed wire fence around the property that same day.