Month: April 2012

Farewell (But Not Goodbye!) to Occupy Medford

By Benjamin Playfair The following is an open farewell letter to my local Occupy movement. An open letter to Occupy Medford: Before Occupy, I spent countless hours dreaming of being involved in helping to change our country. At times I thought in extremist absolutes about how to make that happen. At other times, my trains…

The Battle to Re-Occupy Minneapolis

This article is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published on Occupied Stories. By Osha Karow MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As planned, groups met Saturday, April 7th in both Loring Park and Peavey Plaza at 12-noon. Around 2:00pm Minneapolis Police officers came to Peavey Plaza to state to us that we were in violation…

Grow Your Awareness of The Oregon Farmworker Movement

by Sandy Polishuk Want to expand your understanding about an important and under-served segment of our state population? Come to the Peace House on Tuesday, April 24, at 7 pm for a presentation on The Oregon Farmworker Movement, part of the History of Social Justice Organizing program. Abel Valladares & Larry Kleinman will talk about…

Why I Occupy – Diane Emerson

Every person has a story to tell about what is important to them. A story about decisions they have made and the motivating factors for those decisions, whether it be family, friends, economics, ethics, or some other reason. Every person has a story to tell about an event that changed their life. A turning point…

Two Deaths In Florida, One Outcome Remains Unknown

by John Wood [Editor’s Note: George Zimmerman was arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder on April 11.] I was saddened by the deaths of two young people in Florida earlier this year, both killed by strangers while walking home. One was the death of my granddaughter, struck and killed by a hit and run…

Love and Revolution on the Brooklyn Bridge

This story is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published on Occupied Stories. by John Dennehy NEW YORK, NY – A few hours before I was arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge, I met Nicole in Zuccotti Park. She wore dark blue jeans that stretched across her legs, a grey sweater and a blue…

Boys in Blue

By Elona Trogub The Patchwork family band came together during the turbulent times of the Occupy Portland camp. Musicians from all over gathered together to write songs, providing the soundtrack for the revolution in the parks of Chapman and Lownsdale. Nary a bench lacked a guitar or harmonica to share the truth of the day…

A Reflection on F29

By Peter and Paul and other members of affinity group Hella503 The Portland Action Lab’s Feb 29th call to “Shut Down the Corporations!” (F29) was picked up by over 70 cities, making waves across the country. Here in Portland, roughly 1,000 people responded, showing up in the middle of the day, in the middle of…