Don't Sleep Through the Revolution: Winning the Class War by Rev. JESSE JACKSON

[Better Believe It]

Don't Sleep Through the Revolution
Winning the Class War
by Rev. JESSE JACKSON
October 11, 2011

Occupy Wall Street protests have now spread to some 800 cities. It’s spreading like a fire on a strong wind over a dry field. The heat is likely to keep on building.

The protests will spread; others are already joining, because there is a need for economic security. Too few own and control too much, while too many are left out of the economic equation. This week, the AFL-CIO, the international labor federation, will spark protests demanding “jobs, not cuts,” across the country. On November 17, a range of groups under the banner of the American Dream Movement is planning the largest mobilizations since the mass movement that opposed the War in Iraq.

This citizen protest will face increasing opposition. Local officials will try to shut demonstrations down. Fox News and conservative talk radio will slander and decry. Politicians will deplore.

Entrenched privilege does not surrender its privilege easily. Occupy Wall Street is taking on the most powerful interests. But nothing, as Victor Hugo wrote, is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. As Dr. King urged, “Don’t sleep through the revolution.” It is time to take a stand. So 99’ers, maintain your disciplined focus, your peaceful nonviolent approach to protest and demand change. In the end we will win.

Read the full article at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/11/winning-the-class-war/


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October 04, 2011
Occupy Wall St. group speaks up for America
by Rev. Jesse Jackson

People are turning. The misery is too widespread. The privileged are too brazen. The injustice too apparent.

On Wall Street, young students have created a free democratic space in a place they call Liberty Square. They protest that Wall Street has been rescued, but there is no help for most Americans. In a moving statement, they presented their view:

“We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we are working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.”

It was reported that the Wall Street traders drank champagne in their offices as they looked down on the drenched and straggly demonstrators in Liberty Square. They should hold their scorn. This is how change takes place. The courageous stand up — and more and more people come to their side. The movement for jobs and justice has started up again.

Read the full commentary at:

http://rainbowpush.org/commentaries/single/occupy_wall_st._group_speaks_up_for_america