Occupy goes to Washington

OCCUPY MOVEMENT activists from around the country gathered in Washington, D.C., January 17 for a day of action to show their dissatisfaction with the business-first priorities of the U.S. government.

The night before, buses came in from as far as San Francisco and as close as Baltimore and Wilmington, Del. At 9 a.m., protesters set up for an all-day event on the west lawn of the Capitol. The agenda included actions, General Assemblies and teach-ins.

The day of protests was dubbed "Occupy Congress." But unlike the "Take Back the Capitol" action in early December, which was sponsored by the Service Employees International Union and very much focused on challenging Republicans, but not Democrats, this event was a grassroots and independent action built by Occupy activists across the country.

People came ready to express their anger about the economic and political system. As Rick from Occupy LA said:

I'm 44 years old, and this is the first protest movement I've ever been a part of. The whole political system is so rotten. If you don't have money, you're shut out. You get to a point where you've had enough, and it's just intolerable. Voting isn't enough. There's more to it. When you vote lesser of two evils, what kind of choice is that? Then you're just accepting the debate they hand you. I found out about Occupy LA on Facebook and have been a part of it ever since.

Vulan, from Occupy the Hood in North Philadelphia, said, "We're trying to get food, clothing, shelter for the people of North Philly. We want to take back our neighborhood one block at a time and turn a hood into the neighborhood."

The multi-occupational General Assembly lasted for a couple hours, with activists spending a majority of the time sharing experiences and plans for the spring--proof that this is truly a national movement that doesn't plan to end anytime soon.

Suzzette from Occupy Nashville said, "I hope people think the South isn't what we're seeing with these Republican crowds in South Carolina. The young, anti-racist South is rising through Occupy."

ON THE surface, the White House wasn't the focus of the Occupy Congress action. Congress, the branch of government that Democrats constantly points their fingers at for the problems we're facing, has been a scapegoat for Barack Obama. But while the Democrats would love to get people off the streets and working toward the next elections, this wasn't the general sentiment of the crowd.

Around 3 p.m., protesters split up to march to the congressional office buildings to confront their representatives. Chants rang in front of the building, "Whose Congress? Our Congress!" and "This is what democracy looks like."

At 6:30 p.m., the crowd swelled to a couple thousand people who were ready to march. The crowd listened to music and speakers, but became increasing impatient and started chanting, "March, march, march." The demonstration went from the Capitol to the Supreme Court to the White House, expressing frustration at all branches of government.

In front of the Supreme Court, protesters took over the steps, which is illegal, but the police couldn't stop the action. A picture of this image made its way onto the front of the Washington Post metro section. People intended to mic check about the court's pro-corporate ruling in Citizens United and various other issues, but the crowd had too much energy to stand still.

The march continued down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Chants of "We are unstoppable. Another world is possible" and "How to solve the deficit? End the wars and tax the rich" rang through downtown.

In front of the White House, protesters challenged the Obama administration, chanting "Hope and change, that's a lie. Listen to Occupy" and "NDAA, we say no way." A mic check focusing on D.C. statehood made sure all the protesters knew that the District of Columbia is a colony of the U.S. After about 20 minutes, protesters marched back to the Capitol.

As Joel Northam, an Occupy D.C. activist and organizer of Occupy Congress, said:

People don't stay out in the cold weather and rain for 12 hours, yell their lungs out, and march for miles around D.C. for nothing. The soul of the Occupy movement was on every face, and collectively illuminated the need for substantial change in this country.