"The exhausted political machines and their PR slicks are already seeking leaders to elevate, messages to claim, talking points to move on. They, more than anyone, will attempt to seize and shape this moment. They are racing to reach the front of the line. But how can they run out in front of something that is in front of them? They cannot. For Wall Street and Washington, the demand is not on them to give us something that isn't theirs to give. It's ours. It's on us. We aren't going anywhere. We just got here."I've had occasion recently to review several Declarations of Occupation from U.S. cities large and small. Many are straight copies of Occupy Wall Street's Declaration. The ones that differ, though they may not speak for all the movement, provide additional explanation and perspective upon the national messaging and plan of action of the movement.
--Unsigned editorial, The Occupied Wall Street Journal, Issue 2
- "Build a democratic, just, and sustainable world."
-- Declaration of the Occupation of Washington D.C., November 15th - "We have gathered here to dissolve the bonds between corporations and government... reestablish justice and ensure economic, social, and democratic equality; and to promote the general welfare of the 99%"
-- Declaration of Occupation, Lexington, November 8th - "We stand together to take back control of our government from those who use their wealth to obstruct the democratic process."
-- Declaration of the Occupation of Jacksonville, November 23rd - "...the opportunity and power to effect change will be evenly distributed amongst all."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Missoula, October 27th
- "Create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone."
-- Declaration of the Occupation of New York City, October 1st - "...face them together in Peaceable Assembly, acting in solidarity with Occupy Wall St. and the numerous Occupy movements around our Nation and the World."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Lexington, November 8th - "...start(ed) a nationwide conversation about the realities of economic inequality and the meaning of Constitutional rights."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Boston, November 29th - "...to raise awareness about corporate greed and corruption within the major banks as well as to bring attention to a multitude of community interests (including, but not limited to: assisting the homeless population, assisting our education system to meet the needs of students and teachers and decreasing violence in our neighborhoods)... We will educate the local community, regarding issues of National interest that have and are contributing to the collapse of the economy and to the saddening reversal of the American Dream."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Atlantic City, November 7th - "Our response to these myriad issues rooted in undisguised greed, corruption, and inequality is to face them together in Peaceable Assembly..."
-- Declaration of Occupation - Lawrence - 2011-10-15 - "...a call to all individuals to become actively involved in the financial, political, environmental, and social decisions that impact our lives and the well being of those around us."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Lexington, November 8th
- "Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space."
-- Declaration of the Occupation of New York City, October 1st - "Exercise your right to peaceably assemble and reclaim the commons."
-- Declaration of the Occupation of Washington D.C., November 15th - "Together, we set a precedent and provide a foothold (emphasis mine) for people to demand a truer, more horizontal democracy (at the occupation)."
-- Declaration of Occupation, Boston, November 29th
- Goal: the Declarations are very clear and consistent that their goal is a more democratic government and a more equal society.
- Strategies: again, the Declarations clearly and consistently call for education and discussion at a national level to generate solutions acceptable and accessible to all.
- Tactic: consistently call for use of the right of assembly.
Below you'll find links and quick-take summaries on all the local Declarations of Occupation that I have found. Note that in cases where an occupation has adopted the New York Declaration with virtually no changes I have not listed them. These are in alphabetical order by city. I guess it's just my inner librarian surfacing. My apologies if I have gathered some of the documents from unofficial sites; there may be cases in which the search results promoted such URLs much higher than the official ones.
- Declaration of Occupation - Atlantic City - 2011-11-07: emphasis on community education and good citizenship.
- Declaration of Occupation - Boston - 2011-11-29: emphasis on the occupation as a microcosm of an alternative, better society.
- Declaration of Occupation - Jacksonville - 2011-11-23: emphasis on community education and subsequent action. Note: while all the Declarations are implied calls for accountability for those responsible for national economic problems, this may be the only one that does so explicitly.
- Declaration of Occupation - Lansing - 2011-10-24: variation on the New York document, incorporating local issues.
- Declaration of Occupation - Lawrence - 2011-10-15: mostly a meeting announcement, but with a refreshing candor. "The problems which we face are numerous, and they cannot be distilled into a single issue or demand."
- Declaration of Occupation - Lexington - 2011-11-08: calls for community education and participation. This is one of the more moving of the Declarations. Note: the photo of the little girl above is from the news article which printed the declaration.
- Declaration of Occupation - Missoula - 2011-10-27: probably features the most attention to environmental issues of the documents reviewed.
- Declaration of the Occupation of New York City - 2011-09-29. The mother ship.
- Declaration of Occupation - Tallahassee - undated: a short "who we are" statement.
- Declaration of Occupation - Texas State University - undated: focus on education and community.
- Declaration of Occupation - Tucson - 2011-11-12: many condemnations and demands. Much more a policy guidelines document than a grievances document.
- The Declaration of Occupy (Washington) D.C. - 2011-11-30: somewhat greater emphasis on the anti-war and governmental power aspects than others.