Occupy Wall Street hits the road for a 230 mile March to The C.
(For daily updates, scroll down the page. Updated Nov. 22, 2:43 p.m. Eastern.)
Gandhi marched to the sea, and on November 9th, some OWS protesters started their march to The C. The Occupy the Highway marchers will reach The Capitol on November 23rd for the Super Committee meeting (Congressional Deficit Reduction Super-Committee). In the course of their walk, they will be stopping in cities in NJ, PA, DE and MD and hold nightly General Assembly meetings and/or discussions.
They started with a ferry ride from lower Manhattan and will be marching 20 miles a day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (banker hours). The group started off with 25 OCW protestors inspired by the need for social justice and wanting to make their message heard in DC concerning the Bush Tax Cuts. It is interesting to note that there were double that number of reporters present covering the launch of the march in NYC.
The Occupy the Highway group will hold a 7 p.m. General Assembly meeting in the evening when they stop to camp for the night (see schedule below). They will of course visit the OCW movements along their route which includes Philly and Baltimore where they will be spending two days respectively.
The Occupy Wall Street website stressed the importance of having their message heard by the "super committee" which has the power to let the Bush tax cuts that benefit the top 1% expire. "...a group of OWS'ers are embarking on a two-week march from Liberty Plaza to the Whitehouse to let the committee know what the 99% think about these cuts. Join the march to make sure these tax cuts for the richest 1% of Americans are allowed to die!"
The website continues: "A major draw for this march is to encourage more people in rural communities to get involved... We are hoping people will join the march along the way; whether for an hour, a day, or the full two weeks, we feel it's imperative for OWS to be involved in the historical significance of long distance marches to support, promote, and encourage economic and social equality."
Schedule and Itinerary
Here is the posted schedule for the two-week march:
11/09/11: Liberty Square to Elizabeth, NJ
11/10/11: Elizabeth, NJ to New Brunswick, NJ
11/11/11: New Brunswick, NJ to Trenton, NJ
11/12/11: Trenton, NJ to Andalusia, PA
11/13/11: Andalusia, PA to Occupy Philly
11/14/11: Day off at Occupy Philly
11/15/11: Occupy Philly to Wilmington, DE
11/16/11: Wilmington, DE to Newark, DE
11/17/11: Newark, DE to Rising Sun, MD (CHANGED TO: Havre De Grace)
11/18/11: Havre De Grace to Bel Air, MD (CHANGED TO: Joppatowne vicinity)
11/19/11: Joppatowne vicinity to Occupy Baltimore
11/20/11: Day off at Occupy Baltimore
11/21/11: Occupy Baltimore to Laurel, MD
11/22/11: Laurel, MD to Occupy DC
11/23/11: Occupy DC to The White House for super committee meeting
On the road with the protesters:
14) March To The C - Day 14 (11/22)
* Approx. 2:30 p.m., marchers approaching Logan Circle
* Marchers have reached DC. Picture taken earlier today.
* One of the marchers, Darrin Annussek, walked 30 miles on crutches. Congratulations for your perseverance in the face of trials and tribulations.
13) March To The C - Day 13 (11/21)
* 10:30 a.m. - No news yet as to what time they will start walking today.
* Comment from the Twitter site: "the route is tentative and can change. For now it's a straight shot from Occupy Baltimore to Laurel, MD.
* Monday morning, marchers will head towards Laurel, MD. Spend a night there, then march to D.C. the following day.
12) March To The C - Day 12 (11/20)
* The NYPMarch2DC blog was updated today by various of the walkers, giving a lot of detailed information on the previous days' march (Trenton, NJ to Havre de Grace, MD). Rather than try to condense it here, you can read it in full at: http://nycmarch2dc.wordpress.com/
* Most marchers spending this scheduled rest day at the home of a supporter in a quiet Baltimore suburb
11) March To The C - Day 11 (11/19)
* Day of rest tomorrow in Baltimore at the Occupy Baltimore camp.
* Reached Baltimore this afternoon. Reports are that the Baltimore police broke up a General Assembly.
10) March To The C - Day 10 (11/18)
* One of the marchers (Frosty) explaining the purpose of the walk and some of the demands of the Occupy Movement (video)
* Morning: On the road again! Sun is shining, life is sweet (video)
* 10 am Eastern: "We need a place for tonight. We will be on Route 40 the entire way. Either Joppatowne or White Marsh." Can you lend a hand? Tweet @NYCmarch2DC
9) March To The C - Day 9 (11/17)
* Home for the night: Saint John's Episcopal Union & Congress (video)
* Change of Route Plan:
WE WILL BE TAKING ROUTE 40 SOUTHWEST INSTEAD!
WE WILL NOT BE GOING THROUGH RISING SUN, BEL AIR, OR LAUREL!!!!!!
We have decided collectively to change this route based on pertinent information we were given. We will be in Havre De Grace tonight which is roughly 20 miles from Newark. We will be in the Joppatowne vicinity tomorrow night. Then move along to Occupy Baltimore. We will be sure to update information asap. I will update our route directions during lunch today.
Read the rest of the post here.
* Morning discussion on changing route to Route 40 heading to Baltimore. No report on consensus yet.
* Marchers would like some Peace Flags to wave while walking. Can you lend a hand? Tweet @NYCmarch2DC
8) March To The C - Day 8 (11/16)
* Warm welcome in Newark. Video
* Walking in the rain, but spirits still high. Video
* Marchers needing a place to stay for tonight in Newark, DE. If you have a place to share or a suggestion, send them a tweet @NYCmarch2DC
* 10:30 a.m. Marchers back on the road heading to Newark, DE.
