Story of an Occupation
On Oct. 17 in Zuccotti Park, the protesters ate cake. Occupy Wall Street was one month old. Over the previous 30 days, protesters had annexed a park near the New York Stock Exchange, held marches, fended off eviction, spurred similar protests around the country and set up a leaderless minisociety. Working groups run everything from meals to sanitation. At night, the general assembly draws about 1,000 people to decide major issues like how to allocate funding. A strong objection from any one person can nix a proposal. That has made reaching consensus tough. Occupy Wall Street has been criticized for its lack of official demands. But an organizer, Yotam Marom, says that's silly. "We're occupying Wall Street," says Marom. "It should be pretty clear what we want changed."
--Stephen Gandel and Nate Rawlings
Who Are the 1%?
Average yearly income: $1,530,773
1%/99%
Average yearly income: $54,792
The Catalysts
David Graeber (1) offered the "We are the 99%" slogan. Yotam Marom (2) planned an earlier live-in protest in downtown Manhattan. Video of Kaylee Dedrick (3) being pepper-sprayed drew crowds. Canadian editor Kalle Lasn (4) proposed the protest.
Birth of a Movement
JULY 13
Canadian anticonsumerist group Adbusters calls for people to "flood into lower Manhattan" to occupy Wall Street and remain there
AUG. 2
Organizers hold their first planning meeting at the iconic Wall Street bull statue in lower Manhattan
SEPT. 17
Approximately 2,000 people assemble in lower Manhattan and claim Zuccotti Park
OCT. 1
A march across the Brooklyn Bridge stops traffic, leads to 700 arrests and generates enormous publicity
OCT. 14
Thousands of protesters show up to defend the park, but a standoff with police is averted
OCT. 15
A "global day of action" around the world ends with a sit-in occupying Times Square
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
200,000* people have protested in more than 900 cities in 82 countries around the world
Times Square demonstration: 5,000
Brooklyn Bridge march: 3,000
Number consistently sleeping in Zuccotti Park: 200 to 500
Foley Square (New York City) demonstration: 10,000
*Estimate
Weekend Warriors
Occupy Wall Street is small in numbers--a few hundred camp out in Zuccotti Park each night--but hundreds and sometimes thousands more have joined in for weekend rallies.
BY THE NUMBERS
6,000 Loads of laundry washed by Zuccotti Park "comfort" group
8,000 Meals served by Zuccotti Park "kitchen" on Oct. 17
955 Arrests by NYPD in the protest's first month
84,448 Followers of @OccupyWallSt on Twitter
What the Protesters Want ...
In general, they want to reduce collusion between Washington and Wall Street. There's no official list of demands, but here's how some would do it