The Occupy Portraits: A Photo Essay

oakland, california 29-30 January 2012 By the time I arrived in Oakland, it was well past midnight. Friends had left a number of messages warning of the police brutality that had erupted Saturday, while I was in flight from New York. By chance, my schedule had protected me from the violence. A protest ac- tion called Move-In Day had been planned and organized for over a month. What was to be a weekend of educational speakers and community activities turned into chaos amidst police tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, bean-bag projectiles, and concussion grenades, that resulted in over 400 arrests. A crowd of 1,000 - 2,000 demonstrators had marched to the long-vacant Convention Center, in an attempt to create the new Occupy encampment and social center. Once there, they were met by rows of police with their own strategy and agenda. 

By 1:00 a.m., Occupy Oakland’s website had been updated, stating the original weekend program would continue as planned at Oscar Grant Plaza. 

On Sunday morning, people began arriv- ing at the plaza as early as seven, when I showed up. As the activists who were graciously allowing me to create their portraits tried to gather their thoughts into a single sentence de- scribing their hopes for a better future, the range of their emotions was apparent - exhausted, outraged, frightened, yet nonetheless resilient. Some were injured physically; all were disap- pointed spiritually. One woman spoke of being tackled by three policemen for asking them a question, her face scraped on the pavement. She fought back her tears. Another young wom- an just released from a night in prison was unable to stop crying.

 Monday, after a weekend filled with intensity, as the sun was setting on my last night of this road trip, Occupy Oakland successfully launched a second Aquapy houseboat on Lake Merritt. The saccharin-sweet OO Hope Floats was painted in pink and white, complete with a front porch, a picket fence, and a sign on the back reading “3.5 million homeless, 18.5 million vacant homes in America today - why won’t you let us in”? Using smaller boats as ferries, protesters had a moment of light fun, paddling supplies and guests to and from the houseboat. One load was filled exclusively with musical instruments for their spontaneous concerts. The police put an end to the festivities with yet another set of laws and rules on Wednesday night, when they towed the OO Hope Floats to shore. This time, everyone had safely abandoned ship before the police arrived. Aquapy Lake Merritt activists had remained encamped on the first Aquapy houseboat, the OO Don’t Let The Banks Punk You Out , for five days before police hauled the boat in – detained briefly for thirty minutes, one protestor was charged with a simple misdemeanor for not hav- ing a boat permit.