Occupy Grand Forks joins the movement

By Mona Mattei

Grand Forks joined the global Occupy Together movement on Saturday with a protest, music, sharing experiencees and adding their voice to the cause.

Over the three hours suggested for the protest, people came and went enjoying sunshine, snacks and commaraderie as they gave of their time and enthusiasm. The gathering was not marred by violence or outbreaks, unlike some of the protests worldwide.

In Rome, New York, and Chicago people were arrested as the protests took a turn for the worse, but across Canada, many United States cities and in London, U.K. the activists came out in numbers but peacefully, according to a CBC News report.

Occupy Wall Street website reported that 1,500 cities worldwide took part in the protests on Saturday, Oct. 15. They are a "leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants."

From Occupy Wall Street sprung Occupy Together - a website dedicated to helping people organize themselves for the movement. 

Their mission is seen "as being a hub for all of the events springing up across the country in solidarity with Occupy Wall St. As we have followed the news on facebook, twitter, and the various live feeds across the internet, we felt compelled to build a site that would help spread the word as more protests organize across the country. We hope to provide people with information about events that are organizing, ongoing, and building across the U.S. as we, the 99%, take action against the greed and corruption of the 1%."

Watch the video to see why people you know stood up for the movement for change or click on the photos below to enlarge and view!