*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10th, 2011*

Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media

We Will Occupy

On Monday, October 10, 2011, 10,000 people marched from Boston Common to Dewey Square to the North Washington Bridge in support of Occupy Boston and to demand fundamental and lasting economic and political reform.. At the same time, Occupy Boston expanded to an adjoining section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to accommodate the many hundreds of people who come daily to join the occupation. This peaceful expansion was undertaken to make a place for everyone in our movement.

At approximately 18:00 the Boston Police Department informed Occupy Boston that if they did not clear the site by nightfall, they would be forcibly removed. In response, Occupy Boston has issued a renewed call for any and all people to join the occupation as soon as possible. From the beginning, occupiers have worked tirelessly to maintain a positive working relationship with city officials. Today’s threats by the Boston Police Department represent a sudden shift away from that dialogue. Since making camp on September 30, Occupy Boston has maintained that it will non-violently resist any attempt to end the protest before we have achieved the change we seek.

The outpouring of public support demonstrates that Occupy Boston’s message of bringing economic reform to Wall Street and ending the influence of special interests on government. This message has resonated nationwide. According to a recent poll by Rasmussen, 79% of Americans agree with the occupiers that “The big banks got bailed out but the middle class got left behind.” Rasmussen also reported that the movement boasts higher favorability ratings than Congress or the Tea Party.

Occupy Boston stands united with over 120 similar Occupy protests, which have sprung up across the nation since Occupy Wall Street began just over three weeks ago. We seek the restoration of the social rights to housing, healthcare and education. We demand an end to the endemic, international corruption of our legislative bodies by corporate interests. Speaking only the words we have been taught, we ask for freedom, justice, and equality. We will be satisfied with nothing less.

“We are the 99 percent and we are no longer silent.”

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Police are gathering in mass to remove Occupy Boston campers from the North Camp expansion and possibly from the Main Camp tonight at midnight, by force if necessary. We are calling for all able-bodied volunteers to come lock arms with us in solidarity and defend this Occupation from any police presence that may arrive. Please write the number for the National Lawyers Guild, 617-227-7335 on your body as well as a personal contact, and in the event of your arrest call a family member or other trusted contact with that information so the NLG can represent you.

For ongoing updates follow @Occupy_Boston on twitter or text “OccupyBoston” as one word to 443322.

Boston, MA, October 10, 2011 – Occupy Boston ratified a statement of solidarity with indigenous peoples at the Saturday October 8­ General Assembly. Recognizing that “we are guests upon stolen indigenous land,” the memo declares the Occupation movement must honor the history and wisdom of Native Americans and resolves that Columbus Day henceforth be referred to as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. ­

The memo was drafted by a small working committee of the General Assembly and ratified by consensus after some deliberation. Boston thus became the first city in the broader “Occupation movement” to clearly declare its solidarity with indigenous peoples. Occupy Boston has released one other statement so far – an internal document prohibiting white supremacy, patriarchy, and several other forms of oppressive behavior within the camp (posted October 4 at www.occupyboston.com).

Drafters and supporters celebrated its ratification and see the resolution’s content as consistent with the values of Occupy Boston. Martin Dagoberto declared, “calling this movement an ‘occupation’ without recognizing the historical context of occupation excludes a long-marginalized segment of the 99% – native peoples. ” Referencing Native American critics of Occupy Wall Street, (http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/decolonize-wall-street/). Dagoberto continued, “If we’re going to tap into the people power of the entire 99%, we need to avoid the same old systems of deeply ingrained oppression. In this way, we can ‘Decolonize’ this movement, and cast off the colonizer mindset at the root of the very crisis we face.”

“Decolonize Wall Street” has emerged as a critique of the Occupy Wall Street movement. As stated in the #decolonizewallstreet flier distributed over recent days in New York, “colonization continues to this day, with indigenous communities across the globe still under attack. To dismantle corporate greed and imagine a different world we must make connections between the histories of colonialism, genocide, capitalism, human trafficking, globalization, racism, imperialism, ecocide, patriarchy and so much more.”

Activists have been camped out in Boston’s Dewey Square in the heart of the city’s financial district since September 30. Boston is one of hundreds of occupations worldwide, sparked by Occupy Wall Street. Messages and motives vary, but all seem outraged at the fleecing of the silent majority– the 99% – by banks, corporations, and a government beholden to private financial interests rather than the good of the people.

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In preparation for their march with Occupy Boston today, MassUniting and the Right to the City Alliance released the following advisory to the press early this morning. Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with these groups in their mission to bring reform to Wall Street and to create more good paying jobs, but does not endorse them.

Hundreds are set to march in support of good jobs this afternoon, as the MASSUNITING coalition and national Right to the City Alliance gather in solidarity with #OccupyBoston. The march, which will run from Dewey Square to the Charlestown Bridge, comes on the eve of an expected US Senate vote on the American Jobs Act.

“With so many people out of work, we need action on job creation, and we need it now,” said Jay Chambers, an unemployed ironworker who has been with the #OccupyBoston camp since day one. “We can’t just sit idly by while the politicians in Washington play political games with our jobs and our livelihoods. It’s time to take the fight to the streets.”

The Charlestown Bridge is one of many tunnels, bridges, and highways across the country that have been deemed structurally deficient – and many require considerable work to be brought back into compliance. Repairing these structures is a significant part of President Obama’s American Jobs Act, which would not only bring needed jobs to the Bay State, but would also ensure the safety of all those crossing the bridge.

As proposed, the American Jobs Act would invest upwards of $850.7 million in Massachusetts’ bridges, roads and transit systems – creating at least 11,000 local jobs. The US Senate has scheduled a preliminary vote on the bill for Tuesday.