Occupy Houston

This article is about the protests in Houston. For the wider movement, see Occupy movement.

Occupy Houston
Part of the Occupy movement
Date October 6, 2011 (2011-10-06) – ongoing (&100000000000000000000000 years, &1000000000000004600000046 days) Location Houston, Texas Status Ongoing with "occupy" movements having formed in other cities. See: List of Occupy movement protest locations. Causes Wealth inequality, Corporate influence of government, inter alia. Characteristics Non violent protest Civil disobedience Occupation Picketing Demonstrations Internet activism
Number
Other activity in Houston: 200+ marchers (march on JP Morgan, October 2, 2011)[1] 40 dancers (Zombie flash mob, October 31, 2011)[2]

Occupy Houston – Haunt Wall Street Flyer^[3]

Occupy Houston is an ongoing occupation protest that stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street.^[4] The planned occupation officially started in Houston, Texas on Thursday October 6, 2011 when protesters returned from JP Morgan Chase Tower to establish an encampment at Hermann Square Plaza.^[4][5] During the JPMorgan Chase demonstration there were not any confrontations with the police and numerous different passerby were reported to have sympathized with the tone of the protesters.^[6][7] That same night the police were reported to have commented on how well behaved the protesters were.^[8]

Occupy Houston is a local expression of the global movement to end the corporate corruption of our democracy

— Occupy Houston Organizers, Interview with Channel 2 KPRC^[9]

Some of the events put on include a Corporate House of Horrors during Halloween.^[10]

Relocations

It wasn't long before Occupy Houston moved for the first time. During the first week of the occupation Occupy Houston respectfully volunteered to evacuate the park for the Bayou City Art Festival earning Occupy Houston the nickname of "The Nicest Protesters in the World",^[11] and "Affable Protesters"^[12] by Culture Map.^[9] A few of the artists participating in the Art Festival sympathized with Occupy Houston.^[9] The location Occupy Houston moved to was Eleanor Tinsley Park where the demonstrators roughed out torrential downpours before finally erecting tents.^[9][13] Shortly after the rain ended, HPD ordered Occupy Houston to dismantle the tents and Occupy Houston after holding an emergency GA, for an extended period of time, eventually complied.^[14] Though not requested by HPD, the free standing, temporary, open air pavilions were dismantled as well.

Prior to moving to Eleanor Tinsley, Occupy Houston vowed to return back to City Hall^[15] and they did.^[16] Yet after spending a few days at City Hall the encampment was moved one last time to Tranquility Park—this time the pressing issue forcing the move was the Energy Day festival in Houston which has Hermann Square rented.^[17] Though Occupy Houston opted to acquiesce to the demands of the City by evacuating Hermann Square, it did not support the Energy Festival. Instead, Occupy Houston protested the festival on the grounds of its sponsorship by TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL Pipeline, and Valero which demanded a further $62.8 million dollar tax refund.^[18] The night of the move (as with the initial move) a few remained, perhaps one or two, well into the morning in general protest. Their grievances included the renting of public space to private entities, as well as specifically the KBR display that was erected that night.

Planning

The Official Planning for Occupy Houston started a week before the first protest.^[19]

Teams

There are numerous teams working within Occupy Houston:

• A legal team consisting of 10 members of the National Lawyers Guild.^[20][21]
• Warehouse (Catalog communal goods check-out and check-in)
• Logistics
• Web & Media
• Facilitation (Help moderate the General Assembly)
• Sustainability
• Medical
• Food

Support from the Community

Occupy Houston has found amazing support from the residents in the city. It was reported that a 42 inch flat screen TV was donated,^[22] and $1,800 collected.^[23] In addition, numerous different bands and artists have played or showed support for Occupy Houston most notably including Bun B of UGK,^[24] and the Free Radicals.^[25] A few politicians and activists have visited the occupation as well such Dick Gregory^[26] and Houston Councilwoman Jolanda Jones.^[27][28] The Coffee Party also airs a show live from Occupy Houston once a week.^[29]

