Welcome login | signup
Language en es fr
We are the 99 percent

Articles tagged dnc


Chicago: #OccupyObama

Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 4, 2012, 4:50 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: anti-war, dnc, foreclosure defense, chicago, immigration, lgbtq

The United States is in need of change, now more than ever, and that change must come from the people. We can no longer rely on politicians to save us. Politicians are bought and sold by the very interests that are destroying our society, and our president Barack Obama is no different. After coming into office under the guise of hope and change, we have seen more of the same policies and actions that brought us to our current situation. Now more than ever it is time for a real change.

With the upcoming presidential election, we are going to be given two sides of the same corporate coin. Without question, we reject the idea that Mitt Romney, the man behind Bain Capital, can do anything other than gut what remains of the public sector, destroy what remains of our social services, and empower corporations to further take over our country.

Barack Obama's agenda is not so different from that of Mitt Romney's. If Obama is elected we will continue to see more human rights abuses, the rolling back of our constitutional rights, and a continuation of the silent coup that corporate America is executing on what remains of our sham of a democracy.

Beginning today, Occupy Chicago will join with activists around Chicago and take a stand. We will highlight the contradictions between President Obama's promise of “hope and change” and his actual policy decisions during a four day occupation of his campaign headquarters. Each day will feature actions, teach-ins, and opportunities to share in community and grow our movement. Join us!

RSVP on Facebook

September 4: 5PM Central, Jackson&Lasalle: Reject President 1%: End Obama's War On the World's 99%

September 5: Protest Mortgage Debt/Foreclosures at at Fannie Mae's Midwest Regional Offices

September 6: Democracy

More below.

Read More...

130 Comments

Appeal for Donations to Support Marshall Park Occupation (Charlotte, NC)

Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 4, 2012, 3:56 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: occupation, donate, charlotte, dnc

tents stand in Marshall Park, Charlotte

via Occupy Wall Street South:

Appeal for food and other donations from the activists who came from across the county to protest during the Democratic National Convention. Currently 50-100 people are camping out at Marshall Park located at 800 East Third Street in Charlotte, NC.

This is a message from Thomas Bolaños, one of the activist at Marshall Park:

  • best time to drop off donations is between 10-11am and 6-8pm in the kitchen area
  • the most urgently needed items are: tarps, feminine hygiene products, food (especially fruits and veggies, bread), prepared foods, eating utensils, water, tents and tarps
  • also need an off site food prep location(s)
  • to arrange a donation or for more info, call Thomas at 706-280-0916

Please help support the occupation by dropping off these or any other items at the park, and circulate this appeal among your networks. Thanks!

5 Comments

2,500 March on Wall Street South: We Need Jobs, Housing, Justice, Not War!

Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 4, 2012, 2:36 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: students, immigrants rights, labor, anti-war, dnc, foreclosure defense, wall street south, charlotte

2,500 March on Wall St. South

"DNC/RNC = 1%"

(more images below)

via Occupy Wall Street South:

Braving extreme heat, more than 2,500 people from throughout the South and across the U.S. filled the streets of Charlotte on Sun., Sept. 2 for the March on Wall Street South. The demonstration confronted the banks and corporations headquartered in Charlotte that are wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country, and raised a people’s agenda for jobs and justice as the Democratic National Convention convenes here.

Participants came from cities throughout North Carolina, including Winston-Salem, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, Rocky Mount, Greenville, Asheville, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Wilmington. Many traveled hours from cities such as Baltimore, MD; Atlanta, GA; Greenville, MS; Washington, DC; Tampa, FL; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, PA and New York, NY. A bus of more than 40 people, many of whom being foreclosed on by Bank of America and who are unemployed, spent 15 hours traveling from Detroit, MI.

The No Papers No Fear bus, which left Phoenix, AZ on July 29 with more than 40 undocumented people to arrive in Charlotte for the DNC, also joined the march with a spirited contingent against the deportations and criminalization of immigrant communities.

Also on the march were an unemployed workers contingent, a Southern labor contingent, a contingent against U.S. wars being waged at home and abroad, a no war no warming contingent, an LGBTQ contingent, and more.

“This was an historic demonstration that built an unprecedented level of unity between so many different groups and struggles on a grassroots level,” said Yen Alcala, an organizer with the Coalition to March on Wall Street South and Occupy Charlotte. “The March on Wall Street South showed what is possible when we unite, and pointed the finger at those who are responsible for the injustices being experienced by the 99% – the banks and corporations, and a political system that is controlled by the 1%. Building people’s power from the bottom up is the only solution to win jobs and justice for poor and working people.”

