Sep 17 2012
The Impact of Occupy Wall Street, One Year Later
Thousands of protesters gathered in various locations throughout Manhattan this morning to mark the first anniversary of the Occupy Movement. In the heart of the financial district, some protesters were arrested by police in riot gear and horseback as they attempted to block the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange.
Throughout the country, members of Occupy Wall Street will commemorate their movement’s first anniversary by staging demonstrations and gatherings. Dubbed “S17” by organizers, the day’s largest events are taking place in Manhattan, birthplace of the Occupy movement and home of the first Occupy encampment at Zucotti park in New York City’s Financial District. For three months the park was home to hundreds of protesters and the focal point for a new generation of Americans angry at corporate malfeasance and government corruption.
Since the expulsion of Occupiers from public spaces by law enforcement last November no new permanent encampments have been erected, leading critics to question the movement’s long term prospects and its ability to bring real change to the American economic and political systems.
Others have speculated that this year’s presidential election will further deprive the Occupy movement of the media attention it needs to remain in the public consciousness. Occupiers, however, assert that the movement is merely evolving and that the work of reducing income inequality, getting money out of electoral politics, and ending corporate abuses is continuing in different forms.
“Dreaming in Public: Building the Occupy Movement” edited by Amy Schrager and Daniel Lang/Levitsky is a collection of articles, declarations, and art produced by those directly involved in the earliest months of Occupy. The book escorts us through the heady days of public encampments and passionate debate as energized occupiers worked to create a national movement from the grassroots.
GUESTS: Amy Schrager and Daniel Lang/Levitsky, co-editors of the new book Dreaming in Public: Building the Occupy Movement
One Response to “The Impact of Occupy Wall Street, One Year Later”
I think the real victory of the occupy movement is bringing the corporate greed and economic corruption to the attention of the American people and also showing the powers that be that it’s not just a small percentage of people who are angry about how unbalanced things are but a large amount of people are concerned enough to take to the street to show their frustration however I believe that is only the beginning for the occupy movement and we should all stay tuned.