This week, from Sunday November 13th through Saturday November 19th, Occupy Louisville is showing its solidarity with the Louisville community at large.
Their plan to do this contains two pieces of the same pie. Occupants want to get the word out to everyone in Louisville about what the occupation is doing by focusing on different issues. The focus issues are peace, employment, health care, campaign finance reform, privilege and quality of life issues like education and the environment.
The hopes are that these focus issues are exactly what the armchair activists need to get from behind Twitter, Facebook and comments sections of websites to participate in the movement. Activities on these days include marches, pot luck meals where participants are encouraged to bring food to share as well as discussion groups.
Truthfully, discussion groups are the first way to get this movement to crawl out of its infancy and get it walking. If people do not understand issues such as privileged, Privilege is being explored by Occupy Louisville through discussion groups this Thursday. Within the Occupation, and most social justice groups, privilege is a phrased to cover the advantages of particular groups. Privilege is held by being white, male, heterosexual and able bodied in this society. Even having a place to live is a privilege.
Occupy Louisville has worked very hard to connect with many groups in order to make this week the success they are hoping for. Groups like Women in Transition, Jobs With Justice, an entire slew of active labor unions, Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care, Louisville Peace Action Community and others are who the Occupants have sought out to work with for this week, and build relationships with moving forward.
By encouraging discussion groups, marching throughout downtown and neighboring areas, working with area organizations involved in social justice and simply proclaiming that these are issues important to Occupy Louisville, the movement also seems to be saying, "We're with you."
Discover what days are important to you, and participate with the movement!
Monday, November 14 - Employment & Organized Labor
3pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, March to Unemployment Office and L&N building, followed by activities with Women In Transition & Jobs for Justice
5pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, Rally and speak-out with unions & workers
7pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, General Assembly & pot luck dinner
Tuesday, November 15 - Campaign Finance Reform
3pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, protest music followed by a historical presentation on campaign finance and lobbying reform, with mock trial
5pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, March against political corruption
7pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, General Assembly & pot luck dinner
Wednesday, November 16 - Health care
3:30 @ 6
th
& Jefferson, presentations on single-payer health care vs. for-profit health care, comparisons to health care in Canada & Europe, and personal testimony on failures of the US health care system
4pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, live music
5:45pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, March to Humana Building and "Die-In”
7pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, General Assembly & pot luck dinner
8pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, Showing of "Sicko” by Michael Moore
Thursday, November 17 - Privilege
5pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, panel discussion on issues of privilege related to race, class, gender and orientation
7pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, General Assembly & Pot Luck Dinner
Friday, November 18 - Banks & Fiscal Dominance
@ 5
th
& Jefferson, time TBA, volunteer to help clean up a neighborhood hit hard by foreclosures
2 pm @ 5
th
& Jefferson, presentation by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on their work for a fair and adequate tax code for Kentucky
4pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, March on speculative investment banks
7 pm @ 5
th
& Jefferson, General Assembly & pot luck dinner
Saturday, November 19 - Comforts & Quality of Life
1 pm @ 6
th
& Jefferson, presentation by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on coal, from extraction to waste disposal
Music, food and family-friendly activities all day long
Tabling and literature from participating organizations
7 pm @ 5
th
& Muhammad Ali, General Assembly
Photo via Occupy Louisville
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