Along the march, demonstrators stopped in front of the Bank of America’s world headquarters and Duke Energy’s headquarters. At each stop, people who have been directly impacted by the practices of these banks and corporations –whose homes are being foreclosed on, who have massive amounts of student loan debt, and whose communities are being devastated by coal mining and energy rate hikes — spoke out and exposed these profit gauging institutions.

“The March on Wall Street South was a tremendous success,” said Elena Everett, another Coalition organizer. “Our message for jobs and justice was heard loud and clear by the bankers and the politicians of both parties. But this is just the beginning. We know that the only way that real change has ever been won is when people come together, get organized, and build social movements to raise demands to the powers that be. And that’s exactly what we’re doing — building a movement for jobs, education, healthcare, the environment, housing, and against wars, racism and bigotry, deportations, and jails.”

Throughout the remainder of the week, the MOWSS coalition will be supporting actions and events being developed by other groups, including the Undocubus and the Southern Workers Assembly on Sept. 3 at Wedgewood Baptist Church. The Coalition will also be mobilizing support for the reoccupation of Marshall Park being led by Occupy Charlotte.

Read More...

14 Comments

March on Wall St South – Mobilization info

Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 29, 2012, 8:40 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: students, immigrants rights, labor, anti-war, dnc, foreclosure defense, wall street south, charlotte

Poster and schedule for March on Wall St South

There’s just a few days left until the March on Wall Street South mobilization kicks off! See below for a schedule of events and many other updates. You can also find transportation leaving from your area to bring folks to Charlotte!

Schedule of Events

Saturday, September 1: Festivaliberación begins the mobilization! There are many great workshops being planned, and an amazing concert at night featuring local artists, Jasiri X, and Rebel Diaz. Check out this great video Jasiri X just recorded to help get the word out!

And we’ve got some exciting news: the Undocubus will also be arriving at the festival in the evening and joining us for the march the next day! You won’t want to miss this!

Sunday, September 2: Thousands will flood the streets of Charlotte for the March on Wall Street South, beginning at 11am in Frazier Park. We’ll march together at 1pm to the big banks, and past the sites where the Democratic National Convention will meet during the week. We say: YES to jobs, housing, healthcare, education, the environment, workers rights and justice, NO to wars, cutbacks, racism and bigotry, and deportations.

The main targets of the march include Bank of America’s world headquarters, Wells Fargo’s eastern headquarters, the Time Warner Cable Arena, and the Bank of America Stadium. Additionally, there will be two stops along the route for a peoples’ tribunal and speak out against these banks and corporations. We’ll stop in front of the international headquarters of Bank of America and hear from people who have been directly impacted by home foreclosures, student debt, and BofA’s bankrolling of the private prison system, war, and environmental destruction. Then, we’ll stop in front of the headquarters of Duke Energy. We’ll hear from folks impacted by Duke’s funding of dirty energy, and how Duke funds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the right-wing bill mill.

Monday, September 3, 1pm: We’ll join the Labor Day Parade in the morning, and gather in the afternoon for the historic Southern Workers Assembly, starting at 1pm at Wedgewood Baptist Church. More info on the Southern Workers Assembly:

Join Southern unions, workers organizations, civil/human rights groups, immigrant rights groups, unemployed, young workers, faith and community for a workers speak-out that uplifts our on-the-ground actual workers’ rights struggles in the US South.

The Southern working class must encourage our workers and organizations to have an independent presence at the Democratic National Convention as an opportunity to discuss, plan and organize around our own working class needs and struggles for independent political action as we continue to challenge Right-To-Work (for less) & Taft-Hartley laws, low wages, denial of collective bargaining, and workers’ human rights connected with the historical demands against the South’s legacy of Jim Crow laws, anti-immigrant scapegoating and racism.

The Southern region is the least unionized region in the country. NC is the single least unionized state and is home of Wall Street South as headquarters of Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank East with the largest concentration of finance capital outside NYC. Workers must let the big banks, corporations and both parties know that we as workers will continue building our powerful Southern movement that addresses our needs as workers and not corporate greed! Enough is enough! We will Organize, Unionize and fightback!

Monday, September 3, 6-11pm: Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo: Festival de canto, poesía y arte with the Undocubus at Mexican Restauran Fiesta Jalisco (5317 E. Independence Blvd)

Wednesday, September 5, 6-10pm: UndocuNation in North Carolina, an artist showcase organized by CultureStrike and the Center for New Community at the Neighborhood Theatre (511 E. 36th Street)

September 4 -6: Affinity group and other actions

Convergence Space

The new convergence space is now open at Area 15 (514 E. 15th St, at the corner of North Davidson and 15th Sts)! We’ve been hard at work getting it all set up and ready for all the folks that will be traveling to Charlotte for the March on Wall Street South and the other actions around the DNC. For those coming into town looking to get involved, the convergence space is the place to go to get plugged in and get active.

