The following proposal passed the General Assembly of Occupy Boston on February 9, 2012:
To have a GA on April 1st at 5:30 PM in Dewey Square in place of the Action Assembly.
Occupy Kindergarten: The Rich-Poor Divide Starts With Education
Economic class is increasingly becoming the great dividing line of American education.
The New York Times has published a roundup of recent research showing the growing academic achievement gap between rich and poor students. It prominently features a paper by Stanford sociologist Sean F. Reardon, which found that, since the 1960s, the difference in test scores between affluent and underprivileged students has grown 40%, and is now double gap between black and white students.
The children of the wealthy are pulling away from their lower-class peers — the same way their parents are pulling away from their peers’ parents. When it comes to college completion rates, the rich-poor gulf has grown by 50% since the 1980s. Upper income families are also spending vastly more on their children compared to the poor than they did 40 years ago, and spending more time as parents cultivating their intellectual development.
The Power of the Occupy Movement
You may question the power of the Occupy movement, but think back less than a year ago. The Tea Party was setting the agenda: the federal deficit and national debt were preeminent issues, President Obama was anxious to trim Social Security, Medicare and other essential social services in order to get any kind of deal with the newly powerful and recalcitrant GOP leadership. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner had this president by the short hairs, and Barack Obama seemed eager to cut any deal he could. Millionaires and billionaires didn’t need to worry about losing their tax breaks.
Fast forward to September of last year. Occupy Wall Street goes to the heart of the financial industry, and within weeks the focus of political discussion had changed to the corruption without accountability of Big Banks, and the wide gap in wealth between the One Percent and the 99%. Issues of class and economic fairness that had been swept under the rug for years suddenly became issues for discussion. Middle class Americans began to understand that corporations and the wealthy were paying a lower tax rate than they were.
Across U.S., Occupy movement preparing for its next phase
The Occupy Wall Street encampments that sprang up in scores of cities last fall, thrusting “We are the 99 percent” into the vernacular, have largely been dismantled, with a new wave of crackdowns and evictions. Since clashes last month in Oakland, Calif., headlines have dwindled, too.
Far from dissipating, groups around the country say they are preparing for a new phase of larger marches and strikes this spring that they hope will rebuild momentum and cast an even brighter glare on inequality and corporate greed. But without the visible camps or clear goals, can Occupy become a lasting force for change? Will disruptive protests do more to galvanize or alienate the public?
Though still loosely organized, the movement is putting down roots in many cities. Activists in Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa, have rented offices, a significant change for groups accustomed to holding open-air assemblies or huddling in tents in bad weather.
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The panel of women /Photo by Matthew J Shochat
On February 6th, 2012, at 6pm, several Occupy Boston protesters and supporters met at St. Paul’s Cathedral on 138 Tremont Street for a Community Gathering hosted by the Women’s Caucus. The first portion of the night was introducing a panel of guest speakers and the work they have accomplished within a male-dominated society. After this, members of the audience asked questions of those on the panel. The next part of the event was a Fishbowl of Occupiers in which 8 individuals discussed their past experiences as women facing gender oppression, including within the home as transportation objects, exclusion of women in different parts of society, and sexism in sports. The final portion of the night was breaking up into small groups between the Fishbowl of Occupiers and the protesters and supporters due to the high emotion these experiences can invoke. By 8:30pm, the night had ended for the gathering and the crowd dispersed.
