#TakeTheSpring - Today in Chicago, Minneapolis, Philly and Beyond

Occupations across the country are taking action today; here are a few exciting events to follow!

The #ChicagoSpring Begins

Occupy Chicago is hosting a day packed with community events and demonstrations throughout the city. Dubbed the beggining of the Chicago Spring by local organizers, today will be a celebration of the upcoming spring of resistance worldwide! Smaller neighborhood events will be happening throughout the day, with a 1pm Central Time gathering at LaSalle and Jackson and march to Butler Field at Grant Park for an evening of workshops, panel discussions, and more. For the full list of all the impressive actions and endorsers for today´s events in Chicago, see http://chicagospring.org/ or the Occupied Chicago Tribune and follow @OccupyChicago on Twitter.

#OccupyElBarrio rally outside a federal correctional facility, one of many of today´s #ChicagoSpring actions

Occupy Philly Moves In to Independence Mall

Occupy Philly tents next to a plaque commemorating the First Amendment

On their six month anniversary since Occupying next to City Hall, Occupy Philadelphia and homeless supporters from Camp Liberty gathered yesterday to protest an outrageous city policy that criminalizes poverty and homelessness by banning feeding of the hungry in public places or serving meals in parks. Afterward, Occupiers set up a new camp on Independence Mall, near the famous Liberty Bell that draws thousands of visitors. Park rangers have agreed not to evict them as long as they stay awake and adhere to a long list of arbitrary rules - for example, Occupiers must leave their tents open at all times so rangers can see inside.

Occupiers in Philly link arms at last night´s march against criminalizing feeding the hungry

The Twin Cities Re-Occupy Today

Today, Occupy Minneapolis has big plans as well:

At noon on April 7th, members of Occupy Minneapolis will set up encampments at Peavey Plaza and Loring Park. The sites will become the new homes of the local branch of the movement and the official move in, tents and all, will begin at 12pm on Saturday. The date is also the 6-month anniversary of the initial occupation of Government Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. Organizers hope that having multiple spaces will offer many benefits and boldly reinforce the desire to one day occupy all available spaces within the city.

Reoccupy Minneapolis organizer Sam Richards said, “We are calling for everyone to bring their families, friends and tents, and together we can usher in the American Spring in our city.” Occupy Minneapolis has significant momentum coming out of a winter filled with training for organizers and the formation of a number of action oriented groups. Richards hopes that the new spaces will help facilitate dialogue between the growing network of groups that are working diligently.

“Over the winter, we’ve had many successes, engaging in anti-foreclosure struggles and organizing towards a mass day of action on May 1st, as well as plenty of other exciting actions and projects,” said Ben Egerman, another organizer, adding, “But this is just the beginning. We hope the lessons learned since last October have allowed us to form an approach that will create a strong community and platform for people to demand social and economic justice.”

Update: During a celebratory march, police attacked marchers and charged with horses into the crowd. At least eight arrests have been reported.

And So Much More!

In New York City, an active Occupy community is continuing to grow in spite of constant police harassment, arrests, and nightly evictions at Occupy Union Square in midtown. Meanwhile, in the financial district, Occupy Wall Street celebrated another #SpringTraining action yesterday in preparation for a massive show of solidarity on May Day, May 1st. At the conclusion of last night´s action, Occupiers read aloud a court case citing their legal right to sleep on the sidewalk. Occupiers in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York and other cities continue nightly camp-outs in front of branches of Bank of America and other ¨too big to fail¨ institutions in protest of their policies which leave millions of homes empty and millions of people without homes. Meanwhile, Occupy Boston continues to hold Camp Charlie on the State House Steps in defense of public transportation.

Also today, more Occupiers are once again standing with communities and survivors of racist and police violence to march in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, Rekia Boyd, Shaima Alawadi and all others in the latest wave of Million Hoodie and Million Hijab marches. In DC, the march will begin at Malcom X/Meridian Hill Park. (Follow live!) In Oakland, Occupiers will leave after the weekly barbecue.

This year will be a spring to remember - and it has already begun!