Occupy Boston | |
---|---|
Part of the Occupy movement | |
Date | September 30, 2011 – December 10, 2011 [1] (70-1/2 days) |
Location | 42°21′10″N71°03′20″W / 42.3528°N 71.0555°W |
Caused by | Economic Inequality, Democracy, Racism, Sexism, inter alia |
Goals | Freedom, social justice, democracy, building a beloved community |
Methods | Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters, Civil Disobedience, Direct Action |
Status | Occupation ended |
Arrests and injuries | |
Injuries | 0 |
Arrested | 186 |
Occupy Boston was a collective of protesters that settled on September 30, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dewey Square in the Financial District opposite the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [2] [3] [4] [5] It is related to the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011. [6]
As of June 2012, Occupy Boston had continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions. [7]
On October 10, 2011, the Boston demonstrators expanded a tent city onto an additional portion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway; starting around 1:20 AM the following morning, 141 people were arrested by the officers of the Boston Police Special Operations Unit. [8] [9] [10] [11] Most of these cases were dismissed prior to arraignment with the agreement of the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. Tents were pitched in the following days, and by October 15 the camp itself had consisted of about 90 tents on either side of a path the protesters named, "Main Street," plus another two dozen or so tents divided up between the "Student Village" area and a strip of lawn the protesters named "Weird Street". [12] [13]
A tent library, later named the Audre Lorde to Howard Zinn (A to Z) Library was set up at the Occupy Boston encampment with the mission to "foster inquiry, learning, critical analysis and information-sharing among Occupy Boston occupiers, participants and visitors in order to better understand, challenge and transform interlocking systems of oppression". [14]
Members of Occupy Boston marched with students at Harvard University on November 9, 2011, to create the Occupy Harvard in Harvard Yard. [15] The two groups later collaborated to interrupt a Newt Gingrich speech at Harvard on November 18. [16] [17]
By November 17, 2011 a judge issued an order prohibiting the eviction of protesters from Occupy Boston. [18] On December 7, 2011 a Boston judge rescinded the temporary restraining order, allowing Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to remove the protesters from Dewey Square. At 5:00 AM on December 10, 2011, Boston police moved in and raided the Occupation of Dewey Square, with 46 people arrested. [19]
Police officers collected $1.4 million dollars in overtime from the city of Boston. [20]
Circulation | 25,000 |
---|---|
Website | bostonoccupier.com |
The Boston Occupier was an independent newspaper that was born out of the Occupy Boston movement. The title was originally The Occupy Boston Globe, but was changed shortly before the first publication in order to avoid association with the Boston Globe. [21]
The newspaper launched in October 2011, with the first issue being released on November 18, 2011 with a run of 25,000 copies. [22] The paper was funded with donations from a Kickstarter campaign, which raised approximately $9,300 in donations. [23] [24]
Occupy articles
Other Protests | Related articles |
|
Related portals:
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Officially opened in October 2008, the 17-acre Greenway sits on land created from demolition of the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway as part of the Big Dig project.
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.
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 Canada was a collective of peaceful protests and demonstrations that were part of the larger Occupy Together movement which first manifested in the financial district of New York City with Occupy Wall Street, and subsequently spread to over 900 cities around the world.
Occupy London was a political movement in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly in the first two days of the occupation, occupiers defined themselves as a movement working to create alternatives to an "unjust and undemocratic" system. A second statement endorsed the following day called for "real global democracy". Due to a pre-emptive injunction, the protesters were prevented from their original aim to camp outside the London Stock Exchange. A camp was set up nearby next to St Paul's Cathedral. On 18 January 2012, Mr Justice Lindblom granted an injunction against continuation of the protest but the protesters remained in place pending an appeal. The appeal was refused on 22 February, and just past midnight on 28 February, bailiffs supported by City of London Police began to remove the tents.
Occupy Toronto was a protest and demonstration that began on October 15, 2011, in Toronto, Ontario, near Bay Street in Downtown Toronto's Financial District and moved to St. James Park. It was a part of the Occupy movement, which protested against economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on government.
Occupy Philadelphia was a collaboration that included nonviolent protests and demonstrations with an aim to overcome economic inequality, corporate greed and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on government. The protest took place at Thomas Paine Plaza, which is adjacent to Philadelphia's City Hall.