This is something that I think everybody at some point and time should be concerned about as a resident of Houston and as a citizen of the world

— Bun B, Interview with the Houston Chronicle

Not all members of the city have been supportive of the protest though: Houston mayor Annise Parker denied a request to supply city electricity to the occupation or to provide a statement to refuse the enforcement of the civility statute that prohibits tents in city parks.^[30]

Other Occupy communities have cited Occupy Houston as an example for the good organizational work. It was mentioned at Occupy San Diago that, "[Occupy Houston] just passed a proposal and action for a de-investment campaign. What are we doing with our GA? Let’s get back on track, guys."^[31]

See also

Occupy articles List of global Occupy protest locations Occupy movement Timeline of Occupy Wall Street We are the 99%

Related articles Income inequality in the United States Lobbying – the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies Plutocracy Tea Party protests Wealth inequality in the United States

• Social movements portal
• Politics portal
• Business and economics portal
• Society portal
• Houston portal
• Texas portal
• United States portal

References

1. ^ "Occupy Wall Street spin-offs come to Texas". ABC 13. The Associated Press. 2011-10-06. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/state&id=8381828. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
2. ^ "Zombies Protest-Shuffle to Bank of America". FOX. 2011-10-31. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/111031-zombies-protest-shuffle-to-bank-of-america. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
3. ^ Occupy Houston flyer. Occupyhouston.org. Accessed October 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b} Jensen, Brian (2011-10-06). "Houston to host Occupy Wall Street solidarity protest today". The Daily Cougar. University of Houston. http://thedailycougar.com/2011/10/06/houston-to-host-occupy-wall-street-solidarity-protest-today/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
5. ^ Crawford, Jessica (2011-10-12). "The Occupy Movement Spreads to Houston". The Venture. El Gato Media Network. http://www.theventureonline.com/2011/10/the-occupy-movement-spreads-to-houston/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
6. ^ Fountain, Ken (2011-10-06). "OccupyHouston puts ‘civility’ in civil unrest at downtown protest". The West University Examiner. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/west_university/news/occupyhouston-puts-civility-in-civil-unrest-at-downtown-protest/article_7c1dd6d5-c310-586d-9e09-2818a45f9b65.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
7. ^ Lupercio, George. "Houston participates in Occupy Wall Street protests". The Venture. El Gato Media Network. http://www.theventureonline.com/2011/10/houston-participates-in-occupy-wall-street-protests/. 
8. ^ Lezon, Dale. "60 Occupy Houston protesters wake up at City Hall". The Houston Chronicle. http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/10/60-occupy-houston-protesters-wake-up-at-city-hall/. "HPD on the scene this morning said the protesters have been peaceful and well-behaved." 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} "Occupy Houston Protesters Relocate". Channel 2. KPRC. 2011-10-07. http://www.click2houston.com/news/29418237/detail.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
10. ^ "Occupy Houston House of Horrors event". 39online.com. KIAH-TV Channel 39. 2011-10-31. http://www.39online.com/newsfix/kiah-newsfix-occupy-halloween-story,0,3652183.story. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
11. ^ Rudick, Tyler (2011-10-07). "The Nicest Protesters in the World". Culture Map. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/10-07-11-the-nicest-protestors-in-the-world-occupy-houston-relocates-the-occupation-so-the-bayou-city-art-fest-can-go-on/. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 
12. ^ Rudick, Tyler (2011-10-09). "Illustrating Occupy Houston: Our affable protesters move for the weekend". Houston. Culture Map. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/10-07-11-16-28-occupy-houston-so-far/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
13. ^ "Heavy rain pounds Houston area, doesn't dampen Sunday events". ABC 13 KTRK. 2011-10-09. http://www.click2houston.com/news/29404429/detail.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
14. ^ Acevedo, Jesus (2011-10-10). "Protesters dismantle tents at Tinsley Park". http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/10/protesters-dismantle-tents-at-tinsley-park/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
