NEW YORK—Hundreds of protesters rallied in south Manhattan against corporate culture and job losses last week. Two protests, which were billed as part of a nationally coordinated effort in six cities, were held on Friday and Saturday.
The Saturday rally was timed to coincide with the April 4 anniversary of the day Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in Memphis in 1968. King’s name was frequently invoked during both rallies, and some of his past associates were present to lend their perspectives.
“This crowd is showing the spirit of revolution that was present in the ‘60s and ’70s,” stated Reverend James Lawson on Saturday, a self-proclaimed mentor to Dr. King. Lawson also said that changes in the federal government’s fiscal policies should be demanded.
“The people forced the government to change their agenda in the ‘30s, ’40s, and ‘60s,” said Lawson.
“The banks have got the money, and nobody knows what it is being used for.”
Lawson echoed an apparent source of frustration for participants—the lack of transparency concerning where money from President Obama’s economic bailout plan is going. The crowds chanted, “Bail out the people, not the banks” and shook signs in the air with the same slogan.
A hodgepodge of groups and individuals rallying on a variety of issues held marches on both days. But the overarching theme was the government bailout of financially insolvent corporate giants such as the insurance corporation AIG, which got $180.5 billion of federal money, and widespread unemployment.
“I’m here for my grandchildren,” said Richard Mallesch, a retired electrician from New York City who has seven grandchildren, ages 8 to 23. “They don’t know what they’re getting hammered with—the money coming down the road that they’ll have to pay back.”
Some groups protested private health insurance, torture of U.S.-held foreign detainees in Guantanamo Bay, women’s rights issues, and various other issues. Despite the diverse groups represented both days, the unifying factors were concern about the economic climate and the status of the wars in the Middle East.
Both crowds—about 500 on Friday and 1,000 on Saturday—were smaller than police and organizers had anticipated.
Several volunteers were present on both days to direct the crowds and hand out fliers to passers-by, despite heavy rainfall on Friday.
“People came in spite of the weather,” said Tim Sutton, a book retailer who was volunteering for the organization “Bail Out People, Not the Banks,” which coordinated the protests. Sutton said that the lunchtime crowd where he was standing at Wall Street and Broadway were readily taking fliers. “People seem to want to know what is going on.”
The rallies also drew participants from other states who are concerned about what is happening on Wall Street.
“Usually you bail out the boat to save the people,” said Dan Winters, who traveled from Boulder, Colorado, for the events and is against the government bailouts of large corporate entities. “They’re bailing out the banks and dumping water in the boat.”
