Archive: 2011
9:56 am: Come show arrestees from raid love when they’re released: 10:30 am at 650 Harrison Ave (men) and 101 W Broadway S (women), both in Boston.
7:14 am: Traffic resumed on Atlantic and Constitution Aves. Small group or protestors still outside South Station. Dewey Square still barricaded and surrounded by police officers. Front-loader clearing remaining tents from square.
6:35 am: Intersection of Atlantic Ave and Constitution Ave shut down by Boston Police Department. Occupy Boston protestors amassing outside South Station.
6:34 am: All male prisoners are being taken to B4. All female prisoners being taken to C6.
6:20 am: Confirmed: Long Range Audio Device (LRAD) in back of Boston Police Department truck at Occupy Boston raid now.
6:15 am: Dewey Square completely barricaded. All protestors cleared and arrested. Bulldozers moving in to clear tents.
5:57 am: Boston Police Department are shining flashlights into video cameras to prevent them from filming.
5:55 am: Livestreamer just arrested. That leave stream has ended. Another liverstreamer is on site, further from GA area.
5:50 am: Occupiers singing “Solidarity Forever” while waiting for their arrest.
5:48 am: Veteran about to be arrested at Occupy Boston: “I took an oath to defend the constitution and here I am.”
5:01 am: Occupy Boston is being evicted RIGHT NOW.
We continue to livestream on our main feed.
On Twitter, follow @Occupy_Boston, @DeweyGA, @caulkthewagon, @Fara1, #OccupyBoston, and #OBRaid for live tweets throughout the day.
We will hold a General Assembly tonight at 7 pm at the Band Stand on Boston Common.
Here is our main feed:
occupyboston on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
As many of you know, this week the temporary restraining order was lifted from the camp, which was promptly followed by a 12-hour eviction notice from the mayor, issued yesterday, giving protesters until midnight to voluntary leave Dewey Square. We did not leave we grew.
In response, over a thousand people showed up for a festive environment to protect our right to occupy Dewey square and to continue free speech. This included the Second Line Band that played until 2 am, Veterans for Peace were out in force, and street theater rogue bankers were circling the park, shouting to defend the right to private property. We took over Atlantic Avenue and set up tents in the street. It was an amazing night!
In the next 72 hours, with your help we will fill Dewey Square between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. – If you have a band, a costume, a secret stash of giant puppets – if you can show up at midnight and run a teach-in on ANY subject — if you have been wanting to organize a build party, a workshop, or a flashmob – please come out between now and Sunday! The daytime hours, from now until Sunday, will be spent cleaning, organizing, discussing, and figuring out how to move forward.
Join us by scheduling programming between the hours of 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
We’re looking for people TONIGHT, tomorrow, and Sunday, get on the schedule of events for the next 72 hours. We have GA tonight at 7pm in Dewey. We will generate an updated schedule for tonight by 6 tonight. Please be in contact with Katie or Kevin: katie.gradowski@gmail.com, kevin@occupyboston.org, and cc fsu@occupybosotn.org if you are available to occupy any time, any day after 11pm.
Occupy Boston crowd on Atlantic Ave
They came by bus from New York and DC. They carpooled from Providence and flew in from Chicago. They drove from Worcester, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Last night, demonstrating how clearly Occupy Boston’s message has been heard and understood, two thousand people traveled from near and far to defend Dewey Square. They painted signs and spoke in General Assembly. They chanted and sang, “Which Side Are You On?” six times, at least, as a brass brand blew steam into the frozen December night. They rallied at midnight, making circles two deep around tents, as the Veterans for Peace stood guard, white flags snapping in the wind. They dressed as bankers so that bankers might be arrested for once. And when the news came that no raid was coming, no eviction imminent, they danced in the streets to celebrate.
The longest continuous occupation in America continues.
Two weeks ago, a federal judge blocked a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup, saying that he could not be sure that it was “fair, adequate, or in the public interest.” Last week, on the same day that Occupy Boston appeared in court, the District Attorney announced she was suing the banks for fraudulent foreclosure practices. Commentators across the political spectrum are thinking anew about unemployment and pensions. A blocked settlement, a lawsuit, a renewed conversation – these are not our goals, but it is not too much to call them symptoms of our success, surface indications of a fundamental change we are building. We are not surprised. We have learned over the past ten weeks just how powerful the people can be. We have come together across vast differences of experience, brought face to face by the belief that our collective capacity is greater than has been shown, that democracy is not exhausted by stale puppetry sponsored by finance, and that we can do better. And now, last night only most recently, we are united by the concrete knowledge that not only can we do better, we are. We are winning.
The banks and their enablers in government present no serious claim on reason or right. Theirs is an entrenched interest secured by ill-gotten influence. One can certainly defend banking, but no one can defend these banks. This is why we march by day but they come for us by night. Why they arrest the press while we would seek it. Why it is, most importantly, that we grow stronger while they weaken. Threatened with eviction, we are beset by allies and friends. Unproductive wealth struggles to justify its inefficiency, and deceit grows helpless before a truth that has found its people. All across the world, the occupy movement has started a conversation about what is right and what is wrong about our economic systems and our governments. We hope you’ll join us throughout the day and then tonight for GA as we continue to converse together and speak out in Dewey Square.
We have occupied Dewey Square because Wall Street has occupied our government, broken our economic system, divided our country, and negatively impacted our lives for far too long. Occupation is a single tactic, but its significance is much greater than that.
By creating this public space dedicated to political discourse, we have created a social destination where anyone can become an activist. What starts as a visit to satisfy curiosity can end by participating in the decision making process of an entire community. What starts as the desire to hear a public speaker can end in the commitment to meet regularly to advocate around critical issues. This is what has grown the Occupy Movement across the country and here in Massachusetts.
Not only does this act of protesting in a physical space 24 hours a day deepen our engagement with Occupy Boston and the Occupy Movement; it also connects us with the ecosystem of community organizations whose activities predate our own. As individuals whose lives have been effected by economic injustice, we begin to see ourselves as part of a much bigger picture. Our stories gain new life as we connect them with the stories of others. In that sense, Dewey Square has become a point of outreach for a much larger movement. What starts as a passing interest can become a lifelong commitment to social and economic justice.
We have occupied Dewey Square because we have joined a movement to change the world. You can’t evict an idea.