It’s a carnival with a purpose at Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. The speeches from the stage are non stop. Voice after voice sharing messages of support from around the US, North America and the world, news of students, teachers and other workers deciding to walk out today and join the thousands. When there is a short break, there is music. There are so many people!
The Plaza itself is full of #occupy tents, there are info tents, tents for food, shelter and support. There is lots of singing and lots of beautiful art.
Folks from the Great Tortilla Conspiracy are screening amazing, celebratory prints and sharing with all.
Marches return to the main square and are greeted with roars, cheers and excitement. People come up to the stage and report back on where they went. Someone on the 1PM march on the banks reported that a living room was set up inside the downtown Oakland Chase branch to represent all those that have had their homes foreclosed. Bank of America was next – successfully closed down.
Poster by Great Tortilla Conspiracy
I just returned knowing that there is still a whole lot going on this afternoon. As I was handing out I AM 99% stickers, people talked about what a great day they were having and how important it was that everyone was together on the streets.
We’ll keep posting updates and photos, in the meantime, the Global Exchange twitter feed has been following everything happening.
We’ll be using our website, blog, twitter account and facebook as a hub of information and live updates, so check in throughout the day. The good folks at Movement Generation have a great list of events posted here.