Occupy St. Louis
Encyclopedia
Occupy St. Louis is an ongoing postpartisan
people's movement
and peaceful protest
that began on October 1, 2011 against corporate greed, its influence over the economy, its corruption of government, and ensuing inequality. Although people possess differing viewpoints and diversity of views is a central tenet, commonly held themes seek an equal playing field in the economy with more equal opportunities for all people as well as accountability for corporate and financial malfeasance. Many of those in the movement argue that structural, systemic change is necessary and that incremental reform is insufficient and in any case not possible without popular countervailing power
to the power of moneyed interests. Occupy St. Louis is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street
movement
. It is located at Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis
near an area which includes many financial institutions such as commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
and is a horizontal organization
utilizing facilitators in lieu of leaders and has no official spokesperson.
The encampment has consisted of more than fifty tents with a couple hundred continuous occupiers and many hundreds more activists. Several families occupied the space long term. The demographics consist of students from area colleges and high schools, a large racial and gender mix, many people of various ages and class backgrounds, laborers, professionals, large numbers of both employed and unemployed, the underemployed
, military veterans, some homeless, as well as those of diverse sexual orientations. People have joined from some distance around the region in addition to the city and metropolitan areas. With the exceptions of views promoting violence or hatred, Occupy St. Louis is open to all political beliefs with Democrats
, Republicans
, independents
, Greens
, liberals, progressives, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, anarchists, communists, and the previously nonpolitical, among others, represented among those in the movement.
Actions held by Occupy St. Louis include the occupation
of Kiener Plaza, civil disobedience
, demonstrations
, protest marches, and picketing. OccupySTL has acted in solidarity with at least two strike action
s and walkout
s and has been supported by various trade union
s and many individual unionists from the region. OccupySTL is participating in moving money
from large commercial
retail banks (in particular, Bank of America
) to local credit union
s or community
oriented banks. It participated in Bank Transfer Day
on November 5, 2011. It has called boycotts, supported buy local campaigns, organized mic checks and flash mobs at area stores on Black Friday
, and participated in food drives. It cosponsored a "Green Friday" festival with barter trading, a fair trade
market, arts and crafts workshops, live music, and roundtable discussions as a sustainable alternative to Black Friday. OccupySTL has also supported and directly assisted a number of families unfairly foreclosed
upon.
A large rally and march in alliance with area unions held on October 14 attracted around 1000 people. OccupySTL participated in a rally and march as part of the November 17 Day of Action across the United States and world. This was in conjunction with the Occupy movement as well as local unions, MoveOn.org, and PROMO, among other organizations participating but not necessarily intercoordinating. Approximately 1,000 people marched from Kiener Plaza to the Martin Luther King Bridge
, passing by various financial institution
s and the regional Federal Reserve Bank
before 14 were arrested for blocking traffic on one onramp of the bridge to highlight neglect of infrastructure and jobs. Banners were also unveiled on area overpasses and, later in the evening, from the old Municipal Courts Building adjacent to city hall.
There are educational efforts such as daily teach-in
s from a variety of organizations. A food tent was established to feed occupiers (as well as some of the city homeless). An on-site library of pamphlets, periodicals, and books has also operated.
and Mayor Francis G. Slay
had been relatively less repressive than that of many other cities and there were no large scale arrests, raids, or police violence. The mayor eventually blogged and city officials indicated to the media a list of violations, which was challenged by OccupySTL, as well as an ultimatum that occupiers vacate the plaza after curfew and remove all tents. After 11 pm on Veterans Day
, the St. Louis police faced a crowd of about 400 to raid the plaza, arresting approximately 27, and confiscating (with the city parks department) the materials of occupiers left on site. Although there was no rough treatment of people by the police, some of these materials were thrown into garbage trucks and crushed despite explicit assurances that all items would be bagged and tagged for later retrieval by owners. OccupySTL marched in solidarity with the Veterans Day march earlier in the day but its activists challenged pervasive neglect of veterans. Since the the Veterans Days eviction, Kiener Plaza has been continuously patrolled by park rangers and the city police who have strictly enforced the ban on tents and the 10 pm-6 am curfew. A preliminary injunction filed pro bono on behalf of Occupy St. Louis to cease enforcement of the curfew by arguing violation of First Amendment
speech
rights was denied in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
.
As the movement is of an open, non-hierarchical
organizational structure and is still emerging, there has been some internal conflict, inconsistent organization, and fluctuation in numbers actively engaged in the movement. A few weeks into the occupation a growing number of unruly people caused disruptions and a handful of thefts although this was largely mitigated after a few days. Several of those arriving reported that belligerent street people have been encouraged by the police to go to Kiener Plaza. Police in other cities have also encouraged aggressive people with behavioral and addiction problems to go to and, in some cases, have dropped people off at occupations.
