All photographs by Gabriele Holterman-Gorden

At 2PM on Wednesday, Foley Square was virtually empty except for a few photographers, union organizers and members of the press, who had arrived early for the planned 4:30 Occupied Wall Street march.

I thought I saw Pete Seeger on the steps of the courthouse, but it was just an old, skinny guy playing the banjo.

By 3:30 the Square was getting crowded. Donna Minkowitz, author of Ferocious Romance: What My Encounters With the Right Taught Me About Sex, God and Fury decided to attend the march after hearing that union members were joining. “I am very angry about what has happened to our country. I want to stand up in social solidarity and dream of a society in which people take care of each other.”

An organizer from UnitedNY.org (above), an advocacy group, addressed a crowd of members in red and black t-shirts:  “We will stay orderly and safe and we will make our voices heard as we march to Zuccotti Park.”

A  fringe group no more, those who gathered at Foley Square on Wednesday afternoon represented all stratums of New York  City life. A true rainbow, it was multi-age, multi-color, multi-class. There were seasoned politicos, as well as those who’d never felt compelled to attend a demonstration.

Reading t-shirts was the best way to discern which groups had decided to take part: National Nurses United, United Federation of Teacher, Transport Workers Union, Communications Workers, The Writers Union, Amalgamated Transit Union, The American Dream Movement,  The Brooklyn Food Coalition, Working Families Party, and many more…

By 4PM, a thick crowd covered the square and even spilled onto the steps of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, the Supreme Court building, and the US Court of Appeals. Waiting for the march to begin, strangers talked to strangers and friends found each other despite the thick crowd. I overheard a retired Communication Workers of America member talking to a young Verizon worker. “Bloomberg has turned New York into a haven for the super rich. I grew up in Soho and I can’t afford to live here. I can’t even afford to get lunch here.”

Ed Schultz, the msnbc pundit and star of The Ed Show, attracted a devoted crowd of union workers, to whom he is a hero, as he joined the march. The author of  Killer Politics: How Big Money and Bad Politics Are Destroying the Great American Middle Class, Schultz shook hands and talked to reporters.

A man carrying a flag of the Corporate United States explained that he bought the flag, an American flag with corporate logos instead of stars, online for $30.

“I just want to live on an organic farm,” I overheard a college student telling a middle-aged man.  “I hope there will be a planet when you get older,” the man told the student.

China Daily was on hand interviewing a student at the march about why she was there: “Everyone should have enough. Everyone should have what they need. Corporations got bailed out, but what is happening to our democracy. We need job creation. Students are graduating with huge debts. We need healthcare for everyone.”

The signs said it all: We are the 99%; This is the first time I’ve felt hopeful in a long time; Fairness and Integrity; The People are too big to fail; 99%>1; Compassion is the new gold standard; I feel hope…

I stopped Reverend Billy for a quick quote as he sauntered through the crowd in his trademark white clerical suit: “We are where all revolutionaries before us have been. We don’t know where we are, we don’t know what’s ahead. It’s a nice place to be and I’m very happy,” he told me.

At 4:30, Foley Square was claustrophobically crowded as people streamed south from Center Street and from nearby side streets, including students and faculty from CUNY.

Union representatives and politicians speechified on a stage on the south side Foley Square. An African-American singer improvised slogans she asked the crowd to repeat: “Standing tall and looking good, we ought to be in Hollywood.”

Finally, when it came time to march, the crowd was too big to move. Many felt penned in as the police waited to open the barricades, which would allow the crowd to move.

Not one to be penned in, I walked with difficulty to the edge of the crowd and insisted that a cop allow me and a woman with a sleeping child to get out onto Center Street. He had to consult with his white shirted superior and finally let us out. Liberated, we were “allowed” to stand on Duane Street, which was uncrowded.

From across the street, I could see that people were getting angry at the police for keeping them penned in. The demonstrators should have been informed by organizers how they would be funneled down Center Street. Information would have gone a long way towards making people feel safe, comfortable and less angry.

Slowly, the crowd was funnelled from different parts of Foley Square down Center Street and right onto Chambers Street past the Tweed Courthouse. It was slow going until the crowd reaced Broadway.

Once on Broadway, the march really hit its stride; people were peaceful, joyful, enthusiastic to be there and very vocal.  A carnival atmosphere with a serous message, the streets were bursting with a kalediscope of agendas. Every few feet there was a different refrain by a different group of marchers.

We’re here; we’re queer; we’re fabulous; don’t fuck with us!”

A trumpet player tooted along with “The people united will never be defeated.”

“This is what democracy looks like.”

At Park Place, I ran into some friends, who told me excitedly that the crowd was 20,000 strong. I later heard the number estimated at 15,000. Phyllis Stern a middle aged editor and writer, stood on the sidelines watching the stream of New Yorkers go  by: “I feel inspired, I feel invigorated. I grew up as an activist but it’s been a while since I’ve seen people out here. My heart is here.”

