Author Archives: shana.

Announcements

• Misty: There’s been a lot of disagreement & infighting.  We’re all here to change the world.  We might disagree on strategy or which issues are most important.  Remember to disagree in spirit of love & understanding!
• Sarah:  I’ve been talking to local disabilities groups who want to start camping with us this weekend; they have a huge amount of activism experience.  I’m excited!
• Tim:  This space (2nd floor of 60 Walton) belongs to AFSC Committee.  Going to be used as a gallery space; we need to be (mostly) out by the 28th.  We can use the 4th floor, but we’ll have to put some work into getting it ready.
• Zak: We have a lot of wet blankets/jackets, we’re trying to get them dried tonight.  Put wet things in plastic bags.
• Jason: Announcement about hypothermia – temperature has dropped dramatically.  Crucial you stay dry when outside.  If you feel disoriented, go find medical.  If you find someone unconscious, call 911 first then go get medical.
• Jose:  Talked with others yesterday after GA, working to develop a proposal to shift to a modified consensus model and make the process more streamlined.
• James:  Creating an growth/conservation (agriculture/dumpster) diving committee.
• Jack:  Town Hall Meeting Friday – Georgia Stand-Up , 12 pm @ IBEW Assembly Hall (to 2:30pm)  Mayor Reed & most of city council will be there and will be rated on how well they’re doing!   It’s a free meeting – $3 for lunch.
• Kalis:  There’s been a lot of theft up here.  Also, more aggression/arguing in past 2 days.  Those people you don’t usually hang around, try to understand them.  A house divided will not stand.  (Elijah follow up – true also on the park.  If you see people doing nothing, ask them to help out.)
• Margaret:  Problem of sexual harassment, we’ll have a teach-in later this week on radical feminism to discuss how patriarchy is coming through this group.

Report Back

Action:  We have a committee now, and we’re planning actions.

• Tomorrow @ noon – put duct tape over mouths, get on MARTA, make rich people @ Lenox mall uncomfortable, h
• Going to do a march on Thursday night to raise awareness of homelessness.
• This weekend is the hip-hop festival, we’ll have to move  tents!
• Monday – Visit to urban farm (Truly Living Well)
• Tuesday 5pm – Huge action, return Georgia Pacific Building to draw attention to fact Koch brothers have building overlooking Troy Davis Park.
• Wed – open for suggestions
• Thurs – solidarity action w/ Peachtree & Pine shelter (water might be turned off)
• NEXT MEETING IS THIS FRIDAY.

Media:  hip hop festival Saturday and Sunday.  4 tents set up.  MC for Occupy Atlanta for the whole festival.  There will be small businesses w/ venders.  Tents have to be out by 10am on Saturday and Sunday morning.  The Spiegal in Germany wants to start putting articles in their paper.  Oliver is corresponding with them.  Also, we’ve created a soapbox where you can stand up outside of GA and express your feelings/concerns.

Arts & Lit:  Structure with bamboo and flowers is our new location on the park.  Art space @ Peachtree & Pine shelter.  We want to do a thriller dance.  Do you know the thriller dance?  Let us know.  It will be better with more people!

Logistics:  Logistics merged with finance today b/c people dropped off.  Currently $730 in bank, most tied up in Wi Account.  If you are going to buy things for Occupy Atlanta, see James & Anna.  We can always use more volunteers.

Childcare:  People weren’t looking after childcare tent during bad weather.  We need to take childcare seriously b/c we want single moms to be able to come here.  We need to take care of one another here!  Related to race/class…. Volunteer!

Demands:  We’re meeting today after GA to talk process.

Kitchen:  New subcommittee from Logistics.  Please be polite if someone back there tells you something or asks you not to go back there – people have been walking out w/ food.  Also there have been people accepting money for donations from the kitchen area in the park and putting it in their pocket.  This is not acceptable, please keep an eye out.

Medical:  Police brutality march tonight, please bring your own water, don’t get dehydrated.