Occupy articles
Other Protests
Related articles
Postpartisan
Post-partisanship is an approach to dispute resolution between political factions that emphasizes compromise and collaboration over political ideology and party discipline. It does not imply neutrality. From 2000-2007, there were virtually no online media references to the term "post-partisan"...
people's movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
and peaceful protest
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
that began on October 1, 2011 against corporate greed, its influence over the economy, its corruption of government, and ensuing inequality. Although people possess differing viewpoints and diversity of views is a central tenet, commonly held themes seek an equal playing field in the economy with more equal opportunities for all people as well as accountability for corporate and financial malfeasance. Many of those in the movement argue that structural, systemic change is necessary and that incremental reform is insufficient and in any case not possible without popular countervailing power
Countervailing power
Countervailing power is the theory of political modification of markets, formulated by American economist John Kenneth Galbraith in his 1952 book American Capitalism....
to the power of moneyed interests. Occupy St. Louis is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...
movement
Occupy movement
The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to be widely covered was Occupy Wall Street in New York City, taking place on September 17, 2011...
. It is located at Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
near an area which includes many financial institutions such as commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Overview
Occupy St. Louis consists of autonomous individuals coming together to address common concerns. It uses its own flavor of consensus decision-makingConsensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
and is a horizontal organization
Flat organization
Flat organization refers to an organizational structure with few or no levels of intervening management between staff and managers...
utilizing facilitators in lieu of leaders and has no official spokesperson.
The encampment has consisted of more than fifty tents with a couple hundred continuous occupiers and many hundreds more activists. Several families occupied the space long term. The demographics consist of students from area colleges and high schools, a large racial and gender mix, many people of various ages and class backgrounds, laborers, professionals, large numbers of both employed and unemployed, the underemployed
Underemployment
Underemployment refers to an employment situation that is insufficient in some important way for the worker, relative to a standard. Examples include holding a part-time job despite desiring full-time work, and overqualification, where the employee has education, experience, or skills beyond the...
, military veterans, some homeless, as well as those of diverse sexual orientations. People have joined from some distance around the region in addition to the city and metropolitan areas. With the exceptions of views promoting violence or hatred, Occupy St. Louis is open to all political beliefs with Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, Greens
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
, liberals, progressives, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, anarchists, communists, and the previously nonpolitical, among others, represented among those in the movement.
Actions held by Occupy St. Louis include the occupation
Occupation (protest)
An as an act of protest, is the entry into and holding of a building, space or symbolic site. As such, occupations often combine some of the following elements: a challenge to ownership of the space involved, an effort to gain public attention, the practical use of the facilities occupied, and a...
of Kiener Plaza, civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
, demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
, protest marches, and picketing. OccupySTL has acted in solidarity with at least two strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s and walkout
Walkout
In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace as an act of protest.A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an organization, especially if meant as an expression of protest or disapproval.A...
s and has been supported by various trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and many individual unionists from the region. OccupySTL is participating in moving money
Divestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
from large commercial
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
retail banks (in particular, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
) to local credit union
Credit union
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...
s or community
Community bank
Community Bank, with $365 million in assets as of December 31, 2010, is a commercial bank serving customers in Oregon and Washington. The bank is headquartered in Joseph, Oregon.- History:...
oriented banks. It participated in Bank Transfer Day
Bank Transfer Day
Bank Transfer Day is a consumer activism initiative calling for a voluntary switch from commercial banks to not-for-profit credit unions by November 5, 2011. As of October 15, 2011, a Facebook page devoted to the effort had drawn more than 54,900 "likes"...
on November 5, 2011. It has called boycotts, supported buy local campaigns, organized mic checks and flash mobs at area stores on Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
, and participated in food drives. It cosponsored a "Green Friday" festival with barter trading, a fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
market, arts and crafts workshops, live music, and roundtable discussions as a sustainable alternative to Black Friday. OccupySTL has also supported and directly assisted a number of families unfairly foreclosed
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
upon.
A large rally and march in alliance with area unions held on October 14 attracted around 1000 people. OccupySTL participated in a rally and march as part of the November 17 Day of Action across the United States and world. This was in conjunction with the Occupy movement as well as local unions, MoveOn.org, and PROMO, among other organizations participating but not necessarily intercoordinating. Approximately 1,000 people marched from Kiener Plaza to the Martin Luther King Bridge
Martin Luther King Bridge (St. Louis)
The Martin Luther King Bridge in St. Louis is a cantilever truss bridge of about in total length across the Mississippi River, connecting St. Louis with East St. Louis, Illinois. The bridge serves as traffic relief connecting the concurrent freeways of Interstate 55, Interstate 70, Interstate...
