Occupy movement (Occupy Wall Street)

Occupy movement (Occupy Wall Street) was a protest movement that began in September 2011 in Zuccotti Park in New York City and inspired a global wave of demonstrations. The movement popularized the phrase "We are the 99%" and targeted institutions associated with corporate finance, including Wall Street and Goldman Sachs, while drawing comparisons to earlier movements such as the Arab Spring and the Global Justice Movement. Activists used leaderless organizing, horizontal democracy, and encampments to challenge perceived influence of financial institutions like the Federal Reserve and policy actors such as the U.S. Congress.

Background

The movement emerged in the aftermath of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008 and amid continuing effects of the Great Recession. Criticisms focused on income and wealth concentration exemplified by entities like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup, and policies associated with the Troubled Asset Relief Program and debates in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Influences included precedents such as the Arab Spring, the Indignados movement in Spain, the Standing Rock protests, and tactics from the Global Justice Movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Organizers referenced thinkers and activists including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Howard Zinn while drawing support from labor unions like the Service Employees International Union and civil society groups such as MoveOn.org.

Timeline of protests

In September 2011, organizers associated with Adbusters and activists from networks like Anonymous called for a protest in Zuccotti Park near Wall Street. On September 17, thousands gathered, and an encampment formed that persisted into the autumn. High-profile confrontations included police actions by the New York City Police Department in November 2011 during the Zu­c­cotti Park eviction and subsequent arrests that echoed earlier removals at sites such as Tahrir Square in Cairo. By October and November 2011, parallel occupations appeared in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, London, Madrid, Athens, Toronto, Melbourne, and Berlin. Major events included mass demonstrations on the anniversary of the Global Day of Action and responses to policy moments such as hearings involving Senator Elizabeth Warren and investigations of Goldman Sachs practices. Encampments declined through 2012 after repeated evictions and seasonal challenges, though affinity actions and issue-specific protests continued in later years, intersecting with campaigns led by groups like Black Lives Matter and protests around the 2016 United States presidential election.

Organization and tactics

Movement organizing emphasized leaderless structures and direct democracy. General assemblies used consensus or modified consensus decision-making drawn from assemblies used in the Zapatista movement and the Indignados movement. Working groups addressed issues such as outreach, legal support, medical care, and food with activists from organizations like Democracy Spring and Code Pink participating locally. Tactics included encampments, sit-ins, marches, strike support coordinated with unions such as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and online coordination through platforms associated with Twitter, Facebook, and decentralized forums akin to those used by WikiLeaks supporters. Law enforcement responses involved agencies including the NYPD and municipal police forces, while municipal governments in cities like Oakland and Portland, Oregon negotiated evictions and permits.

Public response and media coverage

Traditional media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC, and Fox News covered the protests with conflicting frames, ranging from sympathetic focus on inequality to critiques of vagueness and disorder. Social media amplified messages through viral slogans like "We are the 99%" and visuals circulated on YouTube and Tumblr. Commentators and public intellectuals including Paul Krugman, Milton Friedman (in retrospective commentary), Thomas Piketty, and Michael Moore weighed in, as did political figures such as President Barack Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Polling by organizations like the Pew Research Center showed shifting public attitudes, while academic assessments by scholars at institutions such as Columbia University and New York University produced mixed evaluations of efficacy and organization.

Impact and legacy

The movement reframed public discourse on inequality, influencing policy debates involving figures like Elizabeth Warren and sparking initiatives in progressive organizations including MoveOn.org and the Democratic Socialists of America. It catalyzed cultural products and scholarship, referenced in works by authors such as David Graeber and appearing in documentaries screened at festivals like Sundance Film Festival. Long-term effects include increased attention to income inequality in electoral politics, the growth of grassroots crowdfunding for campaigns such as those of Bernie Sanders and the incorporation of economic-justice themes into platforms of parties like the Labour Party (UK), Green Party of the United States, and Democratic Party. Critics argue the movement's decentralization limited concrete policy wins, while supporters credit it with altering narratives around institutions like Wall Street and prompting renewed organizing that influenced subsequent movements including Black Lives Matter and climate activism around Extinction Rebellion.

Category:Protests in the United States Category:2011 protests