Occupy Atlanta | |
---|---|
Part of the Occupy movement | |
Date | October 6, 2011 – 2012 |
Location | |
Caused by | Economic inequality, income inequality, corporate influence over government, unemployment, homelessness, foreclosures [1] |
Methods | Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters |
Status | Evicted |
Number | |
Protesters: ranging from 100 to 1000 | |
Arrests and injuries | |
Injuries | 0 |
Arrested | 52 |
Occupy Atlanta has included protests and demonstrations. Occupy Atlanta began on October 6, 2011 in Woodruff Park, located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. As part of the Occupy movement, it is inspired by Occupy Wall Street which began in New York City on September 17. [2] [3]
As of June 2012, Occupy Atlanta had continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions. [4]
On December 10, 2011, the group adopted the following statement of purpose:
We are Occupy Atlanta. We stand in solidarity with Occupy movements around the world to oppose a system that has disenfranchised the people and has sacrificed the well-being of the many to satisfy the interests of the few. We come together in a nonviolent movement to engage in genuine democracy; to shine a light on the sources of social and economic injustice; to reclaim liberty; and to create a just system that serves the needs of all. We invite you to join us. [5]
On Friday, October 6, 2011, the protestors at Occupy Atlanta did not reach a consensus on allotting time for U.S. Rep. and Civil Rights Movement icon John Lewis to address the crowd. The main argument against allowing Rep. Lewis to speak was that no one person is inherently more valuable than anyone else, and that allowing a speech at that time was not part of that day's agenda. He was invited to speak at time later in the day, during the "other business" part of the process, and this proposition was accepted by the assembly. Lewis was unable to attend because of prior commitments, but indicated that he was not offended by the incident. [6] On October 9, the group posted an apology on its website and invited Lewis to speak. Lewis was not disappointed he wasn't able to address the crowd. [7]
After the incident, Lewis further voiced his support for the movement:
I stand with you. I support you, what you're doing to humanize American corporations, humanize the American government and look out for those who have been left out and left behind. [8]
On November 7, 2011, Occupy Atlanta protesters camped out in a home in Snellville. It belonged to a police officer, who had contacted Occupy explaining that the house had been foreclosed upon and that he and his family were shortly to be evicted. The protesters left on the 10th after the local sheriff said that the family could be arrested for accessory to trespassing. Occupy Atlanta has stated that they hope this action, and similar ones planned in the future, will bring attention to the foreclosure crisis. [9] [10] A week later, Occupy Cleveland took similar action and succeeded in preventing the eviction of a family from a foreclosed home; the family were given 30 more days. [11]
Around 1 AM on Wednesday, October 26, 2011, police blocked off motor vehicle access to Woodruff Park. Mayor Kasim Reed had revoked the executive order he established that allowed the protesters to lawfully stay in the park. [12] Protesters numbering around 120-150 were warned to leave the park or they would be arrested.[ citation needed ] Reed characterized the situation as a crisis and over 150 officers [13] with 3 helicopters using spotlights [14] [15] the SWAT team, and police on horseback and motorcycles were used. At one point during the arrests, protesters not in the park took over the streets. This is when police brought in their motorcycle police to try to break up the crowd that was forming on the streets. Instead of separating, the crowd of protesters marched towards the oncoming police motorcycles and forced them to turn around and head the other way. [14] Fifty two protesters in the park were arrested. Among the arrested was Georgia state Senator Vincent Fort, who said of Reed, "He's using all these resources. ... This is the most peaceful place in Georgia." [14]
During the day of Tuesday October 25, "An Associated Press reporter talked to [a] man with the gun slung across his back ... as he walked in the park. He wouldn't give his name, but said he was an out-of-work accountant who doesn't agree with the protesters' views, but was there, armed, because he wanted to protect the rights of people to protest. There's no law that prevents him from carrying the weapon in public, but several police followed him for about 10 minutes before moving off." [14]
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Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. Its population was 20,573 at the 2020 census. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and is located roughly 33 miles east of downtown Atlanta via US 78 and Interstate 285.
Woodruff Park, named for Robert W. Woodruff, is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The park's 6 acres (2.4 ha) are north of Edgewood Ave, between Peachtree Street NE and Park Place NE. The park includes a fountain, a performance pavilion, and several monuments.
Take Back the Land is an American organization based in Miami, Florida, devoted to blocking evictions, and rehousing homeless people in foreclosed houses. Take Back the Land was formed in October 2006 to build the Umoja Village shantytown on a plot of unoccupied land to protest gentrification and a lack of low-income housing in Miami. The group began opening houses in October 2007 and moved six homeless families into vacant homes in 2008. By April 2009, the group had moved 20 families into foreclosed houses. As of November 2008, the group had ten volunteers. Take Back the Land volunteers break into the houses, clean, paint, and make repairs, change the locks, and help move the homeless families in. They provide supplies and furniture and help residents turn on electricity and water. Though the occupations are of contested legality, as of December 2008 local police officers were not intervening, judging it to be the responsibility of house owners to protect their property or request assistance.
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, and lasted for fifty-nine days—from September 17 to November 15, 2011.
Occupy Los Angeles was one of the many occupy movements in the United States, following the original Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest. Participants of Occupy L.A. first met at Pershing Square on September 23, 2011. Activists came to consensus to occupy public space in solidarity with the growing movement. Occupiers first marched in Los Angeles on September 24, 2011. They next protested a fundraiser being held in Hollywood at the House of Blues for President Obama. Participants met at Pershing Square every subsequent night to plan out the logistics of an occupation set to begin on October 1, 2011. After debating potential locations around Los Angeles, people decided on the lawns around City Hall. Tents first manifested on October 1, 2011 on the grounds of Los Angeles City Hall.
The following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), a protest which began on September 17, 2011 on Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and included the occupation of Zuccotti Park, where protesters established a permanent encampment. The Occupy movement splintered after NYC Mayor Bloomberg had police raid the encampment in Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. The timeline here is limited to this particular protest during this approximate time-frame.
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The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and economic justice and different forms of democracy. The movement has had many different scopes, since local groups often had different focuses, but its prime concerns included how large corporations control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and causes instability.
Occupy Buffalo was a collaboration that included a peaceful protest and demonstrations which began on October 1, 2011, in Buffalo, New York, in Niagara Square, the nexus of downtown Buffalo opposite the Buffalo City Hall. It is related to the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, and called for economic equity, accountability among politicians and ending lobbyist influence of politicians. Protesters camped overnight in Niagara Square as part of the demonstration.
Occupy Oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in Oakland, California, that started in October 2011. As part of the Occupy movement, protesters have staged occupations, most notably at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall.
The Occupy movement began in the United States initially with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, but spread to many other cities, both in the United States and worldwide. This list article is an alphabetical, non-chronological summary of Occupy events that have occurred in cities in the United States.
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The following is a timeline of Occupy Oakland which began on Monday, October 10, 2011, as an occupation of Frank H. Ogawa Plaza located in front of Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland, and is an ongoing demonstration. It is allied with Occupy Wall Street, which began in New York City on September 17, 2011, and is one of several "Occupy" protest sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other sites include Occupy San Francisco and Occupy San Jose.
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