Occupy Charlotte

Occupy Charlotte
Part of the Occupy movement
Date	October 3, 2011 (2011-10-03) – (4460 days)
Location	Charlotte, North Carolina
Caused by	Economic inequality, Democracy, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Anarchism, Corporate influence over government, inter alia.
Goals	Freedom, Justice, Democracy,
Methods	Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters, Civil Disobedience, Direct Action
Status	Occupation Ended, Protests ongoing.
Arrests: 4 Injuries: 0

Occupy Charlotte was a collective of protesters that settled on September 30, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina, in front of the old city hall. It is related to the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011 also protesting against economic inequity, corporate greed, and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on government. The movement also seeks to show that non-hierarchical consensus decision-making, direct action and mutual aid are preferable alternatives to current systems of power and control.

As of June 2012, Occupy Charlotte had continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions.

Overview

Slogan

The group's slogan "We are the 99%" is sourced from Occupy Wall Street, who shares the slogan, and refers to the growing financial division between the wealthy and the poor in America. The 99% refers to the average and majority American populous, while the 1% refers to the wealthy upper-class Americans.

Affiliations

Occupy Charlotte was inspired by and guided by the principles of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement and act on its behalf. Occupy Charlotte recognizes the group "Anonymous" and its local "Anonymous North Carolina" group, and thank it for the support it has given Occupy Charlotte, but renounce any affiliation with the group.

Beliefs

Occupy Charlotte is a movement composed of smaller groups fighting against similar "injustices". While these groups maintain similar motives and beliefs, they fight against different specific establishments. Charlotte, being the banking mecca that it is, compels many of these groups to target banking groups such as Wells Fargo through their protests. The beliefs held by Occupy Charlotte are the same as those held by Occupy Wall Street. Their protests fight against the high unemployment rate, financial inequality, financial greed, governmental and financial corruption, and other such topics.

Actions and protests

Occupy Charlotte engages in nonviolent protests. On Friday, December 30, four men were charged with careless use of fire after they set two American flags on fire in front of the old City Hall. They claimed to be a part of the Occupy Charlotte organization, however an Occupy Charlotte member said, “There was no decision made by the group here to all get together and burn American Flags. It was a unilateral decision made by four individuals acting on their own."

See also

• List of Occupy movement protest locations

References

Additional sources

• "Occupy Charlotte Rally begins". News 14 (North & South Carolina). October 8, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
• Weiss, Mitch (January 30, 2012). "Update: Occupy Charlotte protesters ordered to remove tents". News & Record (Greensboro, NC). Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Cherkis, Jason; Kenigsberg, Sara (February 3, 2012). "Occupy Y'All Street: Occupy Charlotte Activist Gambles Everything On The Movement". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Tordjman, Dan (February 7, 2012). "Occupy Charlotte rallies ahead of Thursday court hearing". WSOC TV. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
• Cowman, Amy (February 24, 2012). "Occupy protesters take their fight to court". MSNBC News. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
• Wright, Gary L.; Harrison, Steve (February 25, 2012). "Occupy Charlotte attacks city ordinance". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Wright, Gary L. (March 1, 2012). "Judge denies Occupy Charlotte bid". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Official website