An attractive older woman walked up to us. She was wearing a lace covering on her face. “I am a fashionable terrorist,” she said and handed me a poem:

Resist

with altruism, alone and all together

bravely, boldy

creatively, conscientiously, constantly

with devotion, determination

daily…

On the subway ride home, a 19-year old student from Polytechnic NYU held a “We are the 99%” sign. He seemed invigorated. “So glad to be part of something like the 1960’s, the protests against the Vietnam War. It’s going to get bigger,” he told me.

I am in downtown Manhattan where I take court reporting classes. In a few hours I will join today’s Occupy Wall Street march (4:30 at Foley Square at Center and Duane streets) that will include union members, the Working Families Party and many of my neighbors and friends.

This thing is getting big. Amazing how a “scrappy” group of college kids occupying a park in Lower Manhattan inspired organized labor to march along.

A friend asked me today, “So what’s it all about, what are their demands?” I told him it’s a leaderless (and fast growing) group, with no specific demands. They do, however, have a Declaration, that was written and voted upon by the group’s General Assembly a few days ago. Hey, it’s a democratic group and they all somehow managed to agree on the following:

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known…

Read the rest here.

Sharon Mesmer will perform on October 6th.

Transformations on the Tongue: Texts in Performance

Brooklyn Reading Works, now in its 6th year, presents monthly thematic readings by illustrious and emerging authors at The Old Stone House in Park Slope Brooklyn, a reconstructed 1699 Dutch farmhouse that was central to the Battle of Brooklyn and is a now museum and arts center.

On Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 8PM, poet Patrick Smith curates Transformation on the Tongue with a group of great writers whose work transcends the page when spoken aloud.

Great writers are not always enjoyable performers of their own work, but the writers in this event invite the listener in, and open up the space for the unexpected resonances that become available when voices make the words sing.

Featuring poet Sharon Mesmer (The Virgin Formica, Annoying Diabetic Bitch), novelist Tom Rayfiel (Colony Girl, Eve in the City, Parallel Play), songwriter and recording artist Debbie Deane, author and essayist Ame Gilbert (Divorce and the Kitchen), and poet/playwright Pat Smith (Driving Around the House, Not in the News Today).

Thought provoking, illuminating and always entertaining, Brooklyn Reading Works is a great night out (glass of wine included).

When: Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 8PM

Where: The Old Stone House in Park Slope on 3rd Street between 5th and 4th Avenues. Note: due to construction in the park enter from west side of the house.

What else: $5 suggested donation includes wine and refreshments. Books for sale.

For more information about the authors and the event please contact Louise Crawford at 718-288-4290 or louise_crawford@yahoo.com

BROOKLYN READING WORKS 2011-21012 SEASON (all events at 8PM)

September 15, 2011: Italian Americans: History, Politics and the Everyday curated by Joanna Clapps Herman

October 6, 2011: Tranformations on the Tongue curated by Pat Smith

November 17, 2011: Make Mine a Double (Why Women Like Us Like to Drink) curated by Gina Barreca

December 8, 2011: A Taste of Salt, a reading with novelist Martha Southgate and others

January 19, 2001: The Truth and the Ghost Writer curated by John Guidry

February 16, 2012: New Plays by Brooklyn Playwrights curated by Rosemary Moore

March 15, 2012: The Year of the Dragon: Voices from the East curated by Sophia Romero

April 19, 2012: An event curated by Marian Fontana

May 10, 2012: Edgy Mother’s Day curated by Louise Crawford and Sophia Romero

I have a fantasy that Occupy Wall Street (OWS) will become something big, something special, and something really important.

Why?

Because this country needs an articulate and thoughtful dissident movement to help it find its way again.

Inspired by the Arab Spring of 2011, the movement is leaderless and yet its stance of discontent,  non-violence and democratic idealism seems to resonate with many who are frustrated with the economic and political situation in our country.

OWS is for those who believe that our values are skewed. It is for those who believe that jobs, affordable housing, good education and healthcare should be a right not a privilege.

It is for people who are tired of the greed, entitlement, salaries, and bonuses of a small class of people who  have more than everyone else.

Some complain that OWS doesn’t have a cohesive platform, a list of demands, or an identifiable leader or political candidate.  I think, at least for now, that is one of its strengths. The amorphousness of it allows people like me to attribute to it everything we think would make this country better. If there was a platform, there would be a moment of, ah, I’m not sure I agree with that, or I don’t like that leader, or I can’t align myself with those beliefs.

In its current amorphous state OWS can contain multitudes and that’s a good thing right now.

I love that Zuccotti Park is like a little society (or maybe it’s like an Internet start up firm) with a reception area, a media zone, a medical area, a library, and a food area. Maybe they need a policy and/or branding department where strategists can help devise a cohesive message.

