Reports from Occupy: 11/1

Greensboro, N.C.

By Trish Kahle

OCCUPY GREENSBORO is into its second week. We have maintained the camp, which is located on private property belonging to the YWCA, giving us slightly more protection from a police crackdown than other cities.

The police told a local newspaper that they will continue to allow the camp there to prevent us from trying to occupy a more public or disruptive space. However, we only have access to the YWCA through November 12, when we will likely be forced to move onto another, less friendly space.

On October 26, we marched in solidarity with Occupy Oakland and Occupy Atlanta. At its peak, the march was 80 people strong. A professor of art from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro brought her class to the march. She made this video.

All the local media had gathered at the federal courthouse for John Edward's latest criminal hearing. He exited as we passed. Marchers made the decision to cross the street and confront him. As we approached, chanting "We are Oakland. We are Atlanta. We are the whole world," he was whisked away from the press briefing by his handlers.

The next night, occupiers went with Occupy Winston-Salem to High Point, the third city in the North Carolina Triad, where Duke Power was holding a community forum. We jammed and protested the meeting, and after three hours, only one person had stood to speak favorable of Duke, which is currently trying to institute a 17.4 percent rate hike on residential customers (though the Greensboro News and Record reported that it would end up being closer to 20 percent for most people).

The weekend is filled with teach-ins and organizing meetings. The Envisioning Occupation group organized a teach-in on Communication and Power. Legal Collective organized non-violence training. The Radical Historians are beginning a project called Oral History of Occupation and are holding a teach-in called "Class Struggle in the Classroom." The Anti-Racism Collective held its first meeting Saturday as our space becomes increasingly political.

We aren't going anywhere. People here sense this is a movement, and we are in for the long road ahead. As Sheryl Oring said, "Of course, it's happening in New York and Oakland, but if it's happening in Greensboro, it really means something."

Houston, Texas

LIKE OCCUPIERS in many cities across the country, Occupy Houston activists are reaching out to the local labor movement for their solidarity and support. Several Occupy Houston activists visited a meeting of the Harris County AFL-CIO Council on October 26 and addressed the delegates to explain why they needed the labor movement's support. The delegates passed the following resolution:

Resolution in Support of Occupy Houston

Whereas, Occupy Houston's goal is the end the corporate corruption of our democracy, and,

Whereas, Occupy Houston is demonstrating its message on a daily basis and,

Whereas, Occupy Houston has also joined with Good Jobs = Great Houston, Houston Interfaith Worker Justice in support of good jobs, the American Jobs Act, and

Whereas, the AFL-CIO, and many of its affiliated Unions are supporting similar "Occupy" events on Wall Street and in other cities in Texas and across the country,

Therefore be it resolved, that the Harris County AFL-CIO Council go on record of supporting Occupy Houston and its messages of ending corporate corruption of our democracy and standing up for workers and jobs.