Process:  Met today.  In process of revising process.  Going to change the way we accept proposal.  Proposal drop boxes – one in office, one in park.

Welcome/Info:  New committee, out by new tent.  Need volunteers very badly.  It’s an important place b/c it’s where people have been coming first to find out about the movement and get involved.  We’d like more interaction w/ other committees about what is going on so they can relay info to people who come by… it’s been hard to get in touch with listed bottom liners, so please come by in mornings to tell us about meetings or events.  Need to make sure there is specific info about workgroup meetings – where exactly will you be meeting etc – b/c people see meetings listed on website calendar and we need to know where to direct them.  We’re meeting tomorrow (Thurs) @ 11am at welcome desk.  This is also where we’re accepting donations.  Occatl.info@gmail.com

Tactical:  Rappers for hip hop festival will be here donating tents, etc.

Coordinating:  Contact info from all committees being collected.  You can fill out complaint form if you have a complaint you want directed to committee.  Our email is occatl.coordinating@gmail.com and we have google voice 678-304-8194.

Proposals

Committee proposals

Logistics:  We want to move money from WePay account (which was started by one person) to Finances/Logistics account so it’s all in one place and we can access it as needed.  No clarifying questions from the GA.  No concerns from the GA.  Do we have consensus?  Sparkly fingers, we have CONENSUS!

Non-committee proposals

Elijah:  It gets dark and cold now, and I think we should move our meetings up in the day when it’s daytime and warmer.  Our presence in park is important for occupation and we won’t always have access to 60 Walton.  Darkness seems to inject bad energy into the GA. Discussion on this proposal is delayed until tomorrow

Other business

Johnny:  Joining tactical unity.  Asking us to cooperate.  No matter what people come along, let’s make it a peaceful happy time.  We’re about peace.  Look at them and smile and say have a nice day.  Also thinking about having key card system for access to 60 Walton.
(Clarifications/direct response – we can’t do key card system, it’s a problem for AWSC. Discussion goes on about issues of theft/who should come up to headquarters.  Stack is closed – let’s bring this discussion to a more appropriate forum.

Thomas:  Forming new Committee.  Social forum public places, like park.  No blocking/direct responses/points of process.  The only structure from GA is stack.  Discussion topics voted on at very beginning of committee meeting, majority rules.  Stopwatch will be used to keep people under 4 minutes.  I think that it should be after GA every day.
That means people can’t go to other committee meetings after GA.
We’re open and thinking about it.

Lilly:  HipHop show this weekend Saturday/Sunday.  Lots of media attention/advertising.  Need volunteers – make recycling signs & recycling bins so we don’t have to depend on meeting.  Do you know anyone w/ experience facilitating events?  We’re trying to do as much of this as possible w/o depending on Atlanta police.  Expecting big turnout.

Che:  I’m a street fighter, I fight for fun.  We need to get kids of of Iraq.  I pay child support, 13 yr old twins.  ….  I got your all back

Little Five Points parade at same time as festival.  If you have action that you need taking care of, ask people to to throw up a hand so we can get stuff done.

NEXT GA – 7pm tomorrow at park  (probably pending weather).  We are adjourned.

Tuesday, October 18th
Convened: 7:00 PM

Due to rain and food arriving later than usual, the GA convened late with everyone needing to stand throughout the meeting’s entirety (wet ground).

Moderator: Isa (replaced an hour & fifteen minutes into the GA by Vincent)
Stack: Hollis Whitaker
Notes: Nina Roark (most of the time)
Recording: Mysty

Welcome (15m)

• Call to order.
• Process reminders. Explaining consensus.
• Call for new proposals.

