Pulled by Proposers. Endorsement of 99 Faces

The 99 Faces Event

In the wake of the numerous heavy-handed evictions of occupations all across the country, the Occupy Movement has come to a crossroads. Some of the most pressing questions we face are “Where do we go from here? What next? How can we keep growing our movement and raising awareness when the establishment is going to such great lengths to suppress us?”

While our future in terms of physical occupations is uncertain, we know that we must continue to be a highly visible presence in the community, and we must continue to build support. People want to build off of the momentum of the General Strike and attempt bigger and bolder moves, but we think diversifying our tactics might be in our best interest, to help turn the focus back onto the issues at hand.

We need to remember why we are occupying in the first place, and whom it is we’re fighting for. We propose a daylong event focused on the community: a day of sharing stories, supporting our local businesses, raising awareness, and building broader community support for our cause. We have already demonstrated our strength and shown our muscle as a movement by shutting down the port; now it is time to show our softer side as well.

1. We will show our faces. We will reach out to members of the community who have been profoundly affected by the economic downturn caused by the corporate stranglehold on our government- people who have had their homes foreclosed, lost their businesses, lost their jobs, had their school closed, etc.- and invite them to come share their stories with the community. By giving community members a public platform to share their stories, we will put many faces to our struggle, and highlight why this fight is so very important. We will archive the video presentations on the Occupy Oakland website. For community members who do not wish to speak publicly but still wish to share, we will create a gallery walk of their portraits and their written stories. We will also invite local academics and experts who can speak to the connections between the stories of the community and the system that’s caused these situations.

2. We will show our hearts. We will extend an olive branch to the local businesses in our community who are hurting right now, and invite them to come vend at our event. By supporting our local businesses and providing a space and opportunity for them to gain financially, we will help to salve some of our wounded relationships with them and show them that we do care, we do respect them, and we do want them to see success. We will also organize collections for much-needed items such as non-perishable food for local pantries, toys for children for the holiday season, and winter coats for local agencies that help a broader base of the community in these areas. Finally, we will invite local credit unions to have a presence as well, to help community members remove their money from the big banks.

3. We will show our hands. While this event is only one day long, our intention is to create an ongoing community service arm of Occupy Oakland, where groups of occupiers will engage in various projects aimed at uplifting the community. Neighborhood beautification, garden plantings, waterway cleanups, and other such projects will be organized and implemented by volunteers. We will have an information table set up at the event where interested people may learn more and sign up to get their hands dirty by partaking in future projects.

WHAT: Occupy Oakland Presents 99 Faces

WHEN: All day event on Saturday, January (?) 2012

WHERE: A large, indoor venue yet to be determined

WHY: To build support for our cause and strengthen our connections with one another through a day of sharing, learning, and supporting Oakland’s 99%