Occupy Oakland Historic Strike and Shutdown of the Port – Media Roots TV

MEDIA ROOTS- On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, the Media Roots team was on the ground in the streets of Oakland witnessing some great energy and bringing you first-hand coverage of the historic Occupy Oakland General Strike.

Although the corporate media tried to shift the focus from the crimes of the ruling-class to petty vandalism by unrelated opportunists, for the tens of thousands in attendance, as this footage evidences, the daylong events were about solidarity and peaceful protest against the obscene inequality borne of class warfare waged by the 1% against the 99%. Various businesses closed in solidarity, as the Oakland City Administrator gave City workers the day off to participate.

Media Roots covered the day’s events from Oscar Grant Plaza where a festive atmosphere of unions serving barbeque, speeches, arts, and multicultural activities set the positive tone. Participants included parents with children and teachers amongst the diverse spectrum of people. As the day progressed, the marches swelled to some 10,000 protesters with multiple marches shutting down various Oakland banks, including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. By that evening, tens of thousands of peaceful protesters successfully shut down the Port of Oakland, the nation’s fifth busiest port, at about 8pm.

http://www.mediaroots.org