For more info// Para más información:
Watch this video about May Day 2012 in Providence!
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Other May Day events in Providence:
One of the Occupy Movement’s fundamental concerns is that the wealthy have entirely too much power in this country. It is impossible to have a real democracy when the economic resources of the country are so imbalanced in favor of the rich. One way to start dealing with this issue is to demand that our government officials stop giving tax breaks to wealthy individuals and corporations. This practice has resulted in an alarming increase in the government’s deficit, it has robbed social programs of the funding they need to provide all Americans with affordable housing, health care, and education, and it has taken money from the very job training programs that would enable unemployed workers to find work.
OCCUPY PROVIDENCE IS TAKING A FIRST STEP TOWARD MORE EQUITABLE TAXATION IN OUR STATE. We are holding an action on Tuesday, April 24, at the State House, in support of bills to raise the percentage paid in state taxes by wealthy Rhode Islanders.
Please join us for an important–and fun–action next Tuesday. We will be meeting on the sidewalk in front of the Statehouse (on the train station side) at 4:45 p.m.
Invite your friends! Get there early on Tuesday, and YOU can wear a Robin Hood costume!
Hello dear friends of Occupy Providence!
As the weather has gotten gradually warmer, we have begun to re-locate our General Assemblies back to their original location at Burnside Park, AKA The People’s Park! Unfortunately, the park has been fenced off for maintenance, but we continue to meet just outside the park’s fence facing Kennedy Plaza, with the rain location being the tunnel with painted tiles in Waterplace park.
Photo by Mel St. Laurent
Our family-friendly general assembly, an open democratic meeting of the 99% where OP’s main decisions are made, meets twice a week– Please join us!
As always, check the OP Calendar for updated announcements and details.
UPCOMING SPRING EVENTS AND EXCITEMENT!
OCCUPY SEXISM: APRIL 22
It’s time to STAND UP! FIGHT BACK! On April 22nd, Occupy Sexism*, sponsored by the Rhode Island Anti-Sexism League, will be a day of action in effort to continue the dialogue around rape culture**, inspired the Slutwalk*** Toronto event of 2011, as well as carry the conversation one step further to address the many forms of sexism women, men, and persons of every gender face today.
Please join us for a day of speakers, rallying, and workshops that aim to bring awareness to and discuss way to fight back against; attacks on women and the GLBT community, reproductive rights, rape culture, sexual assault in the military, sexism in the Occupy movement, sex workers, and more.
Visit Occupy Sexism’s facebook event page.
MAY DAY 2012 IN PROVIDENCE: MAY 1
May Day Providence 2012 will be a great event organized by the May Day Coalition! For the past month, representatives from community organizations and unions have been gathering to plan the May 1st march in solidarity with workers and immigrants, as well as festivities to celebrate our rich and diverse histories. We are planning for a big day of marching, celebrating, speakers, activities, and food, so be sure to mark your calendar!
For more details visit the May Day Providence 2012 website.
If you can, please help fund this event by donating here.
SAVE THE HOUSE OF COMPASSION WEEKEND: (Update: Postponed)
As part of the efforts to save the community residence from eviction, The house of Compassion is initiating a fun weekend of painting, as well as a cookout and fun and games! In order to pass a building inspection, HOC needs supporters to help paint inside and touch up the outside of the house where paint is peeling. Please come help out, and afterwards we will eat food and be merry at this beautiful home! The more hands, the better! Visit the facebook event page here.
The House of Compassion is a community residence in Cumberland, RI for those living with HIV/AIDS and other disabilities. Read more about the HOC here. If you can, please donate to help save the home from eviction at their website.
(Update by JS)
The first issue of the Occupied Providence Journal was a success! OP members and contributors raised funds to cover printing costs for issue #1, and 3,000 copies were distributed throughout Providence and Rhode Island! The journal is also available online here. Our 2nd issue is currently in the works, and we hope to raise enough funds through public support to cover printing costs. Please consider donating whatever you can to help support our free publication. Click here to visit our WePay site, which works very similarly to PayPal– you can donate there using a credit card or debit card.
Also consider donating to Occupy Providence’s WePay here.
OCCUPY MAY 1ST
Occupy Providence members are proud to join various organizers, activists, and everyday people in Providence RI who are working in solidarity with the call to Occupy May 1st!
If you can, donate/lend supplies for the event here, or if you’d like to donate cash to help pay for other event costs, donate here. Please help spread the word— Any contribution is much appreciated, and we look forward to making May Day a big success! Please visit the Providence May Day 2012 website here.
SAVE THE HOUSE OF COMPASSION
OP members are still working to save the House of Compassion, a community residence in Cumberland RI for those living with HIV/AIDS and other disabilities, that is facing foreclosure. In addition to donations, which can be given here, volunteers are needed to help clean and prepare for upcoming inspections. Please visit the Save the House of Compassion facebook page to contact Artemis, the main organizer of this important initiative.
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Thanks for your support on these exciting projects! Look out for updates soon, and as always please be sure to check the Occupy Providence calendar regularly for upcoming events, workshops, meetings and actions.
