The Occupy Wall Street Movement
Wall Street is a name of a street stretching between Broadway and East River. The term was coined in the early 17th century in reference to a wall formed in the north boundary of the New Amsterdam settlements. In present times, Wall Street refers to all the businesses along the street directly involved in operations of stock and financial markets. There has been perceived socio-economic injustices arising directly from this market; as a result, various activist groups have come up to protest them . The most notable of them is the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which will be discussed in this paper.
On 17th September, 2011, a large crowd organized by Kalle Lasn and Micah White systematically occupied Wall Street.[1] They did so by invading banking halls, corporate headquarters, foreclosed houses, ongoing board meetings, and university campuses. The issues behind the movement were corporate greed, corruption in various institution funded by Wall Street, undue corporate interference in governance, and the unequal distribution of wealth. The movement was spear headed by the slogan “We are the 99%”.[2] I n particular, this motto referred to the unequal distribution of wealth among the country’s population. One percent of the populous controls most of the wealth in the USA. However, occupying Wall Street was triggered by a perceived lack of consequences for people responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. The movement took the stage in said places to address these issues; as a result, they inspired others to act against socio-economic injustices.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement was against the apparent social and economic injustices committed by corporations. The protest took place between Broadway and East river on September 11th 2011. The main cause of the protest was the perceived lack of punishment for those responsible for the financial meltdown around the time. The movement had a monumental impact on inspiring people all over the country to stand up against such injustices.
[1] Gautney, Heather. “What is Occupy Wall Street? The History of Leaderless Movements – The Washington Post.” Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/what-is-occupy-wall-street-the-history-of-leaderless-movements/2011/10/10/gIQAwkFjaL_story.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
[2] Earle, Ethan. “A Brief History of Occupy Wall Street.” Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung NYC, 1 Nov. 2012, www.rosalux-nyc.org/a-history-of-occupy/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