I love that there’s a daily schedule posted on the website with daily meetings and information about marches. For the organizers, social networking is second nature; they were born into it.

I love that the occupiers order pizza from a local pizzeria, and then use the pizza boxes to make sometimes witty signs.

I love that its young people. And elderly. And middle-aged.

For 17 days, the press seemed to be ignoring the “occupation” and treating it like a joke. On Saturday, many people (all ages and colors)  joined the march and 700 were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge and now the press seems to be attentive.

For now, OWS feels like the pulse of the city. It seems to, in some way, address the discontent and fear that’s been hovering just above the surface of life these past few years. Fear about the future, fear for our children’s future, fear for our ability to sustain ourselves in a hostile economic environment.

The people are speaking. And occupying, And dreaming that things can be different and better some time soon.

We’ll see what happens.

In the spirit of seeing for myself what’s been going on for the last 17 days with Occupy Wall Street, I took the subway into Manhattan to catch Saturday’s march scheduled for 3PM. At Liberty Street and Broadway I joined the marchers, who were chanting: “Banks got balied out, we got sold out.”

It was hard to tell how many people were marching but the west sidewalk of Broadway was packed with people of all ages and colors from Liberty Street up to the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a large police presence on the street side of Broadway keeping the  marchers on the sidewalk, making sure they didn’t spill out into the street.

Chanting, “We are the 99%,” some of the marchers waved at the police, “thanks for keeping us safe.” When I accidentally walked into the street, a cop was quick to reprimand me, “Stay on the sidewalk, lady.” That happened more than once in the crosswalks.

The people who were marching near me were peaceful, friendly and excited to be part of this fledgling movement. One woman, a 43-year old unemployed teacher, came down from New Paltz this morning by herself.

“You can’t wait for other people, you have to do what feels right,” she told. me.

Recently she was laid off from her job as a teacher at a Sullivan County BOCES, a job she’d held for twelve years.

“This movement needs a PR campaign,” she told me. “We need a great slogan which sums up what it’s about.”

Despite the lack of a cohesive message, she felt drawn to the protest because of the dire economic situation and the high level of unemployment, she told me.

“I’d rather be working might be a good slogan. I should have made a sign. Maybe I’ll put it on a pizza box,” she told me.

Pizza boxes are an oft used material for signage at these Occupied Wall Street marches.  I was unable to estimate how many people were marching but there must have been a few thousand.  I was definitely in the middle of the march and there were many blocks of people behind me and above me.

“This is what democracy looks like” chanted the crowd as we crossed Broadway towards the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. There was a bottleneck as the crowd was funneled onto the bridge Some members of the march went right towards the Brooklyn bound car lanes.  It was clear that those who went in that direction were preparing to get arrested because they would be blocking traffic. Some Occupy Wall Street organizers warned people not to go in that direction. “If you go there you will be arrested.” At first, the police seemed to be letting people onto the car lanes. But then a high level cop with a megaphone told people not to go there.

The bridge looked crowded with demonstrators at 4:00 p.m. I chose not to get on the bridge because I was worried that I might get trapped there or arrested. I had the feeling that the protesters had permission to use the bridge’s walkway. But I noticed a policeman with plastic handcuffs on his belt loops and that was an ominous sign.

By 6:30PM, I heard on WNYC radio that upwards of 75 people have been arrested on the Brooklyn  Bridge and elsewhere. Brooklyn-bound bridge traffic is closed and it’s a terrible traffic situation at the moment.

Despite the outcome, the march had a spirited and peaceful quality. I spoke with Hank H., a 54-year-old man from Connecticut, who came down this morning because he feels betrayed by the Obama administration.

“He sold himself as the candidate of hope and change and then he betrayed us,” he said.

Of the Wall Street occupiers he said, “This group is reasserting the power to use public space in a democratic manner. That’s democratic with a small d.” As he walked away he told me to stay safe.

“Occupying public space is a metaphor for occupying political space,” he said as we parted.

And indeed, that’s precisely what was going on today in lower Manhattan.

It’s 9:24PM and the New York Times reports that 400 people have been arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge car lanes.

At 6:14AM the New York Times reports:

In a tense showdown above the East River, the police arrested more than 700 demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street protests who took to the roadway as they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

The police said it was the marchers’ choice that led to the enforcement action.

“Protesters who used the Brooklyn Bridge walkway were not arrested,” Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, said. “Those who took over the Brooklyn-bound roadway, and impeded vehicle traffic, were arrested.”

But many protesters said they believed the police had tricked them, allowing them onto the bridge, and even escorting them partway across, only to trap them in orange netting after hundreds had entered.

“The cops watched and did nothing, indeed, seemed to guide us onto the roadway,” said Jesse A. Myerson, a media coordinator for Occupy Wall Street who marched but was not arrested.