Occupy Providence has a busy Thursday coming up!
Vice President Joe Biden is coming to the Biltmore hotel in Providence
The House of Compassion is a community residence in Cumberland, RI for those living with HIV/AIDS or with other diseases or disabilities. It opened in 1994 and has cared for over 900 residents. Occupy Providence members have formed Occupy the House of Compassion, whose mission is to save the house, which is at the risk of being auctioned off for an overdue water/sewer bill. OP is attempting to raise $16,000.00 in order to save the house and to replace the oil burner destroyed in a fire on December 15, 2011. Donations accepted at: www.houseofcompassionri.org
His administration has gone out of their way to prevent the passage of a tiny tax that could bring billions of dollars in revenue to fight AIDS, create jobs, and stop climate change. Join us and demand that Biden and Obama support a financial speculation tax now and restore funding for AIDS housing and to fight AIDS around the world! Demand:
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Occupy Education Event: On Thursday, February 23rd, as part of the national solidarity teach-in on college campuses around the country, allies from Occupy RI Campuses, Providence students, OP members, and other members of our community will attend two teach-ins prior to the march on Feb 23.
Occupy Rhode Island College invites all members of the RIC community, including students, professors, and faculty to take part in the National Solidarity Teach-in and open panel discussion being held this Wednesday during free period. The discussion will be led by a panel comprised of several professors from RIC as well as community leader Simon Moore, executive director at College Visions.
The panel will address issues regarding the broken education system in Rhode Island and in the US. The last few decades have seen skyrocketing tuition rates with no end in sight, active corporatization of our learning institutions, and student debt at its highest. These issues have affected the lives of all students by challenging their chance at upward mobility and jeopardizes the quality of our education.
This Wednesday’s teach-in is in preparation for the Occupy Education day of action on March 1st, in which students from all over the country are mobilizing to demand their right to an affordable quality education. Join us in solidarity this Wednesday at 12:30 in Fogarty RM 050 and engage in a necessary discussion regarding the state of our education. Visit OccupyRICampus.com for more information on the March 1st Occupy Education day of action.
Occupy URI’s teach-in will be in Kingston on Thursday, February 23 at 3:30pm in White Hall 205. Professor Helen Mederer will give a presentation entitled “Externalities, Corporate Profits, and Student Loan Debt.” Professor Scott Molloy will present “Fighting for Justice: Then and Now.”
After today’s Occupy RI kick-off in Bristol and the formation of Occupy East Bay group, OP is ready and excited for more upcoming Occupy events and expansion throughout RI. Now is a great time to come to a General Assembly or check our calendar for events that are of interest to you. Visit http://howtooccupy.org/ for a handy, comprehensive resource about joining in!
A lively discussion with concerned residents and perhaps the future Occupiers of the East Bay area. Where should our next outreach meeting be?
Update by Ally: Woo hoo! We had a great action at 9:00 this morning at the General Attorney’s office- we made a public statement about why Kilmartin should refuse to sign the mortgage settlement and delivered a petition with hundreds of signatures demanding that he not sign the settlement. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition!
Occupying the Attorney General's Office in the name of defrauded homeowners
For more information about this issue please visit:
Tonight’s Inter-occupy General Call will also have a special focus on this issue!
“Wall Street strikes another blow to Main Street: this week the Department of Justice and most of the 50 State Attorneys General will give the Wall Street banks a “Get Out of Jail Free” Card. Ellen Brown and Michael Sauvante will be participants in the call and can discuss this issue. “This call is for anyone who wants to end the continued economic injustices perpetuated by Wall Street and enabled by the Federal Government, which is now enrolling State Attorneys General to settle. We will discuss what this specific new injustice is and what can be done.”
The House of Compassion is a community residence in Cumberland, RI for those living with HIV/AIDS and other disabilities. It opened in 1994 and has cared for over 900 residents. Occupy Providence members have formed Occupy the House Of Compassion, whose mission is to save the house, which was auctioned off over overdue water/sewer bill. They are attempting to raise $16000 in order to save the house and to replace the oil burner which was destroyed in a fire on Dec 15, 2011. We must save this amazing loving home!
Members of Occupy Providence have autonomously created the following petition. We have until Monday! SIGN THE PETITION HERE: https://www.change.org/petitions/attorney-general-of-rhode-island-hold-wall-street-accountable-for-its-fraud
Exposé by Matt Taibbi.
The rule of law must be applied equally to all people. Yet, the most massive organized crime spree in history has not only gone unpunished, but has actually been rewarded with trillions of dollars of bailouts and interest free loans to the criminals responsible. In order to re-establish trust in our political and economic systems, justice must be served.
Throughout the housing bubble era and its disastrous unwind, Wall Street committed fraud upon fraud against the American public and indeed the whole world. From the fraudulent origination of subprime mortgages; to the establisment of the Mortgage Electronic Registry System (MERS) to bypass the land registry system; to the illegitimate pooling and servicing agreements in the securitization process; to the false credit ratings then given to the consequent Mortgage Backed Securities and their derivatives; and finally to the illegal forclosures attained by robosigning false notes and affidavits; the whole process was and is criminal.
