Book Description

On September 17th 2011 a small group of anti-capitalist demonstrators assembled amid the chrysanthemum planters of Zucotti Park in downtown Manhattan. Their purpose was straightforward: to occupy the square in protest at the bankers on nearby Wall Street who, having wrecked the American economy, had got away scot-free, continuing to pay themselves eye-watering bonuses while the rest of the country was devastated by foreclosures and layoffs.Now, in a new book, assembled by a collective of writers active in support of the occupation, the story of Occupy Wall Street is being told. Drawing on extensive interviews with those taking part, a thrilling instant history is being brought to the page. In Occupying Wall Street you will discover who is behind the action, how it was devised and planned, and how its daily needs of security, food, clean-up, legal, medical and media relations are organized. The decision making process of the occupation in the now famous call-and response public assemblies is discussed. And the lessons Occupy Wall Street has drawn from the Arab Spring and ‘indignados’ movement in Europe are examined together with the actions’ role in inspiring other protests around the US and the support it has drawn from trade unions and social movements. . In compelling, fast-paced narrative, the key events of the occupation are described as they unfolded – the pepper spraying of young women corralled between plastic fences by the NYPD, the march across Brooklyn Bridge when 800 arrests, far from slowing the momentum of the movement, just kicked it up a gear, and the now-famous victory on the night of October 14th when, only minutes before it was due to commence, an announced “clean up” the square was abandoned by a police department and mayor’s office fearful of the PR disaster of battling the 3,000 supporters who had gathered overnight .The future course of Occupy Wall Street remains unclear. How will it interact with the 2012 Presidential election? Can it move forward with demands that often appear inchoate? Can it continue to hold the square, and does doing so constitute a sufficient political strategy? Such questions can only be answered over time. But one thing is already clear: Occupy Wall Street: Under the rubric “We are the 99%” the protest has brought to life the most important progressive movement since the civil rights marches half a century ago.Writers for the 99% is a group of writers and researchers, active in and supportive of Occupy Wall Street.All royalties from this book will be donated to Occupy Wall Street.