* Tweet this morning: "Last night/today is our first real encounter with the rain. It sucks but we knew that it would happen, nothing is going to stop us."
*Elizabeth Flock blog:
“Beginning of the End?” ABC News asked Monday.
But Occupy protesters on the long march to Washington say not so fast. Many of them acknowledge there are roadblocks, but police evictions and reports of violence are not the protests’ main problem.
After having spent five days on the road with Occupy marchers, I would say the bigger roadblock the movement faces seems not to be drug usage (of which there was almost none), rapes (none of which occurred, to my knowledge), or conflicts with police (protesters and police have a very friendly relationship.)
The bigger problem with the Occupy movement seems to be the way decisions are made. Because there is horizontal leadership, decisions take much longer than they would under a single leader. Arguments can last for hours and...
7) March To The C - Day 7 (11/15)
* Reached Wilmington at 1 a.m. Another grueling 30 mile walk today.
* Darkness approaches and group is still 15 miles from destination. Video of a general discussion concerning plans for the evening -- to walk as one group or split up, slow walkers and fast walkers: http://qik.com/video/45851886
* 11:30 a.m. Passing through University of Pennsylvania grounds where many students turn out to watch marchers. Some students days they are tempted to join march.
* Destination for today: Wilmington, Delaware, where they will camp with Occupy Delaware.
* As marchers leave Philly, talk is constantly of the police eviction of occupy wall street. Say march is now more important than ever before.
* Although it's 3AM and most of the marchers are gathered around computers at Occupy Philly watching the live stream of Zuccotti Park being raided, our March to Washington DC continues as scheduled in just a few hours. Read the rest of the posting.
6) March To The C - Day 6 (11/14)
* Marchers are taking the day to rest their tired feet while at Occupy Philly.
5) March To The C - Day 5 (11/13)
* This evening the marchers met up with the Occupy Philly group. They were greeted with cheers, hugs, food, and chants of "We are the 99%". Tomorrow, Monday Nov. 14th, a planned day off for a well-deserved day of rest. Walking 30 miles in a day is exhausting and many feet are showing signs of the struggle.
* At 2 p.m. today, they entered the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) when they were warned by police that they were walking through the most dangerous section in Philly and not to stop for any reason.
* Last night, the group stayed in Bristol, PA courtesy of the Quakers at their local meetinghouse.
4) March To The C - Day 4 (11/12)
* Who are the 21 people who started walking from NYC?
They explain their reasons for participating in the March
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/occupy-the-highway-why-theyre-here/2011/11/11/gIQAgBS3BN_blog.html
* Princeton rich kids display their bad manners
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/occupy-the-highway-protesters-get-cold-welcome-in-princeton-nj/2011/11/12/gIQAnIuZFN_blog.html
* First LiveStream broadcast from Occupy the Highway
Meet some of the marchers.
Includes extra info on the Princeton experience. (duration 9 min. 52 sec.)
...video sometimes loads slowly - practice patience please :-)
* Live video stream from Occupy The Highway
Getting ready to leave Trenton, NJ
(filmed at the Occupy Trenton location).
...video sometimes loads slowly - practice patience please :-)
3) March To The C - Day 3 (11/11)
* The following is taken from the closing of yesterday's blog posted on the NYCmarch2CD site at 3:20 a.m. Eastern, 11/11. Read all of it here.
It pains us not to be able to stay up all night and write in great detail about all the amazing acts of solidarity and kindness witnessed every day, but we also realize that some rest is required to keep the march going. You and we are together finding great motivation in this journey, so we would be doing everyone a terrible disfavor by blindly pushing ourselves to the point of collapse. We vow to compose the missing parts of our daily story into a free e-book a week after the march has been completed.
We end tonight's broadcast with this:
Dear World,
Your cheers from every corner of this beautiful blue earth are inspiring hundreds of thousands to once again love who we are as individuals and what we are as one united human race. You Laugh, We Laugh - Your Cry, Our Cry. Your free flowing support, both through technology and personal encounters, continuously leaves us in moments of humble speechlessness and raw unrestrained joy, all in the same breaths. You are each of us, all of us, and the grand ancient emotion of enlightenment could be reborn once again to bring peace for our world. Do not let your joy fade, for with this age humanity can begin to turn away from a future of annihilation and towards one of exploring this great mysterious universe together. Now could be our last chance. Let us not throw our gift of life away......Use your voice. Use your sile nce. Use yourself. Occupy.
Occupy the Highway: How to reinvigorate a protest - Elizabeth Flock for The Washington Post
2) March To The C - Day 2 (11/10)
Posted at 12:23 PM ET, 11/10/2011 - by Elizabeth Flock
Occupy Wall Street will get police escort - phillyBurbs.com
8:39 PM, Nov. 10, 2011 - Occupy Wall Street marchers visit Central Jersey - mycentraljersey.com
1) March To The C - Day 1 (11/9)
Protesters head from Wall Street to Washington in 'Occupy the Highway' march
As they march during the first day they passed through Newark and the NYCmarch2DC blog states: "Public support is absolutely amazing, with horns honking and hands waving almost constantly. A river barge captain even blows his fog horn while the crew cheers on deck as we cross a bridge. Bone shaking semi truck horns are at times nonstop, with all commercial truck drivers seeming to relate very strongly with the Occupy movement." It seems that only 1% of bystanders and cars passing by expressed lack of support for the 99% marchers.
Recommended Books: Social & Political
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Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President by Ron Suskind
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The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin
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