15. ^ "Occupy Houston Protesters Sleep In Park". 39 Online: NewsFix. KIAH-TV Channel 39. 2011-10-07. http://www.39online.com/newsfix/kiah-newsfix-sleep-over-story,0,5150124.story. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
16. ^ Rudick, Tyler (2011-10-11). "Hear why Bun B is down with Occupy Houston: An exclusive interview with the hip-hop legend". Houston. Culture Map. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/10-11-11-hear-why-bun-b-is-down-with-occupy-houston-an-exclusive-interview-with-the-hip-hop-legend/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
17. ^ Christian, Carol (2010-10-14). "Occupy Houston, diminished in size, moves to Tranquility Park". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Occupy-Houston-diminished-in-size-moves-to-2218659.php. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
18. ^ "Occupy Houston/Energy Day - Silent Protest Signs, Flyers Say It All". Houston Independent Media Center. 2011-10-16. http://houston.indymedia.org/print.php?id=73422. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
19. ^ Radley, Whitney (2011-09-30). "Wall Street protests headed here? An Occupy Houston movement builds — in a most low-key way". Houston. Culture Map. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/09-30-11-wall-street-protests-headed-here-an-occupy-houston-movement-builds-in-the-most-low-key-way-possible/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
20. ^ Shea, Brittanie (2011-10-06). "Occupy Wall Street: 99 Percent Protesters March to City Hall for Occupy Houston". Houston Press. http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/10/occupy_wall_street_99_percent.php. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
21. ^ Pugh, Tony (2011-10-30). "Volunteer lawyers help 'Occupy' protesters through legal system". Kansas City Star. McClatchy Newspapers. 
22. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (2011-10-17). "The Occupy movement’s $300K bankroll, luxe requests". Newswatch. Houston Chronicle. http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/10/the-occupy-movement%E2%80%99s-300k-bankroll-luxe-requests/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
23. ^ Radley, Whitney (2011-10-17). "Let Occupy Wall Street brag about $300,000 & "hot chicks"; Occupy Houston is good with its $1,800". Houston. Culture Map. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/10-17-11-let-occupy-wall-street-brag-about-its-300000-raised-occupy-houston-is-good-with-its-1800-and-hot-chicks/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
24. ^ Stanton, Robert (2011-10-12). "Bun B joins Occupy Houston protests". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Bus-drivers-join-Occupy-Houston-protests-2212852.php. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
25. ^ "‘Occupy Houston’ protest set for Thursday". Your WestU News. The West University Examiner. 2012-10-05. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/west_university/news/occupy-houston-protest-set-for-thursday/article_00e50325-4e90-56ba-93d1-a85e46db3b2f.html. 
26. ^ "Come out to #CampTranquility and hear Dick Gregory speak about BP and the gulf oil spill NOW!". 2011-10-20. http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyHouston/status/127071361221922816. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
27. ^ "Houston city counsel woman Jo Jones is speaking to us and giving us great ideas and encouragement! So awesome!". 2011-10-20. http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyHouston/status/127095505955209216. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
28. ^ "Occupy Houston Facebook Status Update". 2011-10-20. https://www.facebook.com/OccupyHouston/posts/275898205777807. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
29. ^ Christian, Carol (2011-10-22). "Radio show now airing from Occupy Houston encampment". Chron.com. The Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Radio-show-now-airing-from-Occupy-Houston-2231348.php. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
30. ^ "Occupy Houston protestors asks city for tents and free electricity". KHOU. 2011-10-26. http://www.khou.com/news/local/Occupy-Houston-protestors-asks-city-for-tents-and-free-electricity-132597323.html. Retrieved 2011-10-26. 
31. ^ Holslin, Peter (2011-10-12). "A weekend with Occupy San Diego". San Diego City Beat. http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-9635-a-weekend-with-occup.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 

External links

• Official website
• Occupy Houston Facebook
• Occupy Houston Twitter
• Occupy Houston photos (Flickr)