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We are the 99 percent

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DC, Other Cities Liberate Unoccupied Buildings for the 99%

Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 19, 2011, 6:38 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

Occupied Franklin School

Today, Occupy K St./DC liberated the empty, city-owned Franklin School. The school was closed several years ago and initially reopened as a homeless shelter. Despite widespread public opposition, the city government later closed the shelter. Next -- in blatant disregard of social safety net programs that are necessary for the very survival of the people who are most directly impacted by economic injustice -- announced plans to turn the building either into luxury condos or a hotel for the 1% lobbyists on K St.

In a move similar to other recent building occupations in Oakland, Chapel Hill, New York, and London, dozens of occupiers entered the building with sleeping bags and food and declared their intent to stay indefinitely. Occupy DC announced plans for an open forum to be held at a church next Monday to discuss uses of the building with the public. Inside, they began cleaning the building to make it usable for the community. From the roof, occupiers chanted "We are the 99%!" as others dropped a banner reading "Public Property under Community Control” over the school. Meanwhile, hundreds rallied in support outside.

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