, passing by various financial institution
Financial institution
In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...
s and the regional Federal Reserve Bank
Federal Reserve Bank
The twelve Federal Reserve Banks form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The twelve federal reserve banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts, the twelve banking districts created by the Federal Reserve Act of...
before 14 were arrested for blocking traffic on one onramp of the bridge to highlight neglect of infrastructure and jobs. Banners were also unveiled on area overpasses and, later in the evening, from the old Municipal Courts Building adjacent to city hall.
There are educational efforts such as daily teach-in
Teach-in
A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific frame of time or an academic scope of the topic. Teach-ins...
s from a variety of organizations. A food tent was established to feed occupiers (as well as some of the city homeless). An on-site library of pamphlets, periodicals, and books has also operated.
Incidents and arrests
Occupy St. Louis initially faced a small number of citations and arrests for violation of the curfew at Kiener Plaza, a city park. Thereafter until November 11, however, the response from the St. Louis Police DepartmentSt. Louis Police Department
The Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for serving St. Louis City in the U.S. state of Missouri. The current chief is Colonel Daniel Isom....
and Mayor Francis G. Slay
Francis G. Slay
Francis G. Slay is the forty-fifth mayor of St. Louis .- Education and early career :...
had been relatively less repressive than that of many other cities and there were no large scale arrests, raids, or police violence. The mayor eventually blogged and city officials indicated to the media a list of violations, which was challenged by OccupySTL, as well as an ultimatum that occupiers vacate the plaza after curfew and remove all tents. After 11 pm on Veterans Day
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...
, the St. Louis police faced a crowd of about 400 to raid the plaza, arresting approximately 27, and confiscating (with the city parks department) the materials of occupiers left on site. Although there was no rough treatment of people by the police, some of these materials were thrown into garbage trucks and crushed despite explicit assurances that all items would be bagged and tagged for later retrieval by owners. OccupySTL marched in solidarity with the Veterans Day march earlier in the day but its activists challenged pervasive neglect of veterans. Since the the Veterans Days eviction, Kiener Plaza has been continuously patrolled by park rangers and the city police who have strictly enforced the ban on tents and the 10 pm-6 am curfew. A preliminary injunction filed pro bono on behalf of Occupy St. Louis to cease enforcement of the curfew by arguing violation of First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
speech
Freedom of speech in the United States
Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws, with the exception of obscenity, defamation, incitement to riot, and fighting words, as well as harassment, privileged...
rights was denied in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is a trial level federal district court based in St. Louis, Missouri, with jurisdiction over fifty counties in the eastern half of Missouri. The court is one of ninety-four district-level courts which make up the first tier of...
.
As the movement is of an open, non-hierarchical
Hierarchical organization
A hierarchical organization is an organizational structure where every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinate to a single other entity. This arrangement is a form of a hierarchy. In an organization, the hierarchy usually consists of a singular/group of power at the top with...
organizational structure and is still emerging, there has been some internal conflict, inconsistent organization, and fluctuation in numbers actively engaged in the movement. A few weeks into the occupation a growing number of unruly people caused disruptions and a handful of thefts although this was largely mitigated after a few days. Several of those arriving reported that belligerent street people have been encouraged by the police to go to Kiener Plaza. Police in other cities have also encouraged aggressive people with behavioral and addiction problems to go to and, in some cases, have dropped people off at occupations.
See also
Occupy articles
- List of global Occupy protest locations
- Occupy movementOccupy movementThe Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to be widely covered was Occupy Wall Street in New York City, taking place on September 17, 2011...
- Timeline of Occupy Wall StreetTimeline of Occupy Wall StreetThe following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street which began on Saturday, September 17, 2011 as an occupation of Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and is an ongoing demonstration....
- We are the 99%
Other Protests
- 15 October 2011 global protests15 October 2011 global protestsThe 15 October 2011 global protests were part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Spanish "Indignants", the Greek Protests and the Occupy movement. Global demonstrations were held on October 15 in more than 950 cities 82 countries. The date was chosen to coincide with the 5...
- 1877 Saint Louis general strike1877 Saint Louis general strikeGenerally accepted as the first general strike in America, the 1877 Saint Louis general strike grew out of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The general strike was largely organized by the Knights of Labor and the Marxist-leaning Workingmen's Party, the main radical political party of the era. ...
- 2011 United States public employee protests2011 United States public employee protestsIn February 2011, a series of public employee protests began in the United States against proposed legislation which would weaken the power of labor unions. By March, eighteen states had proposed legislation which would remove some collective bargaining powers from unions, along with another five...
- 2011 Wisconsin protests2011 Wisconsin protestsThe 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protestors opposing the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including tea...
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