Marco Golandrea waves an Adbusters corporate American flag along Broadway, near Zucotti Park in Manhattan, Saturday, September 17, 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street protest.
Jonathan Foster

On September 17, 2011, a crowd was growing in lower Manhattan. It wasn’t the usual crowd of tourists, stockbrokers, and high-rise residents. It was a group of some 5000 protesters identifying themselves as “The 99 Percent.” They were there to stand in solidarity against the one percent of the American population that controls 40 percent of American wealth. Though they lacked a unifying organization or motive, their mutual dissent against the impact of the global financial powers on politics and culture was the common thread that brought them together.

The protest began in Bowling Green Park, with yoga, marching, drums, chants of “Our street! Wall Street!” The Rev. Billy of the Church of Earthalujah stirred the crowd on the steps of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House. Protesters dispersed into democratic circles to discuss their motivation for coming to New York in observation of an international “Day of Rage,” while groups of Danish tourists, open-topped bus tours, and shoppers looked on in surprise.

Protestors moved north to Zuccotti Park, past a large police barricade on Wall Street and the surrounding area. They eventually formed an assembly to address their reasons for participating needs of occupying the privately owned space without a permit. On Saturday night, over $10,000 worth of pizza was donated to the group, but with the dawn of the 18th, only 296 protesters had stayed the night. Those who remained carried on their motto of, “End corporate personhood.”

Occupiers face continued police pressure, threat of arrest, and the lack of shelter, electricity and internet access. There have been multiple arrests and one hospitalization. The police have forbidden the wearing of masks, citing an 1845 statute prohibiting more than two people in a group from wearing a mask (or bandana) at any one time. They have also denied the use of tents or plastic sheeting for shelter.

The inception for the protests came from the people’s assemblies of Spain, and surfaced in the 97th issue of “Adbusters” magazine as a double page spread calling on “culture jammers” to descend on Wall Street and occupy it indefinitely. The ad called for 10 — 20 thousand people to come in with kitchens and tents, and triggered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to warn local financial institutions of the impending protest. The online group Anonymous also promoted the event.

There have been several instances of protest, riots and uprising within the past year, most notably Cairo, London, Libya, Athens, Spain, Chile, Albania, and Yemen. The primary difference between the Occupy Wall Street movement and other recent protests is its effort to maintain civility and peace. The event has been staged as an American Tahrir Square, but there has been no loss of life or halt of daily activities in the area. In stark contrast, thirty people were killed in a protest in Yemen the same day the U.S. Day of Rage began.

296 people spent the night in Zuccotti Park on the first night of Occupy Wall Street, Saturday, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

Two protestors move about at night at Zuccotti Park on Saturday, September 17, 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street event.
Jonathan Foster

Two people pass the Occupy Wall Street protest group on a bus on Saturday, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

A protestor raises his fist in anger in Manhattan's Bowling Green Park, Saturday, September 17, 2011, during the "Occupy Wall Street" protest.
Jonathan Foster

Protestors do yoga in Bowling Green Park on Saturday, September 17th, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

A protestor rises above the crowd to see during speeches at Occupy Wall Street in Bowling Green Park, Saturday, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

Rev. Billy of the Church of Earthalujah speaks to crowds about capitalism and spending outside the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House in Manhattan on September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

A protestor shouts "Nazi scum Die!" at a choral protest group in Bowling Green Park on Saturday, September 17th, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

40 Wall Street Building Supervisor Mike Falsia stands with security guards during the Occupy Wall Street protest, September 17, 2011. “It’s not gonna have any impact whatsoever. They need to be where is it, the Lincoln Memorial.”
Jonathan Foster

Officer Jean-Pierre of the Queens South Task Force jokes, ”All the money's underground, so you just have to go to the subway and start digging,” with Swiss tourists at a roadblock on Nassau and Pine, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

The protest chaplains, an inter-denominational religious group, pray during Occupy Wall Street and the US Day of Rage in Manhattan, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

Demonstrators march around Bowling Green Park during the U.S. Day of Rage and Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster

Police guard an empty wall street closed off to pedestrians without ID proving they lived within the area during the U.S. Day of Rage.
Jonathan Foster

Protestors march along Broadway in Manhattan during the US Day of Rage and Occupy Wall Street on Saturday, September 17, 2011.
Jonathan Foster