After reading Adbusters call for an occupation of Wall Street on September 17, 2011, I felt compelled to document what at the time I thought would be a brief, but nonetheless credible, protest of big banks and corporate greed.
So, after returning home from class September 15, my roommate and I filled two backpacks and drove through the night to New York City. In the weeks that followed our initial trip, it became clear that something much larger was happening in Zuccotti Park than one could have imagined.
An inherently American movement was being born and each individual I spoke with was helping to shape it. Although I saw individuals representing a number of organizations and causes, the overwhelming consciousness was that our democracy has been hijacked by big business and no longer represented the people.
The occupations that sprang up in solidarity around the United States and the world became symbols of direct democracy and the forgotten notion that with enough influence from the people, systems and culture can change. Coming from Detroit I saw potential for the city to utilize the momentum and publicity of Occupy to bring pressing issues of foreclosure, education, and public transportation to light. After two separate trips from Detroit to New York City, American Spring arose as a glimpse inside the American Occupy Movement with its unwritten future and potential for economic and social change.