Make a much-needed contribution to the March on Wall Street South today!

March Contingents

Many groups and organizations have been collaborating to pull together dynamic, struggle-based contingents during the March on Wall Street South. At the march, each contingent will have an identifying banner and signs to find them and march together. Here are the contingents that will be marching with us:

  • Unemployed workers
  • Organize the South! Workers Rights are Human Rights!
  • No Papers No Fear/Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo (Undocumented/Immigrants Rights organized by the Undocubus)
  • LGBTQ
  • Housing is a Right! Stop Home Foreclosures!
  • Youth and Students (including Stop the School to Prison Pipeline section)
  • Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad (including No War/No Warming, anti-drone, and Free All Political Prisoners sections)

Program

We have a very exciting program of speakers and cultural performers from across NC, the South, and the U.S. working on a range of struggles. Here’s a few of the freedom fighters who will be joining us at the March:

  • Yen Alcala, Occupy Charlotte
  • Farm Labor Organizing Committee
  • Cindy Foster, President of the Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council
  • Jaribu Hill, Mississippi Workers Center
  • the Undocubus
  • Efia Nwangaza, Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination
  • John Heuer, Veterans for Peace
  • Monica Embrey, Greenpeace
  • Larry Hales, Peoples Power Assembly
  • Fernando Figueroa, Coalition to March on the RNC
  • Larry Holmes, Peoples Power Assembly
  • Clarence Thomas, ILWU 100
  • Rev. CD Witherspoon, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
  • Victor Toro, May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrants Rights
  • Sarah Shanks, Charlotte Clinic Defense
  • Marilyn Levin, United National Antiwar Coalition
    and more!

See here for more information on volunteering, tabling, public transportation, posters, and lots more!

For even more information and other actions going on during the DNC, see also: DNC National Call to Action from Occupy Charlotte

8 Comments

August 26th Day of Action – Women’s Equality Day

Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 23, 2012, 7:52 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: rnc, feminism, dnc, nyc

Call to Action via Women Organized to Resist and Defend. Occupiers across the country are organizing in solidarity; we encourage everyone who can to attend! In NYC, we will gather at 47th St & 6th Ave at 1pm.

On Women’s Equality Day, August 26 – on the eve of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, which will be immediately followed by the Democratic National Convention - women and their allies will take to the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and other cities across the country in defense of women's rights.

August 26th - Women’s Equality Day - commemorates the 1920 passage of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. Winning the right to vote was an important victory, but the struggle for full equality continues. Celebrate Women’s Equality Day by taking to the streets and demanding full equality now. Honor the women who fought for the rights we’ve won and continue the struggle for full equality.

Many women voted for President Obama believing he would stand up for women’s rights. But he has compromised with the anti-choice forces on many occasions. When Republicans opposed a 2009 provision for family planning, he dropped it. In 2011, the White House took the unprecedented step of overruling the FDA in order to keep Plan B out of the reach of women under 18. While President Obama is not a right-wing pro-lifer, we cannot count on him or any politician to defend our rights. In fact, in order to reach a budget compromise with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner in July 2011, President Obama said, "I'll give you abortion in D.C." Meaning, low-income women in the District of Columbia would be prevented from receiving Medicaid assistance offered by the D.C. government for abortion procedures.

Women’s reproductive rights continue to be slashed at the state level. Legal restrictions on abortions tripled from 2010 to 2011. 92 new abortion restrictions were enacted in 2011. In 2011, there were 114 reported violent attacks against abortion providers. Clinics that provide vital services for millions of working-class women are under siege. More than 55 percent of reproductive age women now live in states that are “hostile” to abortion rights. (Guttenmacher Institute)

So while they’re convening and concocting new ways to attack our rights and our lives, let’s come together in the streets to stand up and fight back!

There will be mass demonstrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities around the country. We will mobilize thousands in the streets to show the world that there is a new women’s movement rising and we will not go back.

We believe that access to reproductive choice – the basic right of women to control our own bodies – is a fundamental right and must be defended. We believe in equality. We support working women. We are tired of the right wing trying to turn back the clock and take our hard-won rights away. All people who support equality and choice should organize with us and help these actions grow.

If you can’t make it to protest in Tampa and Charlotte, join or organize a protest in your community. There is a long, proud tradition of women in the United States mobilizing and fighting to win equality and respect. Let’s continue this legacy this summer!

43 Comments

Older Posts