Occupy Eugene | |
---|---|
Part of the Occupy movement | |
Date | October 2011 – December 27, 2011 |
Location | |
Caused by | Economic inequality, corporate influence over government, inter alia. |
Methods | Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters |
Status | Defeated |
Casualties and losses | |
20+ arrested, 1 death |
Occupy Eugene was a collaboration that occurred in Eugene, Oregon based on the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York City on September 17, 2011. Occupy Eugene included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Protesters were concerned about inequities in the distribution of wealth, banking regulation, housing issues and corporate greed. [1] The first protest march was held on October 15, 2011. The march started at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza and continued downtown before marching over Ferry Street Bridge. It was reported that close to 2000 people were in attendance from all over the state of Oregon. [2] Occupy Eugene continued to hold regular protests and actions until it left the encampment in December 2011. Protesters have stated that they do not have a set group of leaders. Occupy Eugene General Assemblies have met from as frequently as twice a day at times during active occupations, and as infrequently as weekly. Many committees have met since at least the third General Assembly, typically weekly. Decisions are made through a process known as consensus. Occupy Eugene's consensus process operates in a similar fashion to how consensus is being handled in New York City by protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street. Although the exact method varies from Occupation to Occupation. [3] As of October 18, 2011, The Eugene police department was allowing protesters to camp in downtown Eugene, although city law prohibits it. [4] [5] Eugene police also stated that downtown camping won't be permanently allowed. [4]
Until August 2013, Occupy Eugene and various spin-off groups have continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions. [6]
Occupy Eugene's first location was downtown in an area known as the park blocks on the corner of 8th and Oak. It began in mid October 2011.
According to a post on the Occupy Eugene Facebook page, the community was invited to march with the Occupiers to a new location after protesters conferred with Eugene's city manager and chief of police and settled upon Alton Baker Park. [7]
On October 27, Occupy Eugene occupied the quad at the University of Oregon for half a day before moving their encampment to Riverfront Research Park, also known as Millrace Park, across Franklin Boulevard from the University, where they remained until Friday, November 4. [8]
On November 4, Occupy Eugene relocated their camp to Washington Jefferson Park between 6th and 7th Avenues. [9]
On December 27, the last remaining occupant left the camp at Washington Jefferson Park. [10]
As of January 23, Occupy Eugene's newest location, known as OEV or Occupy 5 is located at a donated warehouse near downtown Eugene.
As of August 2013, Free Speech Plaza at 8th and Oak is occupied, about 40 tents and 80 people.
Occupy Eugene has an Office in the Growers Market Office, which is located at the Growers Market building on Willamette and 5th.
The movement continued with a new goal: to proliferate free and open urban communes for their own sake. At the Occupy camp, the fourth major one in Eugene since 2011, fifteen people live for free in tents on public display near downtown as of Nov. 1, 2014. They encouraged others to join, and hope to grow their movement to turn urban open spaces into communes, with or without government permission, all around the world. [11]
Occupy Eugene Uses several online portals for communication, including the official site http://www.OccupyEugeneMedia.org. Several Facebook pages, The official Occupy Eugene YouTube channel, in addition to Occupy Eugene Video, Occupy Eugene Interview series an ongoing collaborative project operated by members of Occupy Eugene, Occupy Eugene Music and a theater YouTube channels that are content specific multimedia portals designed to help facilitate communication and culture.
Occupy TV is a community television based project that currently runs a talk show with members of Occupy Eugene. It is currently run on Comcast Cable Channel 29 Community Television of Lane County, Eugene, Oregon. It is also available from the Occupy Eugene Video channel on YouTube.
Rick Youngblood, a 51-year-old homeless man was found beaten to death and choked after having been involved in one of a number of physical altercations on December 23, 2011. His father was told Youngblood had come into camp and picked a fight and some of the members of the encampment subdued him. [12]
After this incident, local sympathy for OccupyEugene diminished. Official tolerance of the encampment ended with the police gradually pushing the group out of the park. [13]
KEZI is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on Chad Drive in Eugene, and its transmitter is located on East Prairie Mountain near Horton, Oregon.
KVAL-TV is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to dual NBC/CW+ affiliate KMTR under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Roberts Media, LLC. Both stations share studios on Blanton Road in Eugene, where KVAL's transmitter is also located. KMTR maintained separate facilities on International Court in Springfield, Oregon, until 2020 when the station relocated to KVAL's building; master control and some internal operations for KMTR were based at the KVAL studios.
Occupy Los Angeles is 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.
Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.
Occupy Seattle was a series of demonstrations in Seattle, Washington, United States in 2011 and 2012, that formed part of the wider Occupy movement taking place in numerous U.S. and world cities at that time. The demonstrations were particularly focused on the city's downtown area including Westlake Park and Seattle City Hall; their stated aim was to oppose wealth inequality, perceived corporate greed, and corruption in the banking and economic systems of the United States.
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 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 Salem was a collaboration in Salem, Oregon based on the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York City on September 17, 2011. Occupy Salem has included peaceful protests and demonstrations.
Occupy Oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in Oakland, California, that started in October 2011. As part of the Occupy movement, protestors have staged occupations, most notably at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall.
Occupy Houston is a Houston, Texas-based activist group best known for alleged plots against it by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigated and called out on in court by Occupy protester Ryan Shapiro, and for being set up by the Austin Police Department. Occupy Houston was a collaboration that has included occupation protests that stand in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. The planned occupation officially started in Houston, Texas on Thursday October 6, 2011 when protesters returned from JP Morgan Chase Tower to establish an encampment at Hermann Square Plaza. During the JPMorgan Chase demonstration there were not any confrontations with the police and numerous different passerby were reported to have sympathized with the tone of the protesters. That same night the police were reported to have commented on how well behaved the protesters were.
Occupy San Francisco was a collaboration that began with a demonstration event located at Justin Herman Plaza in the Embarcadero and in front of the Federal Reserve building on Market Street in the Financial District in San Francisco, California. It is based on the Occupy Wall Street movement that 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 Oakland and Occupy San Jose.
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 Salt Lake City was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 at Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, and has included protests and demonstrations. The protests were based on the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in New York City on September 17, 2011. The Occupy Salt Lake City mission is to stand in solidarity with those also protesting in Wall Street, the United States, and around the world.
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.
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 ICE is a series of protests, modeled on the Occupy Movement, that emerged in the United States in reaction to the Trump administration family separation policy, with a goal of disrupting operations at several U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) locations.
Eugene has a long history of community activism, civil unrest, and protest activity. Eugene's cultural status as a place for alternative thought grew along with the University of Oregon in the turbulent 1960s, and its reputation as an outsider's locale grew with the numerous anarchist protests in the late 1990s. According to the Chicago Tribune, the city was called a "cradle to [the] latest generation of anarchist protesters." Occupy Eugene was home to one of the nation's longest-lasting Occupy protests in 2011, with the last protestor leaving the initial Occupy camp on December 27, 2011. The city received national attention during the summer of 2020, after Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murder of George Floyd grew violent.