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Occupy movement spreads to Dorchester
The Occupy movement, which has already spread to Jamaica Plain, Allston and out to suburban communities, now has taken root in Dorchester. “We need to use the momentum of Occupy Boston to work on progress here,” said Akunna Eneh, a 29-year-old Dorchester resident and one of Occupy Dorchester’s organizers. The group of residents and activists held its first “General Assembly” Wednesday night at the Dorchester House Health Center in Fields Corner to discuss how they could use the message and tactics of the Occupy movement to bring change to Dorchester. http://tinyurl.com/7mt8ymj ‘Occupy Boston’ Holds On As Other Camps Close (radio) It’s been almost six months since the Occupy Wall Street movement started in New York City. In most cities, the encampments have been shut down and street protests have dwindled. But in Boston, the movement’s organizers are trying out new tactics and strategies to keep their message alive. Climate Referees in Boston (1st Stop of Country Tour) Over 60 people dressed in referee outfits protested outside Sen. Scott Brown’s district office in Boston this afternoon to “blow the whistle” on the unseemly reality that Sen. Brown has taken over $1.9 million from fossil fuel interests since being elected and now supports moves in Congress to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, expand offshore drilling, gut the Clean Air Act, and to put taxpayer money towards subsidizing the fossil fuel industry. The action is part of an evolving strategy on the part of pipeline protesters, who are looking at new ways to take the pipeline fight off of Capitol Hill and back into districts across the country. http://tinyurl.com/7h4jawj Continue reading »
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On Monday, February 13, 2012, activists from Occupy Boston and other local Occupations will ride their respective train lines and converge on Copley Square for a mass rally at 4:30 PM to Save the T. At the rally, Occupiers and advocates for Boston’s working-class, seniors, students and environmental justice will demand “No Service Cuts!” and “No Fare Hikes!” After the rally, demonstrators will attend a public hearing sponsored by the MBTA and voice their concerns directly to agency representatives.
The public transit system that the 99% relies on has been underfunded by the Massachusetts Legislature for years, and is now threatened with staggering debt – much of it transferred to the MBTA from Big Dig projects. Currently, every penny of our fares is spent paying off this debt – not on the maintenance we need to keep an aging system in working order. Meanwhile, the big bailed-out banks have exploited the MBTA’s financial situation, raking in untold millions of dollars by underwriting the MTBA’s bonds and profiting off of interest rate swaps with the agency. Despite the dire situation, the MBTA’s two proposals would do nothing to shore up the long-term sustainability of the T while devastating local communities by raising fares and slashing services.
“The proposed MBTA service cuts and fare hikes are the perfect way to appease elected officials and their corporate partners by draining the remaining resources of the 99%,” said Brett West, an organizer for Occupy Boston. “For us, affordable and accessible public transit is a necessity, not a luxury. We say ‘none of the above’ to the MBTA’s so-called solutions and demand a permanent funding solution that does not attack the resources of Boston’s elderly, students or working-class people.”
Monday’s Day of Action will offer activists a number of ways to have their voices heard. Several local Occupations and community groups will ride their respective trains and buses to the rally and engage other riders about the cuts and hikes through live streaming, flyering, mic-checking, singing, and conversation. Confirmed meeting times are as follows:
- Occupy Boston will meet at Downtown Crossing at 3:00 PM (contact brett@occupyboston.org for more info.)
- Occupy Somerville will ride the rails in from Davis Square at both 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM (occupysomerville@yahoo.com).
- Occupy Dorchester will meet at Fields Corner at 3:45 PM.
- Occupy Quincy will be leaving at the Quincy Center T station at 3:30 PM (brykoulouris@gmail.com).
- Occupy JP and Occupemos El Barrio are planning similar actions; check back here or contact your local Occupy for meeting times and locations.
- Students Against the T Cuts will meet at the Boylston T Stop at 4:00 PM (media@studentsagainsttcuts.org).
At Copley, the Occupiers will join the T Riders Union and a coalition of dozens of community, student, senior and environmental groups for a rally to say “No!” to the MBTA’s draconian proposals of service cuts and fare increases and demand that the Legislature fund a transit system that benefits everyone. At 6:00 PM, the rally moves indoors for the MBTA’s public hearing.
Whether you can make one or all of the above actions, we need you on Monday. The T is a lifeline for our communities and vital for building a strong, sustainable economy. A strong public transit system is a linchpin of a society that prioritizes the needs of all before the profits of a few. Join us!