Cross-posted from National People’s Action
Wow. What a week!
The 99% Spring was a huge success and we couldn’t be more inspired by the spirit and courage of this movement.
Tens of thousands of us came together in homes, places of worship, campuses and the streets to train in non-violent direct action and then hit the streets to go toe-to-toe with executives of some of the biggest and baddest corporations in America.
Hundreds of actions took place across the country, and everyday Americans stood up to demand corporations pay their fair share in taxes, big banks stop funding inhumane private prisons, underwater mortgages are reduced to their fair market value, Wall Street be properly investigated, and the economy and our democracy works for all of us, not just the 1%.
This is just the beginning.
Below is a short list of trainings and actions that were part of The 99% Spring (NPA affiliates are marked in bold). There are also several more photos on the 99% Spring Tumblr blog and on Twitter.
New York
(pictured above: Agnes McCrae talks about direct action protest and the disability community.)
Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN) held their training in partnership with SEIU 1199, Citizen Action, and Occupy Syracuse. They have actions coming up on Tax Day as well as May 1st. More photos here.
Community Voices Heard (CVH) and VOCAL-NY (video above) coordinated five 99% Spring trainings, followed by an ‘unannounced home visit’ to Wall Street 1%er, Bruce Kovner, to demand he pay his fair share of taxes. Check out the story.
Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Mothers on the Move and the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center (pictured above) coordinated a training and action in Rye, NY with a home visit to Alan Wiener, director of Wells Fargo Multifamily and the top Wells Fargo executive in NYC.Check out the photos.
PUSH Buffalo, along with our local partners, ran a great 99% Spring Training with a wide range of people from grassroots organizations, environmental orgs, labor unions, and student groups. They are also doing an action on May 12 on their local gas company.
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) (pictured above) held their training on April 11th followed by a direct action at Bank of America’s midtown headquarters, delivering a letter to Thomas Montag, the Co-Chief Operating Officer, and the top Bank of America executive in NYC. More photos here.
Iowa
NPA affiliate, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement(Iowa CCI) and 100s of Iowans made a surprise visit to the home of Mike Heid, a top official at Wells Fargo, demanding that the bank stop investing in private prisons that profit off inhumane treatment of immigrants. Check out the story, photos, andpress.
Kansas
121 Tornadoes in Kansas did not keep 93 committed activists, occupiers, union members, and students from attending Sunflower Community Action’s 99% Spring Training! The training spurred 4 actions taking place through the upcoming week. Four and half hours of intense training produced three actions which will be carried out throughout the next 7 days: April 17- Bank of America, April 21- ALEC member Legislators , and April 25-Wells Fargo.
Chicago
Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), clergy and members from congregations on the northside and southside of Chicgo prepared for direct actions on April 17th (Tax Day protest) and May 23rd on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to demand that major corporations and the 1% pay their fair share. Check out the photos.
Northside P.O.W.E.R. and Lakeview Action Coalition (LAC) (pictured left) held a training for over a hundred people, followed by tax actions, bank actions, shareholder meetings, and LAC’s general assembly. More photos here.
Michigan
Michigan Organizing Project and UAW lead a fierce protest at Mastronardi Fruit Packing Plant, site of egregious violations against migrant workers.
Missouri
Grass Roos Organizing (GRO) and Missourians gathered in Liberty, Missouri (pictured left) to fight corporate greed, particularly the payday lending industry and big banks that finance their business model of stripping wealth from communities who are already struggling to stay afloat economically. Participants took to the streets gathering signatures for state ballot measures to cap payday interest rates at 36% and to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Minnesota
Over 100 Minnesotans prepared for nonviolent direct actions on Tax Day and for an action in May on the Target Corporation. Check out the photos.
Los Angeles
People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER) (pictured right) coordinated three 99% Spring trainings of more than 300 people followed by a protest at the doorstep of Wells Fargo board member, Enrique Hernandez’s house demanding that the bank divest from private prison industry and stop profiting off of the separation of families. Check out the photos.
Maine
Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) (pictured above) trained over 140 people and planned four Tax Day Actions in four separate cities in Maine where they will take Wall Street Corporations the bill for our revenue crisis and tell them to pay immediately. More photos here.
This week…
Communities United For Action (CUFA) and Working In Neighborhoods (WIN) have their training and action today, Rights for All People (RAP) on Thursday, and Illinois People’s Action(IPA) on Saturday.
The 99% Spring Training – NOW ONLINE!
If you missed the in-person training, it’s not too late. Check out the 99% Spring training now online and set aside 90 minutes this week to get geared up for action.
Just like the in-person trainings, the online training has all you need to get ready to take the country back for the 99% — including modules on: “What Happened to Our Economy?”, “Intro to Non-Violent Direct Action”, and “Planning for Action”.
You will be at your computer, but you won’t be alone. Chat with trainers and others doing the training online as you go, see your progress, and recruit your friends.
You are a critical part of this historic effort. We look forward to seeing you — online and offline — as we take back the country for the 99%, one neighborhood at a time. Attend a 99% Spring training online today.
This is just the beginning.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be engaging in a massive wave of actions to hold the 1% accountable — targeting corporations like Verizon and Walmart on issues from the environment to workers rights, Bank of America and Wells Fargo on Tax Day, Sallie Mae on student loans, and more.
