It was a beautiful 80 degree, picture perfect day in Chicago yesterday. While I had plans to get to my mom's in the late afternoon, I wanted to take the opportunity earlier in the day to get out to the Occupy Chicago protests and get a feel for what was happening in my own part of the world.
Follow me over the squiggle to see some of the people, the signs and hopefully pick up some of the amazing vibe that was there.
Occupy Chicago has a few daily scheduled events:
Daily Schedule
12pm: Daily march through the city
130pm: General Assembly (committee business)
7pm: General Assembly
Additional Events are scheduled due to ongoing activity Stay tuned
I was told the General Assembly meetings were in the park. The rest of the time, the protesters can be found occupying the corner of LaSalle and Jackson, across the street from the Board of Trade and strung out around the corner and down the street as well as right in front of the Board of Trade. I got down there around 10:30AM, and though there weren't a whole lot of people there when I first arrived they kept coming throughout the entire 4 hours I was there.
Walking down LaSalle street, the first thing I heard were the drums. From several blocks away, the steady pulsating rhythm was setting my steps before I even saw the crowd. This was punctuated by a deep, resonating, boom that seemed to echo up the canyon of skyscrapers in that area of the city.
The sound was generated by these guys, drumming on individual buckets as well as around a giant yellow tub. The boom was the enormous metal piece with its end wrapped in what looked like masking tape being wielded by someone that definitely had some strength and stamina.
Throughout my time there, the drumsticks were passed around and anyone who wanted to could get in on the action. It was really fun to watch a group all around the big yellow bucket drumming in a circle. It made you want to dance in the street.
I wanted to get an idea of how they were set for supplies; if there were any immediate needs that I could help with while I was there. That's how I met Seth. He was setting things up in the little area where they keep food items, water and other miscellaneous supplies.
Let me just say here, Seth was just awesome. Thanks for all your time and energy Seth.
We chatted for quite some time and this is what I came away with. They've been getting more perishable food donations than they can eat. They've shared food with the Grace church which is the church that has graciously allowed them space to store stuff. They've also gotten a lot of clothing donations which they've shared with the homeless. If you want to donate food, make it non-perishable. Otherwise, they come back from the 7PM GA in the park and could use a few pizzas around 10PM :D Water is always welcome. Their med guy wanted some latex gloves and they had an immediate need for more sharpies and dry eraser board so I went off to track that stuff down and brought it back for them. Seth gave me his number. If any of you are heading down to Chicago and are so inclined, send me a PM and I'll get a hold of him to see if they have any immediate needs. Otherwise, check at their website to donate $'s or something off their recent request list. If you'd like to arrange an in-person donation, contact donations@occupychicago.org
As you would expect in a protest, signs were everywhere. Some people brought their own while other got creative right there.
For those that neither had a sign with them, nor wanted to draw one themselves, there was a pile of signs of every size, shape and message imaginable and Thomas was there handing them out. There was also a sign that said "Stop taking pictures and GRAB A SIGN" :D This is Thomas.
Despite what's been reported to be a mob of "youth", I found a wide cross-section of ages there. Everyone engaged, vocal and seemingly happy to come together for this. Here are some of their messages.
I missed the march while I was on the supply run but there was action on the corner before, during and after. More and more people kept streaming to join in and the mood was electric. People were chanting "We Are the 99%" and waving their signs to the honking of passing cars. Cheers would go up as the cars honked. Several double decker tour buses went by and people at the top of the buses stood up to wave, whistle and cheer while the crowd chanted and cheered back.
It was a great feeling to be there and feel the energy. There have been many words written about the reasons why this is happening and what should happen moving forward. These events are taking place all over the country now and I would urge everyone to get out to one for at least a few hours and experience this movement personally. You will definitely feel the "We" part of We are the 99%.
I did have to leave in the early afternoon. As I was walking back up LaSalle street, I could hear the drums fading back in the distance but even today I feel that same infectious energy from the beat. It really is an expression of the beating heart of the people out on the streets to make their voices heard. I can't wait to go back.