subscribe: Posts | Comments

Occupy Wall Street not just a “white thing”

1 comment

Summary of story from BlackAmericaWeb November 1, 2011

Harlem area residents convened recently to express their support for the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstrations (see WVoN coverage).

They wanted to raise hell over what they perceive as the “terminally cold-hearted manipulation and criminal eradication” of their own communities.

“It’s time for the proud people of Harlem to take a stand. Through rallies, demonstrations, marches, whatever it takes, we plan on doing just that,” said Nellie Hester, founder of the Harlem Tenants Council (HTC), one of the local organizations now working to spearhead the growing Harlem Occupation movement.

In doing so, HTC, along with members of the Harlem Fightback Council and the People’s Organization for Progress, is also hoping to counter the misguided notion that the Wall Street protests are purely a “white thing” which have little bearing on the lives of many minorities (see WVoN story).

“We need to address that head-on,” said Ms Hester. “It greatly disturbs me to hear people speak like that because then I start to fear not enough of us truly comprehend the deadly stranglehold banks and other financial institutions have had on our communities.”

  1. While it may be true that the Tea Party and the Occupy movement are both dissatisfied with government, they have different goals. The Tea Party tapped into anti-government sentiment, which was easily co-opted by the oil companies and big industries that want less government control over business. I think that the Occupy movement doesn’t have anything against government, but wants it to represent all people, not the people or corporations with the most money to buy a congressman.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *