• Listen to the entire program

Since the Occupy Wall Street movement began as a mass camp-out against corporate greed on September 17th 2011 in Zucotti Park, New York, hundreds of similar tent cities sprang up around the country and even other parts of the world. Here in Los Angeles, at its peak, there were 500 tents representing the movement in front of City Hall. Now, approaching the 4 month anniversary of the nascent movement, and after the majority of tent cities have been violently evicted by coordinated police action, we examine how Occupy-related activities have actually multiplied, and proliferated into communities, taking on specific issues related to the broader struggle for economic justice. On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. day, protestors in 13 cities including Los Angeles have planned demonstrations against the Federal Reserve Bank in what they are calling Occupy the Dream echoing Dr. King’s message. And today, Occupy Los Angeles is leading what has been called the Anti-Foreclosure Day of Action protesting in front of the Bank of New York Mellon offices in downtown LA. A mass general strike across the United States has been planned for May 1st. And, in mid-May, Occupy Wall Street has targeted the gatherings of the G8 and NATO summits in Chicago. Naomi Klein, in a recent interview said of the Occupy movement: “it’s a moment of possibility like I’ve never seen because we never had as many people on our side as [at] this moment… In the Seattle moment, we didn’t. We were marginal…because we were in an economic boom. Now, the system has been breaking its own rules so defiantly that its credibility is shot. And there’s a vacuum… for other credible voices to fill that, and it’s very exciting.”

We spend the hour today with four people of diverse backgrounds who have been intimately involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

GUESTS: David Degraw is an investigative journalist, founder and editor of AmpedStatus.com, editorial director of MediaChannel.org and author of The Economic Elite Vs. The People of the United States. He has been deeply involved in helping to start Occupy Wall Street in New York.

Delessy, a young woman who has also been active with Occupy the Hood and Occupy LA and working on Latino outreach for the local Occupy movement. Both Bilal and Delessy were among the 300 people arrested on the night-time raid of Occupy LA on November 30, 2011.

EVENT INFORMATION:

There are two Occupy LA and Occupy the Hood Foreclosure actions taking place today:

MORNING ACTION

WHAT: Auction Disruption & Rally
WHEN: January 13, 2012 assemble at 9am; march at 9:30am
WHERE: Assemble at Pershing Square then march to Sheraton 711 S. Hope Street

AFTERNOON ACTION

WHAT: Rally and Press Conference
WHEN: January 13, 2012 from 11am – 1pm
WHERE: 400 S. Hope Street

The Occupy the Dream action on Monday January 16th at 3 pm in front of the Federal Reserve Los Angeles office, 950 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90015.