Occupy D.C. was an occupation of public space in Washington, D.C. based at McPherson Square and connected to the Occupy movements that sprung up across the United States in Fall 2011. The group had been demonstrating in McPherson Square since October 1, 2011, and in Freedom Plaza since October 6. Despite crackdowns on other Occupy projects across the country, federal authorities claimed on November 15 that they have no plans to clear McPherson Square Park. The National Park Service decided against eviction after meeting with activists and discussing health and safety conditions.
Occupy Melbourne was a social movement which took place from late 2011 to mid 2012 in Melbourne, Australia as part of the global Occupy movement Participants expressed grievances concerning economic inequality, social injustice, corruption in the financial sector, corporate greed and the influence of companies and lobbyists on government. Protests began on 15 October 2011 in City Square with a 6-day-long protest encampment, from which people were forcibly evicted by Victoria Police at the request of the City of Melbourne CEO on 21 October 2011. From 2 November 2011, Occupy set up camp in Treasury Gardens before being moved on from that location in December. A significantly diminished number of protesters set up camp at Father Bob's church at his invitation until his retirement in January 2012. Physical manifestations of the movement had largely dissipated by mid-2012 though it adopted a strategy of decentralisation and became influential in the creation of new community networks, affinity groups and collectives.
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.
Occupy St. Louis (OccupySTL) was a postpartisan people's movement that began on October 1, 2011 as a peaceful protest against corporate greed, its influence over the economy, its corruption of government, and ensuing inequality. Although people possess differing viewpoints and diversity of views is a central tenet, commonly held themes seek an equal playing field in the economy with more equal opportunities for all people as well as accountability for corporate and financial malfeasance. Many of those in the movement argue that structural, systemic change is necessary and that incremental reform is insufficient and in any case not possible without popular countervailing power to the power of moneyed interests. Occupy St. Louis is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. It is located at Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis near an area which includes many financial institutions such as commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Occupy Baltimore was a collaboration that included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Occupy Baltimore began on October 4, 2011, in Baltimore, Maryland, in McKeldin Square near the Inner Harbor area of Downtown Baltimore. It is one of the many Occupy movements around the United States and worldwide, inspired by Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Sydney was a social movement and protest as part of the global Occupy movements, in Sydney, Australia. The occupation began on 15 October 2011 outside the Reserve Bank of Australia in Martin Place. The Martin Place occupation was first evicted by NSW Police on 23 October 2011. This eviction and later police action was named Operation Goulding. Another eviction attempt occurred on 2 February 2012. The protest site was removed five times in early July 2013, only to re-establish itself each time within hours.
Occupy Ottawa was a mostly peaceful, leaderless, grassroots and democratic protest movement that began on Confederation Park in Ottawa, Ontario, on October 15, 2011. The movement's slogan "Home of the global revolution in Ottawa" refers to its inspiration by, and association with, the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and the global Occupy Movement, which protests growing economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on electoral politics and government. Occupy Ottawa seeks global economic, social, political and environmental justice.
Occupy Minneapolis (OccupyMN) is a grassroots collaboration that began in October 2011 with a series of demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters have staged numerous occupations, most notably of the Hennepin County Government Center plaza.
Occupy Central was an occupation protest that took place in Central, Hong Kong from 15 October 2011 to 11 September 2012. The camp was set up at a plaza beneath the HSBC headquarters. On 13 August 2012, the High Court granted an injunction against the continuation of the protest, and ordered the occupants to leave by 9pm on 27 August. But protesters defied the order and remained in place until 15 days after the deadline, when court bailiffs were sent to evict the occupants. Ending on 11 September, the movement remains one of the lengthiest Occupy movements in the world.
Occupy Harvard was a student demonstration at Harvard University identifying itself with the global Occupy Movement. It sought to create a forum for discussing economic inequality at Harvard, in the United States, and throughout the world. It criticized Harvard's influence on global economic policy and its involvement with the American financial sector. It also supported wage campaigns by Harvard workers and a divestment demand initiated by Hotel Workers Rising.
During the Vietnam War, Harvard University was the site of a number of protests against both the war generally and Harvard's connections to the war specifically.