Voices from the 99 Percent: An Oral History of the Occupy Wall Street Movement

"This is the first communique from the 99 percent. We are occupying Wall Street." With those words, the Occupy Wall Street movement announced its presence to the world. Within just four weeks, the Occupy movement spread across the country and around the globe, and drastically changed the terms of political debate in the US. OWS is the first mass movement to appear in the US during the Internet age. Technically savvy, the Occupiers posted events as they happened, on the Web, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, livestreams, blogs, and other online resources. There were gripping accounts of being in the center of police actions in Boston and New York. There were hopeful pleas for social change. There were energetic calls to action. There were thoughtful descriptions of a new way of political organizing that had never been seen before in the US, revolving around words like "General Assemblies" and "consensus" and "Working Groups." OWS was not only making history--it was writing it as well. This is the story of Occupy Wall Street, in its own words. All proceeds from this book are being donated to the Occupy Wall Street Movement.