We, the people of Rhode Island, ask you, Attorney General Kilmartin, to not let these crimes go unpunished. Join other states like New York, Massachusetts, and Nevada in prosecuting Wall Street for mortgage fraud, and don’t sign on to any mortgage settlement that absolves the mortgage bankers of their responsibility for their subprime lending and the resulting invalid and illegal repossessions of our homes. Moreover, we call upon you to launch an investigation of foreclosure fraud in Rhode Island
It is an exciting time of change and evolution for Occupy Providence! We have plenty of things to celebrate this winter and we are looking forward to an action-packed Spring, for which we are already planning events and actions. Here’s a brief update on what’s going on!
WINTER DAY SHELTER OPENS AT EMMANUEL HOUSE
OP members tour Emmanuel House
OP members tour Emmanuel House
After maintaining a 24-hour-a-day-protest at The People’s Park for over 100 days, Occupy Providence will suspend the overnight portion of its occupation on January 29th, in conjunction with last Wednesday’s opening of the day shelter at Emmanuel House! When city officials cited winter safety concerns as compelling reasoning for Occupy Providence members to vacate Burnside Park— The People’s Park— occupiers voiced their own concern for some of the most disenfranchised members of the Rhode Island community: unemployed and underemployed people and families who are currently experiencing homelessness, and who do not have the means to escape the harsh winter safety concerns cited by the city. Until now, Providence has lacked a day center, sheltering homeless Rhode Islanders at night but closing night shelter doors as early as 6:00am or 7:00am, forcing many individuals to seek shelter and warmth in public spaces until night shelters reopen. Occupy Providence has agreed to temporarily suspend its overnight tent occupation in the park on the condition that the city open an unused facility to be converted into a day center during the harsh winter months, providing families and individuals with shelter, transitional resources and services, and the opportunity to avoid the harsh winter safety concerns insisted upon by officials.
While visiting the day center on its opening day, one OP member observed twenty to twenty-five people utilizing the new center by 11:30am, with more coming in during the span of his visit. This is a victory for OP and for our community! (Read more here)
OCCUPY WALL STREET/OCCUPY MEXICO VISIT PROVIDENCE
21 members of the Occupy movement from New York and Mexico arrived in Providence this week! They are participating in a 5-week-tour, where they will visit other occupations throughout the North East. Their first stop was Occupy Providence! After celebrating their arrival and sharing food at a potluck, the occupiers collaborated on a skill-sharing workshop! Be sure to follow the group’s travels on twitter @OWSBus.
VIDEO: OWS visits Occupy Providence
OP PLANS FOR SPRING
OP Members begin their re-seeding initiative in November.
Despite the temporary suspension of OP’s overnight encampment, Occupy Providence is energized and committed to continue organizing, planning direct actions, and exercising our right to free speech and expression. The opening of the day center is just one of many victories, and OP plans to expand on its already long list of completed actions and events, continuing its struggle against mass economic injustice. In addition to the actions which have taken place throughout winter, OP members are anticipating an action-packed Spring season as we begin to plan and organize for the warmer weather. Occupy Providence members remain committed to leaving The People’s Park in better condition than we found it, maintaining our initiative to re-seed the park’s grass as soon as weather permits. As always, be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming events— OP is more energized than ever!
Update by Jade
Today, Saturday January 28, OP is going to march and rally in celebration of the opening of the day center!
There is a call for assembly members who feel comfortable protesting over night to join us for a sleep over. Then there will be a dance party! Sunday will be a community clean up day of the park. Burnside park is officially renamed the People’s Park!
3pm-Start rallying at park
3-4 pm -March
Dance party time tba! Come join us for a fun last night in the park before we temporarily suspend our overnight encampment at People’s park for the winter! Please also join us on Sunday when we will have a community clean up day and remove items and tents from the park.
**Occupy Providence working groups, General Assemblies, & Direct Actions will CONTINUE as always. Repeat: there will be NO break in OP activity whatsoever. In fact, we had several non-day center related actions this week, and a major action for the Spring is being planned now. We encourage anyone who is interested in making their voice heard to join a working group & participate in General Assembly. Schedule / Info is always available on the website calendar and on facebook.
On 1/27/2012, the general assembly voted to reduce the GA schedule to 2 meeting times a week for winter.
Location:
GA Agenda:
Facilitation can still call emergency GA’s.
Come down to the next GA at Burnside Park, Mike’s studio at 131 Washington street, or another location TBA to participate in direct democracy!
Hey all. Here’s a brief report back from our first InterOcc event, AKA the Occutrip!
The occutrippers all have somewhere to sleep whether it be the park or indoors and plan to take part of any meetings we have tomorrow! They WILL be joining us at our rally tomorrow also! They love it here and we love them being here. Channel 10 showed up (womp womp)
I plan to have a dance party in the domes or outside weather permitting to send them off properly! If anyone can find that generator we used just for one night it would help!
Thanks for reading! Please come tomorrow for the rally and to make them feel welcome.!
In solidarity and struggle,
MaGee (Amanda,Dj MaGee,Dj Autonomous,your sister/friend)