Two years ago hundreds of people began to occupy Zuccotti Park in New York City in the heart of Wall Street. That occupation, Occupy Wall Street (OWS), exploded into hundreds of occupations around the country within a matter of weeks. We’ll speak to three people who were part of OWS. Laura Gottesdiener who recently published” A Dream Foreclosed” will speak about Occupy Our Homes. Goldi Guerra will speak about the ongoing Occupy Sandy efforts including organizing for long term recovery in the affected areas. And Justin Wedes will announce a new financial service for the unbanked and underbanked, the Occupy Money cooperative.
Listen here:
Where is the Occupy Movement 2 Years Later? with Laura Gottesdiener, Goldi Guerra and Justin Wedes by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Watch here (sound not working):
Relevant articles, books and websites:
Status of the Resistance Movement: Growing, Deepening, Succeeding by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
A Dream Foreclosed: Black America and the Fight for a Place to Call Home by Laura Gottesdiener
Post-Sandy Staten Island Still in Need by Goldi Guerra
Staten Island Long Term Recovery Organization
Occupy Wall Street, Two Years On: We’re Still the 99% by Justin Wedes
Occupy Money Cooperative website
Guests:
Laura Gottesdiener is a freelance journalist and editor at the online magazine Waging Nonviolence. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The Nation, Ms. magazine and other outlets. Her first book, A Dream Foreclosed: Black America and the Fight for a Place to Call Home was published in August 2013 by Zuccotti Park Press.
Goldi Guerra is an Occupy Wall Street activist harkening from day one at Liberty Square in NYC. At Liberty Square he worked primarily in Direct Action and Music Working Groups and was a key organizer of the Guitarmy Action Group (Guitarmy.org). He helped produce Mayday 2012 concert, the 99 Mile March (summer 2012), S16 one year anniversary concert and the Guitarmy occupations of the Bronx courthouse and Barclays Center. Since Hurricane Sandy he has been an Occupy Sandy volunteer at a relief hub in Staten Island. He is a on the board of directors of the Staten Island Long Term Recovery Organization and the executive committee of the LES Long Term Recovery Group. For more information on the relief effort, visit: OccupySandy.net, NYCPrepared.org, SISandyHelp.org, LESReady.org, BronxPrepared.org, Rebuildajustny.org/.
Justin Wedes is an educator and activist living in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. A graduate of the University of Michigan with degrees in Physics and Linguistics with High Honors, Justin has taught formerly truant and low-income youth in subjects ranging from science to media literacy and social justice activism. A founding member of the New York City General Assembly (NYCGA), the group that brought you Occupy Wall Street, Justin continues his education activism with the Grassroots Education Movement, Class Size Matters, and now serves as the Co-Principal of the Paul Robeson Freedom School. In his (fleeting) spare time, Justin enjoys biking, running, chess, and playing the ’77 Fender Rhodes stage piano to his heart’s delight.