Reports from Occupy: 10/24

Bronx, N.Y.

By Lichi D'Amelio

THE OCCUPY Wall Street movement is spreading to the surrounding boroughs of New York City.

On October 15, a group of about 75 Bronxites met for an 11 a.m. General Assembly (GA) in Fordham Plaza in the West Bronx.

The large, multiracial crowd participated in the GA, many for the first time ever, that went on for an hour and a half. One woman spoke about how she was a student at Fordham University and had earned her master's degree in social work, but only makes $28,000 a year and is still paying off student loans. A man came up to the people's mic and said he was an "ex-con" who has found it impossible to find steady work.

Another young woman told her story about being on the Brooklyn Bridge the night police attacked and arrested demonstrators. She lifted up the side of her shirt to show an enormous bruise covering half half her rib cage that she received from this encounter.

Other students and activists made announcements about a planned march against police brutality on October 22. Mark Naison, a professor of African American studies and history at Fordham, told the crowd that although he taught history, he was more interested in making history--with us.

After the inspiring GA, we lined up on the sidewalk and got ready to march the 10 or more blocks to the number 4 train. We chanted, "Banks got bailed out! We got sold out!" every time we passed a bank. When we passed a military recruiting station, marchers roared, "Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!" And, of course, "We are the 99 percent!"

Everyone on the street knew what we were marching for and totally supported us. I don't know if I've ever felt so much solidarity from onlookers before.

We got to the train station and the police, who had been "escorting" us the whole way, opened the emergency exit to let us all in for free.

On the platform, the chanting continued. "Whose train? Our train!" We boarded the train car, continued chanting, and heard spoken word from various people the whole way to the Wall Street stop. When the Bronx marchers reached Zuccotti Park, we circled twice, chanting, "The Bronx is in the house! Say what?"

The message of the 99 percent is being heard far and wide in every city, town and borough. Stay tuned. Yours could be next.

Lansing, Mich.

By Jeff Bale

OCCUPY LANSING has gotten off to a strong start. The first major event drew up to 500 people at the state Capitol building on October 15. The goal was both to rally in solidarity with Occupy protests across the world and to draw local attention to Occupy Lansing efforts.

Occupy Lansing activists have set up an encampment at Reutter Park, just a few blocks from the Capitol. Some 40 to 50 people have maintained the encampment since it began a few days before the October 15 rally, and it is the site of daily General Assemblies.

The rally attracted a diverse crowd of protesters, from local members of National Nurses United and other unions, to students and Lansing residents who just happened on the rally and joined in. After a 90-minute speakout, rally organizers began to organize a General Assembly to include protesters in decision-making for the Occupy Lansing group. This was the first effort at a mass meeting of this type, and there were inevitable challenges.

One example was a shouting match that emerged between several speakers on the people's mic and a small handful of protesters angered by criticisms of Lansing police and police brutality more generally. At issue was both a debate about the role of the police, which has been important in other Occupy actions, and also how diverse opinions will be raised in the movement.

While the encampment is still fairly small, the amount of donated food and supplies gives a sense of the support Lansing area residents have shown. In fact, General Assembly meetings are often hard to hear given the number of honks of support from passing cars.

On Tuesday, October 18, a dozen activists protested outside a local branch of Chase Bank. Chants and leaflets drew attention to the fact that Chase is the largest holder of student debt in the U.S., and to its record of fraudulent foreclosure practices. Importantly, even though the rally was small, three of the participants joined in after hearing a news report announcing the event that morning.

Eugene, Ore.

By Connie Penn

On October 15, we had more than 2,000 people turn out for an Occupied Eugene march that went for three miles around a well-traveled street where people going to a University of Oregon game were in transit.

There were lots of supporting honks, thumbs-up and "V" for victory signs. Some have stated that it was one of the largest demonstrations in the history of Eugene.

Close to 200 occupiers are staying at a downtown plaza in tents. Initially, Occupy Eugene protesters had been camping on downtown blocks, but on October 21 they relocated to a new site, saying Eugene police threatened a "no-tolerance" stance for camping.