Occupy Providence began on Saturday October 15, 2011. According to the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', well over 1,000 demonstrators, including children and adults of various ages, peacefully marched through the capital city before setting up camp at
Burnside Park in downtown Providence, RI and turning the park into a 24 hour protest. The march made its way through the streets of downtown Providence, pausing outside such institutions as
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
,
Providence Place Mall, and the
Rhode Island State House.
Finally, in January 2012, Occupy Providence agreed to suspend its 24-hour-a-day protest.
Occupy Providence participants continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions in Burnside Park in 2012, 2015, and 2016, although many fewer people attended these than the original Occupy Providence events.
Background and aims
Occupy Providence is one of over 4000
"Occupy" protests across the globe to be inspired by
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to t ...
(which began in New York City on September 17, 2011). According to the officia
Statement of Purposeas published on th
Occupy Providence websiteon October 24, 2011, participants seek socioeconomic change "by means of a truly democratic General Assembly." The
"Occupy" protests are concerned with furnishing an alternative to corporate and
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
-driven politics and with building "a society by, for, and of the people." Occupy Providence is "non-violent, non-destructive, non-discriminatory and harassment-free" and prohibits all drugs and alcohol from the site of the occupation.
Cooperation with City officials
Though a group of protestors met with Providence's Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare and other city officials on Thursday October 13, 2011, they decided to decline a city permit to inhabit Burnside Park.
More than 100 tents were erected within the first week of Occupy Providence, despite some verbal pressure from city officials for a definitive exit timeline.
At the outset of the demonstration, city officials showed cooperation with the Occupy participants as police cleared traffic for the October 15th march and General Assembly. No arrests or acts of violence have been reported to date.
On October 24, 2011 Occupy Providence activists staged a public reading of a letter to Providence Mayor
Angel Taveras
Angel Taveras (born August 18, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, from 2011 to 2015. Taveras was the first Hispanic mayor of the city and the third elected and fourth serving Domin ...
. The letter, made audible using the
human microphone system, thanked the Mayor for his cooperation thus far and requested that the protest be allowed to carry on in Burnside Park.
Many Occupy Providence participants that were interviewed by the press stated no intention of leaving the park, while others considered moving to another location. On October 26, 2011 the Boston Globe reported Steven Pare's announcement that the city will consider taking legal action if protestors refuse to end the encampment. Pare cited concern for public health and safety and an ordinance prohibiting use of public parks past 9 PM as grounds for action.
See also
Occupy articles
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List of global Occupy protest locations
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Occupy movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...
*
Timeline of Occupy Wall Street
*
We are the 99%
We are the 99% is a political slogan widely used and coined during the 2011 Occupy movement. The phrase directly refers to the income and wealth inequality in the United States, with a concentration of wealth among the top-earning 1%. It r ...
Related articles
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Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...
*
Economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
*
Grassroots movement
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
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Income inequality in the United States
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Plutocracy
A plutocracy () or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any establishe ...
*
Tea Party protests
The Tea Party protests were a series of protests throughout the United States that began in early 2009. The protests were part of the larger political Tea Party movement. Most Tea Party activities have since been focused on opposing efforts ...
*
Wealth inequality in the United States
Wealth inequality in the United States is the unequal distribution of assets among residents of the United States. Wealth commonly includes the values of any homes, automobiles, personal valuables, businesses, savings, and investments, as wel ...
References
Additional sources
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External links
Official website
{{Occupy movement
2011 in Rhode Island
Occupy movement in the United States
Nonviolent resistance movements
History of Providence, Rhode Island
Culture of Providence, Rhode Island
Organizations based in Providence, Rhode Island