As the movement marks its one-year anniversary, Occupy Wall Street is far less visible in the public eye than it was when activists around the world took over public spaces in the fall of 2011. Still, despite proclamations of its demise, many Occupiers have spent the last year organizing around issues from home foreclosures to the erosion of civil liberties to student loan debt. Today, after a weekend of education, performances and protest, organizers are returning to the demonstrations that originally made headlines with S17, a day of nonviolent civil disobedience and demonstrations in the heart of New York City’s financial district.
As OWS attempts to reassert itself into the national consciousness, questions remain about the future of the movement: how useful is the OWS “brand” without the encampments? How are Occupy activists using the connections they forged during the initial occupations? With so many facing daunting student loans or a possible home foreclosure, could a struggle against debt be as potent a rallying point as the 99 percent versus the 1 percent?
On Tuesday, September 18, at 12 pm EST, we’ll cap off our coverage of Occupy’s anniversary with a live video chat with Nation contributors Allison Kilkenny, Astra Taylor and Nathan Schneider on S17 and the future of Occupy Wall Street. The chat will feature a discussion on today’s events and the questions currently facing the movement, followed by an invitation to readers to submit questions for our panelists.
Readers are encouraged to RSVP and sign up for a reminder e-mail in the chat box below. While anyone can watch, you will need to be signed into Spreecast, Twitter or Facebook to submit questions. We hope to see you on Tuesday, September 18, for a lively conversation!