Announcements:

• Request that the city clean the porta-potties more frequently- Anna (Proposal)
• Morgan is traveling to other Occupy Sites (such as New Orleans)—bring questions to her & she will ask and report back to us. Also, let her know if you have contact info of participants of other Occupations–Morgan
• Fidel needs help—Fidal (Referred to the medic tent by Isa)
• Wednesday at 9:00 PM a group will go between the … (?) Marta Station and Five Points
• Sat. at 5 points (?)
• Brandon & Devidyal Givens offer a “Petition of Reforms by Occupy Wall
  Street Protesters”—in consideration of the misconceptions of the Occupy Movement by many in the suburbs do to misrepresentation by the media (see the one page list).
• The Action Committee will meet daily at 4:30 PM—Sabrina (sp?)
• Starting Wednesday 10/19, movies will be shown to boost morale. First movie will be “On the Waterfront”—Lily
• Reminder to take care of ourselves (drink fluids, get rest, practice preventative care) especially as the weather becomes colder—Melissa

Committee Report-Backs:

• Donations are taken at the welcome table—Katin (sp?)
• More help is needed to provide food—Anna
• The Occupation is working with the Atlanta Hip Hop Festival.  They will be in the park both Saturday and Sunday, and are open to talking with us, etc. Tents must be moved during the festival.  This is an opportunity to spread our message to more people—Tim
• Much of our activity will be available to the public on live stream
  and he can use help—Jose
• We can reach out to the Latino community as long as not police are in our
  group—Jose
• Child Care Committee needs to have a meeting—Khaalis (sp?)
• Yesterday, Tactical Unity (TU) made an effort to get feedback from the GA about TU’s role. No one talked to them after the assembly to express their opinions. The request for feedback still stands—Jack
• Arts Committee needs help setting up the tent—(Who?)
• Action Committee needs help with clean up—William Marshall

Committee Related Proposals:

• None

Other Proposals:

• Concern about individual caucuses going off on their own and taking action that isn’t representative of Occupy Atlanta or the 99%. –Brit (This was sent to the Coordinating Committee)
• After the Hip Hop Festival we have to we rebuild our tent city, we “register” our tents in some logical order.
• [Some business was missed here]
• A proposal about caucuses reporting back to GA was with drawn.
• Tactical Unity requested a non-violence training session.
• Creation of a Race-Relations Committee—Anthony Hill & Annelle
• (Many questions and concerns were aired)
• They did not want to be a part of Tactical Unity and not a caucus. One suggestion was that it be called “diversity”  to include sexism etc.
• Marshall- other “Factions Committee” (?)
• Offered help finding places to meet as the weather gets colder.
• Specific Information at 7:00 PM on Wednesday the 19th (10/19) at the GA.
• She is concerned about safety if we have a crack-down.  It was also pointed out at other Occupation sites, participation has grown after a crack-down—Rhonda Willis from People Helping Strangers (404-832-5313)

Still Pending:
..…..………?

..…..……….?

• Need for a recycling committee and one for growing food—James and Anette

Monday, October 17th
Convened at 7:00 PM

Announcements. (15m)
Police Contingency plan-tim
Church peaceful protest 2pm next sunday-
Formal actions committee formation-carter
No smoking during GA-kylen
Teach in on financial crisis big tent right after GA-
Pride in the movement-Kahlees
Contact him for salvation-charles clayton
Marta shooting protest 9:30 @ 5 points stationpollerbuddy.
com rep, regarding website-roan
Printing info-tim
Press conference tomorrow, hiphop festival here this weekend, release of demands
without media consent-tim

Committee Report-backs. (10m)
Questions regarding safety, alcohol, drugs-tactical unitOpen mic, gazebo, art for the people station-arts and lit, saraAntioch donations, emergency donations, volunteers-logisticsAround $3000 in donations, welcome table 10am-10pm for donations-financeMet with attorneys, may form legal entity, “occupy atlanta llc”, -Legal

Committee-related Proposals. (20m)
None.

Committee breakouts. (20)
Not tonight.

Other Proposals. (30m)
Add religion to list of things not being treated with intolerance -steven (passes)
Sat at city council meeting, address misrepresentation, add statement to website, -jason
(moved to tomorrow)

Other Business. (10m)
Religious minorities discussion group-sara
Open discussion group-emerald

Final Reminders. (5m)
7pm tomorrow GA

Adjournment.