Declaration of the Occupation
of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together.

We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members;

that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors;

that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

***These grievances are not all-inclusive.

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

“This was unanimously voted on by all members of Occupy Wall Street, [on Sept 29th]. It is our first official document for release. We have three more underway, that will likely be released in the upcoming days: 1) A declaration of demands. 2) Principles of Solidarity 3) Documentation on how to form your own Direct Democracy Occupation Group. This is a living document. you can receive an official press copy of the latest version by emailing c2anycga@gmail.com.”