Inspired by Occupy Wall Street, which started September 17, 2011, people in Oakland began to gather at Frank Ogawa plaza in October 2011, to demand changes. Occupy Oakland quickly grew in number of people in attendance, people camping out, and services provided. Offered were daily meals, childcare, a library, a roster of talks, meetings, conversations, lessons, and skillshares. A larger daily meeting followed Occupy Wall Streets format of a General Assembly.
Wikipedia’s Occupy Oakland entry gives much detail and background. In contrast, this article hopes to stay shorter, focused on the present and future, and more relevant (we don't need to be as long, we can just be better)
Occupy Oakland has not had an encampment since Nov. 21, 2011, but the movement continues to be active by organizing protests and other events, mostly out of the Holdout.
Cost of Occupy Oakland to the City
The July, 2013 settlement of Campbell v City of Oakland cost the city $1.025mn in damages [source], although this case addresses incidents that predate Occupy as well. With many protestors reporting PTSD and associated impacts, this payout did not begin to address the full impact of the city's unlawful and violent ouster of the occupy encampment.
Photos
Anti-Police-Brutality Protest on Nov. 10, 2012
There are also some photos on this flickr of the port takeover, the encampment itself, the protest the night of the first clearing of the encampment on Oct. 25, and the May 1st 2012 May Day protest.
See also
- Frank Ogawa Plaza (Oscar Grant Plaza)
- Occupy Oakland: The Little Revolution That Couldn't – the first published book about Occupy’s most militant franchise.
- Check out Portraits from the Occupation, sixteen videos by individuals impacted by or part of OO.
- "Survey reveals Oaklanders have mixed feelings about Occupy Oakland’s legacy and impact" from Oakland Local (published 11/13) has a nice selection of photos and thoughts from people about what the movement means 2 years later. The article doesn't give much detail as to what the survey itself was, but still has a nice variety of perspectives.
- http://occupyoakland.org/